Speaking on CBS Radio April 1, former Obama political operative Patti Solis Doyle said former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent accusations of inappropriate behavior with women was about the older generation. Accused of inappropriately touching—and kissing—former Nevada State Lieutenant Gov. candidate Lucy Flores at a campaign rally in 2014, Biden’s under the gun to explain himself. Getting help from Solis Doyle makes matters worse for the former vice president who’s considering jumping into the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Calling Biden’s behavior “a violation of my personal space,” adding that “she felt invaded,” Flores described Biden fondling-and-smelling her hair before kissing the back of her head. Solis Doyle insists that Biden’s behavior was appropriate to his generation, yet did not give another example of an elder statesman engaged in similar behavior.
Democrats have tried to close ranks around Biden, dismissing his action as entirely innocent gestures of affection. Yet to Flores, and today’s #MeToo Movement, the invasive contact is anything but a show of affection. Flores was clear that she was dumbfounded by Joe’s behavior, not knowing what to say-or-do with a sitting vice president. Going to Biden’s rescue, Stephanie Carter, the wife of former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, said Biden once held her shoulders, pictured in a viral video and photo showing what looked like inappropriate affection during Carter’s swearing in ceremony Feb. 17, 2015. Stephanie Carter gave the back-story of her taking a fall earlier in the day and was a bit shaken up before Biden massaged her shoulder during Ash’s swearing in ceremony. Yet Flores made clear she was upset with Biden’s unsolicited affectionate gesture.
Democrat operatives like Solis Doyle can’t possibly think that Biden’s behavior was a reflection of a past generation. When was there ever a time when it was OK to fondle-and-smell someone’s hair and plant a kiss on their head without a woman’s consent? Whether Biden’s behavior crossed the line to inappropriate sexual contact is anyone’s guess. Whatever Stephanie Carter felt when Joe rubbed her shoulders doesn’t mean it was OK for Flores who felt violated. While waiting to deliver a speech for Nevada Attorney General in 2014, Flores shared her experience. “I felt him [Biden] get closer to me from behind. He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified,” Flores said. “ I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t wash my hair today and the vice president of the United States is smelling it . . . Why is the vice president of the United States smelling my hair?’”
Flores then recalled Biden going further. “He proceeded to plant a big kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed,” Flores recalled. No matter what the generation, Biden’s behavior was beyond the pale, inappropriate by anyone’s standards. Biden’s defense that he couldn’t recall the incident sounds like former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) forced to resign Jan. 2, 2018 because of multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. Franken also said he had no recollection of Leeann Tweeden who said he {Franken] forcibly kissed her while on a USO tour in 2006. Tweeden went public with her complaint Nov. 16, 2017. When several other women came forward with similar stories, Franken was forced out. Tweeden waited 11 years before going public with her complaint. It took Flores only five years before telling her story to New Yorker Magazine’s Ronan Farrow.
Biden’s response, like Franken, was to essentially deny that the incident happened as Flores described it. To Biden, he couldn’t recall anything about it, a real issue for a 76-year-old seeking to become president. “In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort, “ Biden said. “And not once—never—did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested that I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention.” Unpacking Biden’s statement, he says he did not “believe” he acted inappropriately, not that he didn’t. If Biden didn’t believe smelling-and-fondling a woman’s hair then planting a kiss on their head, is not inappropriate, then it disqualifies him from running for president. Forget about the current White House occupant. Biden must answer to his own standards and those of his #MeToo Party.
Flores said, “It’s easy to Google ‘Creepy Biden,’ and you get all these compilations of pictures and video evidence of young women and women look very, very uncomfortable.” Without a formal apology, Biden continues the denials of his past inappropriate conduct. No one in his generation takes the liberty to sniff-and-twirl someone’s hair and plant a kiss on the back of someone’s head. Whether you’re Democrat of Republican, Biden’s behavior crossed the line, whatever the generation. What person with healthy boundaries violates the personal space of another person? Someone who thinks they’re entitled to do it. Biden’s got a lot of explaining to do about his past behavior without making excuses. Another woman, Amy Lappos, 43, said Biden grabbed her head and rubbed noses with her at a political fundraiser in 2009. Any more women coming forward would sink Joe’s 2020 bid.
