"Though the Democratic field is much larger this time around, Biden has played the role of establishment frontrunner the same way Hillary Clinton did in 2016: running as a standard-bearer for the status quo with the aim of offending as few elites as possible. And, as we saw four years ago, what passes for “pragmatic centrism” in Washington can often fail to galvanize the voters—particularly in swing states—that Democrats need to capture the presidency. Trying to apply the same formula again could very well end up guaranteeing Trump’s reelection.

Even putting aside his innumerable gaffes, flubs, and untruths, the substantive case for a Biden presidency is incredibly thin. He speaks in glittering generalities. He makes nostalgic appeals to a vague and idealized past where Washington elites cooperated and “got things done,” a habit which has found him praising segregationists on more than one occasion. In an era where millions of Americans are hurting, frustrated, and angry, his policy agenda is visibly and deliberately unambitious—eschewing big and transformative ideas in favor of minor technocratic fixes designed not to antagonize anyone with wealth or power. Biden said as much himself when he promised a room full of well-heeled donors in June he wouldn’t “demonize the rich,” adding that, were he to be elected president, “No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would fundamentally change.” The attack ads practically write themselves. He has also been blunt in telling millennials that he has “no empathy” for them and does not care about their problems, which raises the question of why a single one should come out and vote for him."