It's not the contact with adult women that's particularly creepy, it's the queasy-making fondling of children. There are a great many videos on the internet, and even knowing the vast majority are right-wing attack pieces, they are still incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Should Mr. Biden become the nominee, it's hard to imagine Republicans not seizing on these videos to create questions regarding Biden's fitness for office.
7
@Glenn Baldwin "fondling" is a loaded word which presumes sexual contact. You know very well that is not the case with Biden. Shame on you!
8
After reading this article and the overwhelming commentary in support of Joe Biden’s warmth, and empathy, I have to think that maybe he does have a good chance of beating Trump. There is a common sense electorate out there that yearns for empathy and decency in a candidate — and my guess is they vote in big numbers.
5
A pat on the back, a comforting hand on the shoulder, even a hug. It’s called making a human connection and for most folks is a welcome display of understanding, empathy, and caring.
14
Don't visit France where a kiss is a common greeting as in many other countries.
6
Joni wrote a song about that!
Very happy there will multiple women there stating that they enjoy hugs and making a connection with a candidate such as Joe. Yes, it is important to recognize and call out bad behavior no matter the degree of it. However, for people who grew up in ethnically warm cultures and understand affection, and can tell good from bad people, keep enjoying Joe! No safe space needed here!
Godbless
9
Where is Tim Kaine now that we need him? Just joking, he would fit the pattern of wimps like McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. Just thinking but they do give centrist Democrats a bad reputation. Biden is being built up as the candidate. Besides his stumbling on the issues. and gaffs, can he get out a sentence without forgetting his place.
He although, not going through a coronation process like Hillary, he is the choice of those that picked her. The left is crying foul because the 16 Trillion Dollar Man and Senator Warren should get more press. They don't remember McGovern.
So it comes down to voting against Trump. As much as like Warren, she's no Valkyrie, and I would feel sorry for her if she became president. Biden however won't last the first debate and Trump. No matter how hard you try spin his behavior he looks like a joke on video and thats hoe people will take him.
Lt. John Kerry, USN, 1966-1970. Silver Star, Bronze Star (Valor), Purple Hearts (3). "Wimp"? I think not.
3
He is also short-tempered, as is most recently evident in all his responses to hugging criticism, can't learn, can't remember, and has often been one of those "do you know who I am??!! " people on Amtrak..I also really wish he would stop running on the death of his son. Yuck. Biden v. Warren? No comparison. Warren all the way.
6
Preferring AI autonomous politician over passionate, affectionate human touch?
4
As a lifelong Republican party member I say to all you oversensitive Dem’s: “grow up!” Can you with any semblance of intellectual honesty make either of the following claims:
1.) I’d feel better about this if the ‘hugger’ were our current President
2.) My complaints are irrelevant in assuring our current President gets re-elected
Unless 5 1/2 more years of the “molester-in-chief” is what you actually want then you need to get real about the chances any Democratic candidate other than Joe Biden has the slightest chance of ousting the most despicable incumbent in several generations
7
I'm trying to imagine Mayor Pete behaving the same way and how everyone would handle it if he just started walking up behind men, started rubbing their shoulders, and sniffed their hair. Discuss among yourselves.
7
The most conservative, neoliberal part of the Dem base is these Southern black women. Wall St. loves them. They’re like the Kochs’ Evangelicals keeping the Republicans far to the right. These women are responsible for electing Trump because they made Hillary the most hated nominee in Dem history. Bernie, whose whole life was more committed to civil rights than Hillary’s, won the white primary vote, of course, and would have crushed Trump in the Rust Belt according to the exit polls. Now these anti-progressive black women may well give us another losing nominee in Biden, who’s no fighter, who makes Jeb look high energy, and who will be cut to pieces by Trump’s mockery and debates. The rest of the Dems want real progressivism. These older black women want only nostalgia for Obama, the guy who rightly enraged the white working class by giving the Wall St. criminals who ruined Main St. big bonuses for their crimes, while giving Main St, itself nothing but crumbs. Let’s hope Warren or Bernie saves the party from the neoliberal nostalgia of these women. As Killer Mike said after 2016’s SC primary, blacks (meaning these women) are much more “bourgeois,” meaning economically and politically conservative than white people think. Just the way the Dem Wall St. donors like ‘em.
2
Oh please! We have a man in the WhiteHouse who has admitted to groping women, was named in a rape lawsuit and who hung out with pedophiles (Nader and Epstein) and has affairs with a porn star. Over 12 women came forward to accuse Trump. And the media dutifully ignored every single one of them. Thanks so much for that.
And now we have the MSM pondering Joe Biden offenses on the front page. Offenses which have run the gamut from hugging without permission to smelling a woman's hair. Front page breaking news again even after countless articles previously about Biden being inappropriately handsey.
Yup, just like OMG her emails, Joe's hugs are meant to be more of an outrage worthy of endless reporting meant to sink his candidacy while the man in the White House is considered a 'ladies man' not worthy of reporting on his abuses.
We are all collectively going insane and applying no logic nor reason in our constant different applications of 'acceptability' and what is or is not abuse.
13
Not my first pick but I'm not going to withhold my vote against a Nazi because he's a hugger, of all things.
4
These women are so brave to show defiance like that. /s
3
These puff pieces on Biden continue to be churned out apace. This latest mopping up remaining notions left over from prior news cycles that our man Biden is some sort of inappropriate weirdo around women and girls. The grim imperative to get this senile old wreck across the finish line, with Bernie and Gabbard still looming with stubbornly persistent popularity, seems paramount.
3
Biden is an old fool.
Al Franken was run out of the Senate after women, some anonymously, claimed Franked squeezed their waist or touched their bottoms when he posed for selfies with them.
I believe a lot of those accusation were untrue.
But wait for this to be used against Biden in the general election.
If Roger Stone and other rightwing operatives can gin up enough accusers who'll claim that Biden has done this during the campaign, it's going to hurt him - badly.
Why Biden isn't listening to his advisors & stopping himself from getting too close to women and girls is just bizarre.
Biden's a stubborn old man who refuses to learn or adapt with changing times.
4
Joe Biden can't remember who he hugged a second ago.
5
Ms. Flores has a right to to ward off unwanted hugs, but others have a right to request hugs. We cannot speak for all because it's a action we don't like. Her action seem to be bulling those who want a hug. we need to respect each other and realize we are not all the same. Also, to compare a hug to #metoo seems to minimize the #metoo.
2
It strikes me that people like Flores are going to put Biden in the White House. I'd be willing to bet that there are many, many people who will say "Hey, if that women hates Joe, he must be all right."
Even among the liberal readers of the Times, the reaction to Kirsten Gillibrand's withdrawal from the race was overwhelmingly "Good riddance to bad rubbish." There is a message there for those with ears to hear it. For the rest of you, I can spell it out. A whole lot of people voted for Trump for the sole purpose to sticking their fingers in the eyes of Flores, Gillibrand and their ilk. If they think Biden is on the feminist hit list, that might be all it takes, given that a good many of them will be sick of Trump by now. If I can vote for a decent, moderate candidate, and shoot the bird to Lucy Flores and her friends at the same time, I will certainly do it.
Joe, if you are reading this (or a staffer will do), you need to start selling T shirts that say "I hugged Joe Biden."
Meanwhile, if you prefer Trump to somebody who asked Anita Hill hard questions (her story was full of holes, and it was, after all, his job), you'll soon get your chance to vote for one of Biden's unelectable opponents in a primary. Enjoy it.
5
It could be much worse. Imagine if Hillary Clinton were a hugger.
good for them I guess... his record as a senator is still reprehensible and there’s dozens of women with Creepy Uncle Joe the hair sniffer stories so consider me unmoved! He’ll hopefully go away once the “leading in the national polls” stories fade and the reality of a complete lack of enthusiasm in the battleground primary states shows itself. Joe’s a lecherous fraud and a bad candidate, get that hug while you can ladies!
2
The NY Times never misses a chance to try and degrade or criticize the candidacy of Joe Biden. Its bannering of the recent outlier Monmouth Poll is but one example. It is only exceeded by its promotion of AOC as a legislator of substance, rather than a self-styled social media influencer of few.
Perhaps it is the Times that is out of step with the broader electorate, who, while favoring progress, believes more in incrementalism, not sudden, drastic change. That’s what usually wins elections with large numbers of swing voters.
It makes me wonder if the editorial staff is trying to help re-elect the person occupying the White House so that they can sell more subscriptions while continuing to nudge the Democratic Party off the unelectable deep left end.
7
I am not a hugger by nature, but I could sure use a hug from good ol’ Joe Biden these days.
7
I'm much younger than Joe Biden, yet it is evident many can't distinguish between Joe Biden and Donald Trump and Larry Nassar.
Many welcome displays of physical affection, yet they make some others uneasy. You can accept their sincerity yet understand that subjective unease can never be proof of anything, let alone an objective violation and offense.
I'm a civil rights attorney whose entire ethnic immigrant family would be shunned by oh-so-pure left-wing zealots as everyone I'm related to shows affection by hugging and kissing everyone yet knows it has nothing to with sexual harassment of assault.
Americans support Biden because they believe in him, not just like him. He's the only Democrat who is liberal, sincere, and speaks, gaffs and all, like a regular American. Unlike all other deer in the headlights Democratic candidates, Biden won't sign the identity politics purity oath and train wreck mandated by the left.
I happen to know a woman who recently went to Biden event, met him, and actually insisted he hug her. Hers was an act of protest. She is very liberal yet incensed that a very small, very powerful Democratic left, has been driving their agenda and forcing out any who don't conform to it. Here it's Joe Biden. He faces a deliberate ideologically hatchet job because he's unforgivably an old white guy, not a doctrinaire leftist, and won't conform to the puritanical college campus elite, with total contempt for due process, and which determines how all must behave.
15
Right on.
4
White collar men wielding work place authority must avoid being alone with, keeping office door open at all times during one-on-one meetings, never socialize after hours with #metoo (subordinate) zealouts characterizing universal expression of human decency;heartwarming hug as an physical assault mirroring sexual harassment. Absurd!
6
Why wasn't this a problem in 2008 and 2014 when Biden campaigned with and for Obama?
9
What’s interesting to me is that the defiance inherent in a Biden hug, as it’s articulated by people saying “never apologize”, is VERY similar to the anti-Pc mindset of Trump supporters.
5
@Bill
Being anti-PC crosses party lines.
3
Never mind his embarrassing contact stuff with women and children. Is he anywhere near at his peak mental capacity?
Did he have a first class mind even at his peak?
Is he dynamic and does he have the energy and drive to execute change and steer his own course?
Does his record show a steady and consistent holding to principles?
Finally, I get the feeling from many comments, there is an exhausted settling for a not very inspiring candidate. Please Dems, get a great candidate before it's too late.
1
This, this is why we should vote for him? I would never vote for Biden because he would be a do nothing corporate stooge.
2
Biden has been in public politics for several decades. Now, in 2019 we have a handful of people who retroactively didn't like the hugs? Am I the only one who thinks that's a pretty good track record?
Biden's probably given out literally hundreds of thousands of hugs. I'd say he reads the situation pretty well if only a few people got uncomfortable.
And, you know what, an uncomfortable hug is no big deal. Move on. You were not assaulted. You're not a victim. And Biden is not some monster like Weinstein or anyone else in the news. We all get uncomfortable occasionally - it's normal and it's usually no one's fault.
6
Consensual hugging is just fine. Non-consensual hugging is not okay.
1
An “act of defiance?”
If Joe Biden wants to hug his supporters and his supporters are amenable to hugging, that’s fine. But articles like this one are only a weak attempt to deflect from the fact that Biden has lost his chops to winning the Presidency, if he ever had them.
1
Whether people ask for hugs, grudgingly accept them or are repulsed is not the point. A grown man should not be hugging as part of the typical social interaction. Period. Especially an elected official (past or present) or candidate for the same.
5
Are we really making an issue out of politicians hugging people in the course of campaigning? Biden obviously cares about those who confide in him about their life challenges, especially medical issues faced by them and their families. He understands. He's been there.
He recently empathized with a young man who is a stutterer, telling him of his own difficulties overcoming that condition--"I realize talking on the phone can be hard, but give me your number." Evidently he regularly asks for phone numbers, and he actually calls these people back.
Quite a contrast to throwing rolls of paper towels to people who have just experienced a natural disaster.
I realize progressives don't like Biden and eagerly jump on any criticism as a way to sabotage his candidacy. But he's a decent man and his demonstrations of affection are without ill intent. He's genuine and likable.
Lucy Flores, on the other, comes across as neither genuine or likable, and has always intended to hurt Biden for political reasons. If we are choosing sides, I'm with Joe, and I'd like to give him a hug.
4
Why aren’t men lining up to hug Joe? Where are they?
I don't know who my candidate of choice is yet, but Biden is being held to an unfair standard. At the beginning of the last debate you could tell he took great pains not to go in for the cheek kiss or warm embrace with Kamala. Yet look at the tape and time after time other male candidates did warmly greet her. Then it just make more hay of the riff between them when in fact I think he was just acutely aware that he wasn't allowed to show any physical contact. Given that this nation elected someone who brags about grabbing women by their you know what, I can't imagine hugging is disqualification for the job. Doesn't make it right, and not appropriate if unwanted. Context and relationship and receptiveness all matter. There are voters who don't mind a hug. Hey, there appears to be lots of voters who don't mind an angry old man screaming at them. Let's not paint Biden into a corner as out of step just because he's a hugger. There may be a lot of other reasons not to nominate him; warmth and genuineness shouldn't be one of them.
5
This was probably already said, but the women in the story WANT his hugs. The concerns about him are when people don't ask him to touch them and he does it without asking.
No, it wouldn't bother everyone, but it does bother many. So maybe just learn to not touch unless consent is given. It's not too much to ask and it's not hard to adjust one's behavior in that way. It's probably much easier than being the President, so if one can't handle not touching without consent...
4
My only hope is that Sanders, Warren and Mayor Pete unite to oppose Biden, who is long past his expiration date. A few random hugs don't make him any more or less flawed than he already is. (In his most recent gaff, he appeared to forget Obama's name and after stumbling around came up with my old boss.)
1
Met him briefly on his book tour. One of the kindest, warmest public figures I've met. Sure, he's a politician behind all that, but he had a sincerity and empathy about him that impressed me. People have to get over being distrustful of everyone. Sure these are scary times, full of mental illness brought on by our economic insecurity, social stratification, racism and physically isolated lifestyles, not to mention the fear that everyone we meet is packing a gun or maybe two or three... Let's try just simple humanity. Let Joe be Joe.
5
That someone/anyone thinks hugging is wrong, makes me cry for us as a species. Touch is vital to our very being, it can often be a better method of communication than even words. We are in danger of losing our humanity. It pains me to read a headline that says that women who want to be hugged by Joe Biden, and want to hug him back, are "defiant". Defiant...for exhibiting a normal, loving and caring human gesture? What is wrong with us?
3
I don't know if i get all the nuances of the #metoo movement -- but i do know one thing, if enough people keep hammering this issue, causing them not to vote or not to vote for Joe if he's the nominee, then hello Trump's second term. That's it.
3
I’m sure good all Joe can lose to Trump without any help from anyone else
1
From the comments here it looks like Joe Biden has miraculously extinguished the "me too" movement by running for president. I did have some problems with the "me too" movement, in that I don't think men should be "guilty until proven innocent" and I don't think all forms of touching are equally bad. However, I find it disturbing that Biden supporters (and the NY Times?) are now turning on women like Lucy Flores and others who say Biden's actions made them uncomfortable. Just because someone is a "nice guy" doesn't mean he can't be inappropriate or thoughtless in his actions.
2
The women quoted in this article enthusing about Biden’s hugs sure aren’t doing their sisters any favors. Looking over their quotes:
“He’s just so warm,”
“We’re in a period of time right now where we need hugs,”
“that’s just my nature, we greet people, hug people”
They’re feeding right into the sexists’ notions that women are more influenced by their emotions than their rationality.
2
seeking a hug is not the same as an unwanted or surprise touch of any kind.
3
if Biden was smart, whether or not there are those "in an act of defiance" want to hug him, he should show restraint. Sure, some are sincere, but the optics are awful. And some..well..are probably not sincere.
I'll wager there will be, after the fact, complaints, about Biden's wandering hands, "he groped me" accusations, and other intimations in inappropriate behavior---courtesy of the Trump campaign.
Joe Biden has been through tremendous pain and loss in his life, more than most. Personal tragedy often increases empathy and I sense this is predominantly the source of the warmth he conveys and his impulse to connect on a tangible level. Many people respond to this positively, and even for those who don't, a genuine hug is different than a lecherous grope and we need to be able to tell the difference.
14
Oh hey, no-one objects to Biden hugging or even hair-sniffing if the people are consenting to it.
10
@Jennie As it is very hard to seek and obtain consent at public events with media everywhere, it's best to refrain in my opinion. I would make allowances if he were a great statesmen with a great mind and proven integrity, but he isn't.
1
Just imagine if Trump were giving the unsolicited hugs, back rubs, handsy inappropriate behavior towards women. It is this double standard that is so clearly hypocritical.
9
@SMS Trump has a history of sexual abuse and innumberable marital affairs. That's the difference.
When Trump leaves the White House, there are 19 sexual harassment law suits waiting for him.
5
Yeah, trump assaults women in private, he is SO much better.
1
@um......I'm pretty sure already has at least 14 suits against him for his behavior against women...
SMS
3
Nobody sensible would give a rats about a hug. Unless they are semi-professsional outrage takers.
23
America needs a hug.
17
Gag...I’m trying to hold my breakfast down.
8
I’d rather our president hug US citizens than Putin.
17
The anti-huggers remind me of those who would forbid any touching in a middle school dance.
20
I would gladly accept a hug any day from Mr. Biden.
23
I bet Joe Biden is an excellent hugger. Count me in that line.
13
By the same token, Ms. F, you have no right to police whether or not some of the voters would like a hug from Joe.
12
Why do you have to call adult women ‘defiant??’ Sounds like you’re talking about two year olds. Just stop infantilizing women, okay?
13
I'd love a hug from Biden and there is absolutely no doubt in my m in my mind that if he gave me one it wd be non-sexual.
18
It takes two to hug
10
Interesting that all the anecdotal examples in this anecdotal article are middle-aged women. I don't know if that's because that's the only demographic Biden appeals to so that's whose at the events or if its because its the only demographic the Times writes for these days. But this article screams "we don't get it." Kinda like Biden.
8
@Marta
So middle-aged women don't get it. Is that what you think of Kamala Harris or Stacey Abrams? And I guess old women are surely worse, Warren is 70. Or is it just that women with whom you disagree don’t get it?
3
In my experience there are two kinds of people: huggers and non-huggers. I’m mostly a non-hugger.
That doesn’t mean I’m against hugging. There are people in my life that I am comfortable hugging, but they are all people I’m close to and have known for a long time. Then there are people who insist on hugging me even though I find it uncomfortable. It is awkward for, me not because I perceive it as sexual in any way, but just that I don’t feel close enough to that person to have that level of physical contact.
For me, a hug is a moment of close, personal contact. When a person to whom I don’t feel that close attempts to hug me, it makes me feel as if a social boundary has been crossed. I don’t believe I’ve ever experienced a hug that crossed a sexual boundary, but then I’m a male so it would be less likely for me than if I were a female.
Yet determined huggers seem to be on a mission to make the world a better place. They assume hugging to be an unqualified boon to social relations. It is as if they think that the social boundaries we create are impediments to a utopia than can be rectified only by giving up our personal space. Apparently we are resisting their hugs only to thwart the advance towards this utopia.
I go along with it, but to me social boundaries serve a purpose in clarifying the appropriate limits of relationships. In other words, just good manners, but that view doesn’t have much sway with determined huggers on a mission to make the world a better place.
7
Wouldn’t it be best to eliminate all hugging and similar contacts rather than observe some sliding scale of appropriateness?
2
@Marshall Doris
Don't go to France then, because you'll likely be expected to cheek-kiss. It's no more sexual than a hug and it takes some practice but it's worth the effort.
2
It's absolutely the creepiest thing I've ever seen and thankfully will never be elected.Peoples lives have been ruined for less gestures today and /or at the very least fired and you could have just said "I was only embracing a stranger"you're gone ,jobs over. That is to say not only in the work place ,try that in Walmart today or a McDonalds or on a preteen ,the police will be called ,guaranteed .This is so far beyond grotesque and perverted it's unimaginable knowing the history.
2
Can we stop with the constant backstory of women's gender based "defiance"? When they refuse his hugs, they're defiant. When they welcome his hugs, they're defiant.
11
@Wine Country Dude - :) I guess you have never been married. That's just the way it works.
2
The article actually quoted the toxic Lucy Flores’s assessment who Biden went far out of his way to so offer support? Well that is as far as I read. I think folks are well fed up with opportunists who self promote by hurting others with scurrilous accusations.
16
Why Sanders operative Flores is still being mentioned in a NYT article is beyond me. Trump and Sanders campaigns are not very different that they will say and do anything for political gain. One exploits racism and the other left wing, elitist and condescending political correctness and socialist orthodoxy.
13
The “Flores is a Bernie operative” narrative is a complete conspiracy theory. Flores complained about misconduct in the Sanders campaign as well.
3
More power to the huggers. Showing affection is a powerful weapon when it comes to the persuasive arts like politics.
As for the #Me Too crowd, Shakespeare was right when he sort of wrote "She thinks too much. Such women are dangerous."
The Democratic Party is both blessed and cursed having the creative and academic communities in it. The "squads" in it give it fire and passion which the party needs. Trouble is, they have to go bowling with us evil white men and have fun with each other. Just an idea.
3
I think some are missing the point.
Joe is a hugger. But not everybody wants a hug.
I respect your right to allow Joe to hug you. Please respect those of us who don't want or don't feel comfortable being hugged, or having him rub your shoulders, etc.
Joe should ask, "Can I hug you", or wait for you to ask him for a hug. Problem solved.
6
I’m voting for Joe Biden.
13
Consent is important. The women who accused Biden were talking about consent. I don’t understand what’s defiant about these women. They just seem like petty, misogynistic attention-seekers to me.
In some circles this type of behavior — discrediting other women to curry favor with a powerful man — among women is called “pick me!”
6
@RJR Look who is denigrating other women now! These women have no need to curry favor with Biden. He needs to curry favor with THEM. And clearly he is doing it right. You, honey, are already a lost cause.
1
I say that generalized public hugging should be set aside by politicians. There are thousands of constituents. Why give a time consuming hug to one or two of them? A hand clasp should be enough.
4
This may be a very radical request, but how about the NY Times publishes a story comparing the policies and positions of the candidates? Include their voting records, if they have any? (Andrew Yang hasn't held public office.) Also, who is backing them? Where are they getting the funds for their campaigns?
I have no desire for hugs or even handshakes from any political candidate, including my current favorite in this campaign. And I don't need fluff stories from the NY Times. You are supposed to be the newspaper of record. Policies, please.
9
To all those who refused to vote for Hillary and stayed home and to the Bernie fanatics who will write him in - the “reward” for all of us is a reconstituted Supreme Court with perhaps evil intentions that will last beyond the middle of this century. Poor Justice RBG can’t ever retire because of that knowledge.
Joe has known great suffering in his life. His hugs reveal the man’s inherent humanity something we can use more of.
18
@Retired Teacher - To all of those who backed Hillary knowing she had terrible approval ratings, was under FBI investigation, and was arrogant as they come - the "reward" is Trump.
Don't blame me because I didn't fall down and worship at the feet of Hillary.
3
@Retired Teacher
I am so sick of people blaming Trump on people who preferred Bernie to Hillary. Hillary was a lousy candidate but most of us voted for her anyway--a lot more than those who voted for Trump out of racism, misogyny, or just because they wanted bigger tax cuts. And Hillary won the popular vote.
4
I guess it doesn’t take much to be “defiant”!
2
I don't wants a hug from this dude. My wife does not either.
We want a president who can lead.
Joe Biden is not that guy.
Keep your hugs, we need a leader.
6
Who do you suggest? Biden would lead circles around the currant occupant.
Biden's hugging issue is just like Obama's tan suit controversy. Please, see Biden as a person as whole and put his hugging into context. He is a compassionate person. That's the way he expresses his caring.
18
I saw Biden at a fundraiser Tuesday night. I thanked him for his focus on cancer - given my own experience with breast cancer - and he held my face in his hands and then held my shoulder and hand as we talked. He could not have been more kind. I was not remotely bothered and found him to be warm and sincere. I mentioned this on Facebook after the fact and many tried to classify his behavior as "groping." Trust me as a woman who has worked my entire life in male dominated industries I know the difference and in no way did Biden cross a line with me. I found his warmth and caring one of his most positive attributes.
166
@Barbara Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience!
18
@Food runner
I'm not a Biden supporter; I want to see Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren as our 46th President.
That said, with respect to this hugging discussion, this ludicrous out of control discussion, I see nothing wrong with Joe Biden or any other human being hugging one and another, and frankly if more people would put down their smartphones, and stop the fixation with the mindnumbing monotony of social media, and hug each other more often, I believe we would have a more concerned and empathetic society.
8
@Barbara
You don't think it was groping but the people who responded on FACEBOOK obviously thought different.
The answer is for Biden to just stop this now.
It's going to stop women under 40 for voting for Biden in the general election.
Biden needs to learn to reach out and shake your hand and thank you for your support. He shouldn't be grabbing anybody.
6
As an elementary school teacher, I’ve never initiated hugs with any student, but I never turned a student away who wanted one.
14
I wonder if Ms. Flores' family agree with her stance on "hugs?" I come from a latin family and hugs are a part of our culture. In fact, it is considered an rude if you don't hug or give a peck on the check even when a friend or a family member introduces you to a stranger. Just ask the French!
37
@bea durand - My Samoan neighbors are the same way. Big hugs with kisses on both cheeks. I try to suffer through but it does creep me out.
1
1. Do the consensual hugs negate his recent, poor kids are as capable as white kids gaffe? His opposition to true access to health care for all? I know older white "centrists" feel comfortable with Joe. But they are not the only voters. Warren has a fire and passion for those who aren't sitting on healthy retirement nest eggs.
2. A consensual hug is okay. It's the non-consensual ones that are not. The hugs these voters are asking for does nothing to cancel out the legitimate discomfort experienced by those who did not ask for them. Shame on anyone who says otherwise.
9
Good for them. I'll hug him, too, if I ever have the chance. More hugs, less hate.
28
It is hardly news that women have a wide range of takes on Biden's behavior, perhaps age related. But the issue is not the women, it's Biden - can HE adjust? After all he is running as a "proven leader." So lead. Show respect for the variety of viewpoints, stop the generational defensiveness, adjust your current behavior if you want to be a role model for 2020 and beyond.
Judging from some of the comments, somewhere Henry Higgins is still singing "Why can't a woman be more like me?" You'd think that after Cosby, USA gymnastics, Epstein and Harvey Weinstein to name a few, there would be a realization that not everyone feels like you do, not everyone has the power to say stop, that not everyone who reports is over-reacting and that sometimes people we like do bad things. We could all just take a breath and listen.
33
@Susan R
Epstein, Cosby and Weinstein should not be mentioned along side Bide. I take your point, Susan, but really, seriously, you're the one out of line.
7
How is it defiant to solicit a hug? No one is criticizing solicited physical contact. Unsolicited / unwelcome physical contact is an entirely different issue.
14
Good for them! These days I'll take all the hugs I can get.
10
Most can sense when someone will respond to a hug. A old coworker of mine and I hugged not long ago. She initiated it. I saw another old coworker, not a hugger, and we didn't hug.
Seems as if Biden sometimes got it wrong. Best to let the other person to lead the way on hugs, Joe, at least when it comes to women. A man would forget about the hug in a minute, but gals are different, in case you haven't noticed.
12
We need a leader, not a hugger.
I didn't see him hugging Anita Hill after he sandbagged, ruined her life, and left her high and dry (sans the apology).
I'm over him. I don't believe he is the best chance to win. People want change.
The majority of women will not support him, neither will progressives, who view him as more of the same, and the youth vote sees him as out of touch.
12
@Hope More of the same? He's the one that got Obama to support gay marriage.
7
@Hope
If you haven’t noticed, Trump is in the White House and he’s running again in 2020.
I hope the sane people in this country can put aside their differences and send Trump packing. I would happily vote for any of the top 4 challengers - Whomever has the best chance of beating Trump. We can’t afford another mistake like 2016.
9
@meritocracy now In my opinion, Biden is exactly the same mistake as 2016, and I don't remember many Dems thinking HRC was a mistake back then either.
1
Whether it's hugs or simple calculations of electability, what leftist Democrats just don't "get" is that Joe Biden is simply "likable".
Unlike Warren, Harris or Sanders (to name a few of the winnowing field of candidates) Biden comes across as that nice guy you'd enjoy having a chat with across a dinner table.
The strident ideologues that arise from the activist wing of the Democratic Party come off as driven scolds who want to talk at you. Joe Biden isn't like that. He's had his ups and downs, his wins and losses and so seems like the rest of us "ordinary Democrats".
It is Biden's genuineness that gives his the ability to reach across the political spectrum. His "test" is overcoming the activist ideologues in the primaries to achieve the nomination. If nominated this competent if malaprop "decent guy" will present a positive contrast to the nasty incumbent. And that will attract the votes of moderate and even mildly conservative Republicans and Independents -- something the Democratic candidate has to do in order to gain the White House.
38
We have friends and family for dining with. If loudly objecting to students being saddled with debt and big pharma making obscene profits is strident I guess my vote is with strident. We need a leader, not a hug from a stranger. Where are the priorities of the pro Biden group? Maybe with not long to live and plenty of money to live on they just don't care about anyone else.
3
@George - Joe Biden is likeable to some people. I would not even stay in the same room with the guy.
3
Whew! I’m glad to know I’m not a leftist, because Joe Biden is a stranger to me neither likable or unlikable. But certainly not likable… Which means I’m not a leftist! Yay!
We should learn to trust people more. We don't have to pass legislation and form an advocacy group to get through the day.
4
Yes lets change the democratic party so we remain a minority and snobbish urban lot while Donald Trump and ( more scared of future ones in GOP shadows ) that will rule us and ask us " to go when we came from" although we did not come in boats unlike his family some 100 year back!
Did we forget that USA will soon will lose the right for Woman's choice via Supreme court ruling
So we will lose our voice towards our daughters and will not be able to see in their eyes and tell we "Failed" them in a whim to make a "smooch" free world!
8
@weary traveller
The U.S. citizen who serves overseas in military or foreign service (or civilian) jobs will soon lose the right to marry a foreign national and have their children born overseas recognized as U.S. citizens. This, as of the latest headlines.
I said over and over again that the U.S. 2016 election was perhaps the most critical for all of the 21st century. I believe I was proven right.
If I thought Elizabeth Warren could take Donald Trump in 2020, I'd consider voting for her.
I don't. And I won't. Period.
4
“We’re in a period of time right now where we need hugs,” said Mary McWhorter, 72, after sharing an embrace with Mr. Biden at a campaign stop in Charleston, S.C.
Nope. We are in a period of time where we need safe and legal access to abortion. We need universal healthcare. We need a sustainable planet. We need criminal justice reform. We need a compassionate, effective immigration reform. I can get hugs from my husband and children. From my next president, I need liberty and justice for all.
48
@AH
The two things we need--hugs, and liberty and justice for all--are not mutually exclusive.
And if you seriously mean to suggest that after the onslaught of Donald Trump, decent people don't need hugs of comfort and support, perhaps you need another 4 years. . . .
32
@AH not mutually exclusive. Hugs are welcome and free. Biden is a naturally warm person. Clearly many of his detractors are not.
8
@DameAlys I didn't say I didn't need hugs of comfort and support--I said I could get them from my husband and children, and that it's not what I need from a political candidate.
Perhaps I need another 4 years? Wow, that's an awful thing to say to someone. Now I need a hug to comfort me from that!
2
Or maybe, ten years from now, when JBiden's exiting public office, some brave soul will come forward, tearfully outlining to the press, how she was inappropriately touched during the 2020 presidential campaign & seeks compensatory damages. I know, it stretches the imagination but, it could happen.
3
This is not news, and Ms. Flores is a perfect example of how we Democrats cannibalize each other over low-impact things. Stay focused on the big issues! Do what the Republicans do!
20
I fondly recall the lovely and warm Michelle Obama hugging countless admirers.....it was a wonderful gesture then and remains so now..
30
To Anon, from one more old lady:
Amen to all you wrote!!!
In the good old US of A, we have let the bad guys win. Because some touch others with malice aforethought, we now have a new crime: Touching Without Consent.
Now, some (women of certain demographics in particular) are triggered by mere touch alone, never mind contextual cues and clues: to have lost the ability (or even the instinctual disposition) to discern good from bad, that is a social tragedy. It is also a personal tragedy for every person who has suffered such a loss. Instinct and cultural discernment have been "trained out" of such people, and they are left victims to the cue itself (Touch=BAD). We've raised a generation (or two) of Ready Victims.
I'm reminded of "perfume allergies." Now, it is known that very few are allergic, but remember when we went from almost everyone wearing perfume to having to guard against being Scent-Shamed if someone next to us so much as caught a whiff of French Pear from our handsoap?
Seems we Americans are trigger-happy in more ways than one. And it's a crying shame, from my old-lady POV.
19
"To them, it’s one of many examples of Mr. Biden, 76, appearing out of step with the progressive norms shaping today’s Democratic Party."
I’m an old lady but when I was younger the ‘progressives’ were all free hugging hippies reacting to the cold, repressed 1950’s. I live in the land of the old hippy now, and I realize that I generally prefer the warmth and humor of the old progressives to this new version.
67
@Anon
“Free-hugging hippies” proves this is just a generational thing.
Gen-X experienced, even reveled in the after-effects of the Boomer free-love wave washing back and forth over our culture with legendary institutions like the perpetual touring scene of the Grateful Dead and like-spirited festivals which led to the ecstasy-fueled, free-loving rave culture of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. I can’t tell you how many times I was hugged or spontaneously hugged someone else, male and female, in the midst of communal musical euphoria and I retain only good humanistic vibes from those moments. Innocent hugging that celebrated our shared humanity was free and plentiful in all of these scenes.
Given all the truly creepy men outside of those scenes who have grabbed me or come on a bit too hard, I’d gladly and eagerly accept an innocent hug from good-ole Uncle Joe. He’s earned my trust and openness with a lifetime of public service and honest-to-goodness, bleeding-heart humanity. Ms. Flores with her gaggle of uptight silly geese can go pound sand (or the more colorful salt of Max Yasgur) for all I care.
9
@Anon
I go back to that time. We were tree - hugging, not free-hugging, hippies...in Vermont, anyway.
2
Women are not children and are perfectly capable of accepting or rejecting overtures. And politicians are capable of discerning when their overtures, which should be tentative, are desired or not.
46
@R. Anderson
I often wonder why so many teenagers especially the NYC girls fell for the line that Mr. Epstein was handing out? female teenagers are far from being naïve who in their right mind would go to a mansion and think you were there to read an earth science book. You go to a library to study not a mansion.
Everyone should keep their hands to themselves ,we are a soulless society that takes advantage of each other on a regular basis. Very few of us even know how to be kind. So why pretend otherwise.
It was pathetic that women were complaining to the newspaper that Mr. Biden gave them a unwanted hug, or touched their hair. Yet we listen to the constant harping by a draft dodger that certain women are not his type. Dont hear the talking heads complaining about the draft dodger.
If Mr. Biden wants to take a chance and give someone a hug, either accept it or graciously decline but lets stop making a mountain out of kindness. I fail to see what the point is that people are trying to make.
7
These "acts of defiance" are in part a direct consequence of (and a reaction to) a minority of the #metoo movement not being able to tell the difference between Harvey Weinstein and Al Franken.
158
And the dems will lose if they don't figure out the difference, stat. To start, they should read the comments in yesterday's NYT, in response to gillibrand's departure from the race. Women like these quoted, women like me were thrilled: we believe she purposely attached Franken to get him out of her way. The fact that this backfired so badly on her should be the wake up call to dems: your voters are not babies, we need nobody's protection from a man we seek out (be that Biden or any one else). We just want a) our reproductive rights protected and b) a nominee who can beat trump.
29
@Kevin H.
I agree. There was absolutely no due process and I hope Al Franken runs again.
24
@Kevin H.
Your words express exactly how I feel. Thank you. We still need Al Franken.
22
Flores needs "to get a life" as the expression goes if she is so traumatized by a hug. Thankfully she never met trump in an elevator alone. She is the one that needs to evolve. Humans have been embracing for a long long time and it is meant as a sign of comfort and assurance. An easy solution is for Joe to say when he senses a person wants or needs a hug to say simply "Do you need a hug". It would give the other person a chance to make that decision.
67
Hugs or not, Biden is the best candidate to defeat Trump in next year's presidential election. And, of course, he's had far, far more executive experience than any of his Democratic opponents. His age is of no consequence. I'm 89 and I challenge anyone to question my cognitive use of the English language. The only downside of age is that you're older.
150
@Henry Fellow
I would definitely challenge Biden's cognitive use of the English language. When he's not forgetting what state he's in or asserting that the assassination of MLK occurred in the 1970s, he's stringing together barely comprehensible sentences. Age is not necessarily a factor, but Biden comes across like a sun-downing old man whose brain is melting at a precipitous rate. I wouldn't let him anywhere near to a debate stage with Trump, let alone the levers of power.
12
@Henry Fellow Sometimes the downside of age is that you are not quite up to the challenges of the current time. I'll vote for Biden if he's my only choice otherwise, but I think this mindset that he's the only one who can beat Trump is damaging. We have several really good choices, and they aren't all old and out of touch. And please know that I near retirement age as I say that. I'm just tired of old white guys making laws that impact young women, young tech, young anything.
10
Nope. Intellectual ability and stamina begins to decrease at age 35. By age 70, dementia, forgetfulness, loss of physical and mental strength are on the way if they haven’t arrived yet. This isn’t “ageism”; it’s the natural law of mortality.
12
Oh please, we need more than a hugger to stop this unhinged cyclone in the WH.
"Good ole Sleepy Joe" needs to show a heck of a lot more fire, fight and outrage in this campaign.
He needs to be better prepared for debates, take his campaign to stop the moron in the WH much more seriously, and stop referring to his good ole days with Obama.
News Flash, Joe:
You can talk about bipartisanship and "reaching across the aisle" all you want but Mitch McConnell made it clear on day one of the Obama presidency 11 years ago....Republicans ain't reaching across any aisle, anytime, anywhere, or anyhow.
Don't be a fool.
20
@JM reaching across the aisle is still preferable to Today’s bipartisanship, just because someone, Mr. Moscow-Mitch, sets a bad example doesn’t mean that’s the example we will follow. Who knows maybe the good people of Kentucky will send him home in the next election.
3
@JM
You know what, I like Joe, I like his enthusiasm and I like what he stands for.
You are in the minority on this issue and seem to think, if you throw a temper tantrum, that others will believe what you say.
Sorry, but Joe tells it like it is, with the occasional gaffe, and people trust, respect and like him.
He is great one on one in debates and will destroy Trump.
6
@JM
Sorry. But long about now, the "good ole days with Obama" look a whole lot better than what we're seeing now under Trump.
2
Generally speaking I am a hugger. But I try to make sure the person on the receiving end wants to be there, and if in doubt, I don't. Sometimes I don't want the hug, myself.
If I had to choose between an atmosphere where consensual hugs are acceptable but sometimes people are shamed or coerced or surprised into accepting hugs they don't want, and an atmosphere where people content themselves with a handshake, I'd choose the latter.
9
Excellent answer, Laua. I come from a non hugging family and never actually received my first hug until I was about 25 years old. Very few people ever touch me, but I do occasionally like to hug or be hugged. I am now of the view that one aught to be suspicious of those who never hug.
10
Future historians are likely to look back on these times and think:
“Wow, these people must have been exhausted.”
And they will be right. The mind field of the social media fueled, faux outraged, over hyped “sensitivity” of our times is exhausting.
Far more concerning, the hysteria deflects focus from true social ills which demand redress. Sexual assault, subjugation, racism; all have roots in poverty, inappropriate privilege and an abuse of power. The victims are largely unsung and the perpetrators largely unpunished.
Yet, on we go, our collective knickers in a frothing knot over issues and events rooted in trivia.
There is a reason Joe Biden has not yet been toppled by his turn in the bucket, either by many women or many African Americans. It is because we still possess the instinctive knowledge of character; the ability to sense good or evil in our fellow human beings. If we’re smart, we will hang on to this vestigal remnant of our humanity with both hands.
In the meantime, were I meet Joe Biden, I would welcome an enveloping hug, heart to heart, spirit to spirit.
Arms, and eyes, wide open.
S
73
@Susan Overstreet. Well said.
1
There is something so bizarre about all this that it's worth mentioning.
On the one hand, you have an avowed misogynist who has no problem admitting in public that he grabs women by their private parts, has had numerous extra-marital affairs and dalliances with "adult-entertainers" and a history of verbally abusing women in public.
While on the other hand, you have someone whose greatest offense is a pat on the back or shoulder, a complimentary word, or a comforting hug with no obvious malevolent intent.
And out come the villagers with the pitch-forks.
Fine. Some folks don't like it.
Some don't even know the difference.
But there's no way they're the same.
Wake-up, America.
237
@N. Smith
This is a classic problem with a minority of loud, immature liberals.
I like to think I am a calm, in the majority liberal. I want to win and get rid of Trump.
The shrill minority seem lost on the beach, complaining that they want the perfect starfish, and don't notice a tsunami is about to wipe them out.
I don't particularly care if they get swept out to sea, but I do care when they decide to take the rest of us with them.
38
@N. Smith. I think you forgot the part that he sniffs.
I mean, groping is one thing, but sniffing a woman, well that's really sick!
8
@N. Smith You guys are missing the whole point...not everyone grew up in a time where hippies were the "enemy". We live in a time now where there are a lot of downplaying sexual assault, and pretending like it's okay to be handy as long as the person is likable. Hey I got an idea, how about stop groping and touching people unless you know them. Nobody is saying joe biden is a pervert, but the guy clearly needs to check himself. WHEN is it ever okay to sniff the hair of a stranger, if you did that at work, you would be fired, I guarantee it.
34
I’m involved in politics where I’ve been with anywhere from Presidential candidates to local representatives and hugging is ubiquitous where I live. Interestingly enough, as a man, I’m on the receiving end of female hugs by any number of our candidates. I continue to not hear any talk about vile women who hug men at events and meetings. If we can’t differentiate between harassment and genuine warmth, our society has even greater problems than many feared. Context matters. During the George W. Bush era, that administration made everything into a simplistic black or white situation with no shades of gray in between. It’s interesting that a decade plus since Bush, too many of our left are doing the same thing.
112
@Todd
"If we can’t differentiate between harassment and genuine warmth, our society has even greater problems than many feared."
I could not agree more. Well said Todd. And this is coming from a gal who has experienced horrific harassment and genuine warmth.
20
@Todd
"If we can’t differentiate between harassment and genuine warmth, our society has even greater problems than many feared."
Indeed. Those that thrive on actual harassment benefit from such an environment. Thus #45.
...Andrew
14
@Todd The point is that it is the individual recipient. In the situation where an embrace of a supporter might be welcome, or where a supporter is offering a hug, it would probably take two seconds to judge body language to determine if such contact would be well received or make that person uncomfortable. Two seconds and judgement.
3
Interesting how Biden keeps getting front page articles, which effectively promote his candidacy, when other candidates don’t. I see Warren on the front page sometimes too, which is as it should be, and the articles are about her policies and background...not about how much people like her and like to hug her. What about Bernie, Kamala, and the others who will be in the next debate? I would like to see more equal coverage. And I’d like to see articles about their policies, rather than their likeability.
28
@Teresa
These NYT articles are nearly always negative including this one with its long Flores quote. Or perhaps you are in the Oscar Wilde/Brendan Behan school of thought that the only bad publicity is no publicity.
2
@Teresa
The NYT has never given “ equal” coverage to Senator Sanders. It’s a corporate paper, after all.
2
I am confused as to why this is an issue. If you don’t want to be hugged, don’t be hugged. It really isn’t that important. Hugging is a human thing. People hug!
16
@MW - As a child, my bipolar former Marine Corps mother would beat the crap out of me for any and all infractions. Without warning, she would just grab a handful of hair and start wailing on my back because I chewed my food too slowly at the dinner table or asked about some guy she used to date. How was I supposed to know she had married the guy twice? I wear a crewcut to this day as a defensive move.
If a person touches me for any reason without warning I immediately go into defensive mode. And at my size and with my little bit of martial arts training, you will more than likely be on the ground wondering what happened before I can finish a thought.
If I want you to rub my shoulders or sniff my hair, I will in plain English ask for it but otherwise keep your hands to yourself, period.
2
Huggins is truly the biggest non-issue of this campaign.
17
@Vivid Hugh
Who is Huggins and what did they do?
Imagine the front page articles and opinion pieces in the NY Times if some Republican candidate publicly said that it made him uncomfortable to see another male candidate making public physical embrace with a male. The Times would be filled with rabid condemnation of the Republican making a complaint.
But here Flores does similarly and she is not only excused, but the focus is on how objectionable should the behavior of the offending candidate be. What outrageous hypocrisy!
Flores' comfort is irrelevant. Her public complaint is nothing other than a cynical attempt to gain votes by appealing to the emotions of women who are angry at men in general. The nation will be better off as soon as Flores is gone from the public scene.
17
@Errol
Errol, I don't think the Times is agreeing with Flores.
I am a liberal and thought this article exposed her as a mindless chatterbox flailing about trying to tell everyone else how to live their lives.
She is actually more like conservatives than you might realize, in that she insists everyone else has to live their lives in a certain way-their way. The difference- conservatives want to tell women they cannot get an abortion, cannot use contraceptives, cannot marry another woman and cannot serve in the military.
1
@Texas Duck
Unfortunately, a great many people insist that others live their lives in a certain way. Some of those who insist are conservatives, some are liberals. Such insisting is the basis for all of our laws. Nearly all of our political differences and disputes are disagreements about what way others must live their lives, not whether others must live their lives in a certain way.
If you really opposed all such insisting, then you really would be a libertarian. But it is true that some of us believe in fewer restrictions on everyone's liberty while others want more restrictions. I think it would be wise to evaluate every politicians proposals and ask whose liberty will be restricted and by how much if it were enacted. I think you would quickly discover that there isn't as much difference as is commonly believed between liberals and conservatives, that neither really believe in individuals having very much freedom.
1
The glossy photo and text read like a Biden campaign ad. The issues that voters care about are health insurance, education, climate change, wealth inequality, civil rights, campaign finance, and foreign policy. Please help us understand Joe Biden’s record and his public policy proposals, and leave this “fluff” material for Biden’s team. They can pay for this brand of fluff story on their own nickel.
19
Like Dave Chappelle's comments about #Metoo, it's getting way overblown, people are offended by everything, basically offended by nothing. Nothing about Biden, his persona, his past record, his actions, suggest any kind of harrassment of anyone, just maybe a little old fashioned. He's the only one running that I could possibly vote for .
41
"To them, it’s one of many examples of Mr. Biden, 76, appearing out of step with the progressive norms shaping today’s Democratic Party."
Interesting how times change.
The Democratic party is known historically, well, at least since FDR and the New Deal, as the party of compassion. What better way to show compassion to someone than a hug?
The danger I see of the #MeToo movement is a regression to our overly puritanical roots. Roots that many in my generation (1960's) fought to root out!
Remeber The Scarlet Letter? Are students even required to read it anymore? If not, they should, for that's what we're headed back to.
25
From what I've seen, the women approaching Biden to hug him are all over about 50 yo.
Is this observation correct?
Can we use this observation to make a prediction on how this cohort would vote in an election? So interesting.
8
Here's Biden's winning campaign slogan to go with those hugs and smiles: I'll never lie to you or tweet to you.
5
Joe Biden has women standing in line waiting for a hug.
Donald Trump has women standing in line ready to sue him for sexual assault.
D for decency; R for rapacious pillaging and plundering.
44
@Socrates
I'd rather be Bidened than Trumped...
2
@Socrates
Odd but in the recent past you've not appeared to like Joe, even calling him elderly.
Let Joe be Joe. He has the best chance to defeat Trump
13
Ms. Flores may be deluded into thinking that she speaks for all women, but she doesn't!
Some of us grew up before the age of the prudish "touch me not" era.
I don't recall Ms. Flores getting all upset about Biden's hugs, when he was helping her out.
As far as I am concerned, she is just using the #metoo movement to get publicity. No one knew who she was until she started whining about Biden.
It is a shame that some women feel the need to use men that have helped them, in order to elevate themselves. (i.e. Gillibrand.) And yes, I'm a woman.
124
@1 bite at a time
Whether you agree with Ms Flores or not, Joe Biden has a woman problem. He touches when he shouldn't and he says dumb antiquated things like telling girls not to get married before they are 30.
That might have been great 50 years ago, but that is the best advice a former VP can come up with for a young woman?
Sad.
10
@1 bite at a time Kalama Harris is another deceitful opportunist that made believe as a good family friend of Biden's for years, used Biden for her senate election. Then threw a disgraceful below the belt punch to Biden and victimized herself, "I was the little girl." Both Harris and Gillibrand are not strong women. Strong women have strong moral compass. They both are simply calculated and ruthless women. And yes, I'm also a woman.
7
@mj
Really if touching is an issue, why are you not out protesting against a serial rapist who is in the white house?. Why were you not out complaining against the sexual predator who is now on the Supreme Court thanks to Susan Collins. I rather have a great hug from Joe Biden than have my rights taken away by a fake religious man like Pence and a sexual predator like Trump
Yes, we live in different times but maybe people want to feel human and want a hug We wanted a hug from Robert F. Kennedy and my parents went to his rallies. Maybe with all of the hate swirling around us constantly people need at this point in time the touch of humanity.
.Dont want a hug just walk away but stop with this constant self righteous head set.
Just think maybe people dont want to hug you either.
7
I wonder how the electorate would treat Elizabeth or Kamala if they were inclined to hug men “warmly.” Yet, if they are rightfully reserved, they are deemed cold and arrogant. This is really a non-news issue. Frankly, I don’t care. What I would like to see on the front page is the latest egregious act from this administration. That is: Its sending letters to immigrants here under the Deferred Medical Action rule to leave within the month, taking their critically ill kids with them. Discuss, Joe and fellow candidates.
24
@Kathy Lollock
The people receiving Medical Deferred Action letters are not “immigrants,” they are illegal aliens. The form letter denying their request to delay deportation states clearly that these individuals are present in the US contrary to law and are not authorized to remain in the US. Nevertheless, I too would like to see a front page article about this “egregious act.” I would like to know who is paying their medical costs. I suspect the proposed free healthcare for illegal aliens is already in action.
4
I for one would really like it if I got a warm hug from Elizabeth or Kamala! In fact where's the line for that?
1
@Lynn in DC I'd rather pay for that than pay for another golf weekend.
1
Don’t know what’s worse the attack on Biden’s hugging or the attack on Bernie’s hair in 2016
5
These women are not playing the neo feminist, men are always wrong, and they must be castrated or neutered game.
If you want to hug or be hugged do it. If you don't like it tell the other person to stop and don't make a federal case out of it yrs. later.
If you follow paragraph one, you will help re elect the ego maniac demagogue Trump like Hillary so enabled in 2016.
If you follow paragraph two, you will help get rid of Trump in 2020.
21
Why are we still concerned with what Lucy Flores has to say? She's a bernie-bro. It was an opportunistic cheap shot.
61
@Sam
Exactly!
7
Lucy Flores complained about misconduct in the Sanders campaign as well. A fact the Times always seems to leave out when they are implying that her Biden complaint was done for political reasons to help Bernie. Flores is an activist. The Biden allegation has nothing to do with Bernie.
1
It's my place to ask for a hug, not the other person's divine right to simply step in and take one.
A simple hug is just another form of affection, compassion, and support for another person.
That being said, I too would stand in line and ask Mr. Biden if I could give HIM a hug. I just like the guy and would like to wish him well and good luck.
43
On July 10, 2009, Vice President Biden gave a talk at Clifton Park High School in Clifton Park NY, about midway between Albany and Saratoga. He was there to advocate for newly inaugurated President Obama's stimulus package. I was one of the first people on line for the talk because I, too, was a victim of Great Recession; at 46, I just lost my job not two months earlier, so I had time on my hands and wanted to see Biden whom I always admired. WTEN, the local ABC affiliate noticed me and decided to lead their 6 o'clock newscast on Biden's visit and my response to it, so they interviewed me before and after, but also filmed me in the audience during the speech. (I was not looking my best not expecting this.)
Regardless, I made sure I did one thing:
After the talk, Biden shook hands and would not leave until I got to take his hand for a few seconds and tell him to run in 2016. He said "We'll see."
That was a long way off from 2009 of course back then with him just becoming VP, but despite the gaffs, attacks, and personal heartaches that he has gone through, I am glad that he is still "in the arena" and running. He may not be the great energizing candidate, but he is deeply appealing to independents like me and I would be happy to see him be our President - and to know that I shook the hand and spoke with a President of the United States.
27
@VJR Can you say why no hug at that time?
@Margo
I want to know where I can buy a crystal ball too, because I don’t see where in the comment VJR identified their gender. Or would Biden giving a man a hug be similarly offensive?
@VJR
When President Obama was in office, we had the chance to see decency every day. We miss President Obama's character. With Mr. Biden we have an opportunity to reclaim who we were. We have an opportunity to have a second chance. We need this second chance in order to hold on to democracy and decency. I am sorry that there is so much hate directed to Mr. Biden n these comments. How did we get to be so soulless.
5
I truly love this idea.
I would love to have Joe Biden sniff my hair every day (although, as others have pointed out, he was taking a deep breath which he does before going onstage, and Ms. Flores incorrectly made it about her).
36
These women have to grow up. We don't need a daddy to hug us, we need someone who understands the issues that women have to confront in their day-to-day lives.
22
@theresa - Maybe these women should have voted for someone like that then. 53% of white women voted for Trump
2
@theresa
"These women have to grow up."
Ah, yes, the respect for other cultures demanded by the self-proclaimed progressives.
...Andrew
4
@Theresa: I’m sure you realize that not everyone views the world from your perspective. Telling other adults to “grow up” is demeaning. Can’t we agree to disagree without inflicting our opinions, and they’re only that, on others in a put down manner?
6
Non-issue.
He's a nice, warm and sincere old fellow who can beat Trump and will make a great president for ALL of us.
Give it a rest.
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@Nial McCabe Thank you! I couldn't agree more....
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@Nial McCabe completely disagree. He cares nothing about climate change, is vested with corporations and wall street, and can't remember if it is 1980 or 2080..I find his shoulder rubs disgusting, and I don't trust him to act for humanity over corporations. He thinks he can work with republicans?? Good god..We can do better than another old white man, and for gods sake, we need to do better.
2
Good for these Joe huggers. We need to distinguish between lechery and affection.
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@Leslie letchers often disguise their actions as affection.
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@WomanUp
No, see, affection is affection and both parties know it.
2
Slow news day on the campaign trail? Yet another article on Joe Biden’s personal style of hugging. BTW, he also shakes hands with people, both men and women. Ms Flores seems more than a little preoccupied by something thus far undefined which she calls “important nuances,” which she fears the rest of us are missing. She’s here to remind us that every silver lining has a cloud attempting to obscure it.
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@Voter
She also sells patriarch busters merchandise on her website.
“It doesn’t have to rise to the level of sexual assault or illegal sexual harassment in order for it to be wrong,”
Hugs ... wrong? Do these people even listen to themselves?
Rock those hugs, ladies! It's about time someone had the temerity to push back against the normalization of neurosis in the younger generation. If you want to see Trump unseated in 2020, there's no way around it.
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@1000Autumns
Yeah. I listen to myself just fine. No touchie. Get it?
Joe is a dinosaur. He needs to go.
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@mj
Actually Trump needs to go.
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@mj
With the caveat that, of course, everyone has the absolute right—in the #MeToo era, I would even say, moral obligation—to firmly establish their personal boundaries. No argument there. On the other hand, if you would like to redefine hugs as a taboo worthy of social sanction, that’s not a world I care to live in, please wait til I’m dead.
But more importantly, food for thought: Please consider how a story like this plays in the nation at large. According to a recent, nationwide poll (whose name escapes me but I have seen it cited in numerous articles over the past few months) about 8% of the electorate describe themselves as far Left, while 25% describe themselves as far Right. That leaves 67% of the country somewhere in the middle. So, my point, mj, is how do you imagine a story like this plays with the broad spectrum of voters in the middle?
@DaveD
Dum spiro, spero.
2
Better to write in Bernie and stand for our Democracy then bow to a DNC and Media controlled election.
Is one form of dictatorship different than the other? Trump corporate Dynasty or DNC and corporations!
Now we must take back the control of our vote, sadly, within our own party and also from the corporate media.
Write in Bernie, if we must. Together, Sanders/Warren will certainly stop the Trump control. Almost 3 million people already voted for them with their donations. More than any other candidate. With Biden we loose the young, the real future of our country. Just look at the following 16 year old Greta Thunberg has, a true inspiration, not a Svengali spell like Trump creates.
All
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@s.whether Voted for Trump in the last election too, did you?
6
Do you enjoy Trump’s leadership that much?
7
Thanks to you and others who share your thinking, our country and the world have been suffering, during the last long 3 years, with that present occupant of our White House and a Senate full of vipers. Do your mischief once again and I guarantee another 4 years of world domination by those you claim to abhor.
11
Consensual hugs are nice. Gaffes during global trade negotiations are not.
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I have a hard time believing that this is a front-page story in the Times. Women are interested in a lot more important things than whether Biden is huggable or not. Give us the policy debates, the policy records, the record of governance. This kind of article diminishes women and their political acumen and achievements. Women in their sixties and seventies accomplished access to birth control and abortion, the equal pay act, the first viable candidates for the highest offices of the land, greater representation of women in all areas of expertise, a significant presence in journalism (including their own political organs) the list goes on and on. But the Times keeps running articles about older women that simply trivializes them. Getting tired of it.
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@Ann "...But the Times keeps running articles about older women that simply trivializes them."
Why is it that some people, just as with Ms. Flores, think that they are the voice of every person that happens to share a characteristic with them.
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@Ann - So do you prefer a hug from Biden or being grabbed by Trump?
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@mrpisces
Are these our only two alternatives?
6
There is nothing "wrong" with Joe Biden. There is no malice in his actions. If he needs a primer on personal space, fine. But is he out of step? Is honor, service, intelligence, experience out of step? Or is the *overreach* of the #MeToo movement out of step? Is it a temporary aberration and, like Big Hair, we'll all be glad when it's gone and only the best elements of that movement remain?
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@Slowman "Or is the *overreach* of the #MeToo movement out of step?"
Do you mean that women are accusing men of things that you don't feel are all that serious? How about we let those women decide that?
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@Slowman
There is something VERY WRONG to label and marginalize the voices of rape victims as an "aberration and, like Big Hair, we'll all be glad when it's gone."
8
@AW - There are plenty of us women who feel the same way. And since the over-reachers of #MeToo affect many men, men are entitled to have opinions on the matter. Denying that is one of the over-reaches, just as they also shut our opinions of it down, saying we're deluded, in denial, we haven't dealt with our own experiences yet, we're WRONG. When women who have experienced sexual assault and harassment are shouted down by other women who also have been, just because we don't agree with them on every single issue they raise, they do the same thing they accuse men of: Denying us our own voice.
7
I am ashamed to say it, but I am a handshaker not a hugger.
3
@Moses Cat
"I am ashamed to say it, but I am a handshaker not a hugger."
As am I, although I've no shame about it. We are not all the same.
When a school official took his departure of me the other day, he hugged me. That's his culture, and I can respect that. We are not all the same.
...Andrew
1
Wow Biden really has no shame
3
@Kim. Oh come on. Look for the best in your fellow human beings and maybe you will find that a pat on the back, a comforting hand on the shoulder, or even a good old fashioned hug is a display of warmth, understanding, empathy, and caring. I prefer to believe that the normal world isn’t out there trying to cop a feel.
1
Go for it Joe. MAHA
In his situation it was a ridiculous criticism.
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@Arthur
This is likely the most rational comment to this piece.
The most interesting article about a non-issue that I have read. Kind of the political analysis version of the Seinfeld show.
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