Later, he added: “I feel self-conscious”.
UPDATE: Since The A.V. Club is made up of sympathetic souls who understand you might not have the time to watch/listen to a 20-minute late-night clip in the middle of the day, we’ve cut the broadcast version of the Colbert-Biden summit down to our favorite bits. That sentiment is at the core of Donald Trump’s rise and has more than a little to do with the appeal of Bernie Sanders.
“We’d all be very happy if you did run“, he said.
Politicians sometimes show us actual authenticity – anger, fear, uncertainty, weakness – and it is usually a political liability. They want people willing to level with them even if they don’t like what they are being told.
“The truth is, it’s wrong to have an economy where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, where the American dream of mobility and opportunity has become more of a cruel myth”, Cuomo said at a New York City event with Vice President Joe Biden at his side. If Biden does get in, talk of his son will fade and he will face his own hard questions.
Though some have pointed out that Colbert’s beliefs don’t always line up with the Catholic Church – he doesn’t believe God condemned homosexuality or same-sex marriage, while Pope Francis has repeatedly voiced his support of traditional marriage, for example – the comedian doesn’t see contradiction, but complementary ideas. With a level of candor seen rarely in politics, he recalled a breakdown of his emotions during a recent visit to a Colorado military base when a well-wisher yelled out the name of his son and referenced his decorated military service in Iraq. His first wife and infant daughter were killed in a vehicle accident in 1972. Now Biden is back with those grieving families again.
The vice president’s grief was on full display during the interview, choking up several times when talking about his son.
After the rallying point of a funeral, there’s a period when the neighbors stop bringing the dishes of lasagna and you’re left alone with the loss. Instead, he asked his father if he – the VP – was going to be all right. I’m among them. He’s a compassionate human being, and he’s real.
Our hearts just break for the Bidens, and everything they’ve been through.
It echoes what the vice president said a week ago: That he would only run if he and his family had the “emotional energy” to do so.
Joe Biden has suggested he may be too grief stricken to join the presidential race, in his first television interview since his son, Beau, passed away.
“I was a hell of a success”.
JOE BIDEN: My mom used to say, “remember, nobody is better than you, but you’re better than nobody”.
The feedback loop of parenting is powerful. “It doesn’t mean you want it. I can hold both those ideas in my head”.