And naturally the topic of the pardon came up (because I brought it up lol). I asked her her thoughts on stories like this, Democrats coming out to "tut tut." While she's just a cog in a party apparatus in a very red state, she offered a perspective I hadn't read on here.
She asked me if I'd seen the eight-, nine-minute mash-up of Democratic elected officials, supportive media personalities, etc, back in June praising President Biden and his dedication to the rule of law, the independence of the Justice Dept., and so on and so on. I said I hadn't, so we watched a couple of minutes of it until I'd had my fill.
She then explained whether I thought maybe some of those praising Biden back then might feel like they'd been betrayed and a little embarrassed now. No, I hadn't, I said. Why would he have said that back then so strongly and definitively instead of something with a little more flexibility, I asked.
She reminded me that Biden was still running for president when he made those statements, so anything other than an absolute negative would not have been politically helpful at the time.
I was just stunned by that answer and what I saw as the raw, naked calculation of it all. She chuckled at my expense and said, "First time in politics?" (We've been friends since the Clinton Administration, so no offence taken.)
I then asked whether these way more experienced politicos wouldn't have thought of that back then when they were making those laudatory comments. Almost surely, she said. Most of these Democrats criticising the decision now is likely just posturing. Those whose feelings were truly hurt are most likely keeping it all at home and not in front of people with notebooks.
And the circumstances changing narrative? They sure did, she offered, in that Joe dropped out of the race, and then Kamala lost. She speculated that had Kamala won, Joe might not have granted the pardon (if it looked like it might cause her political problems). She said that everyone at the party HQ are wishing everyone would shut up about Hunter's legal problems being a political persecution, since it was not TFG's Justice Dept going after Hunter, but the Biden Administration's. Yeah, it shows Biden's belief in an independent Justice Dept, but that takes too long to explain on a CNN panel.
If anyone gave that blunt of an explanation re: the pardon here, I didn't come across it.
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