Attack Biden in the debate? Dem rivals might think twice

As the front-runner in the Democratic primary, Joe Biden is likely to be dodging arrows in Thursday’s debate.

But rival Democrats trying to distinguish themselves from the former vice president — or looking for a breakout moment by sticking it to Biden — might want to proceed with caution.

Many of the same Democrats who are expected to take swipes at Biden, even those not sharing the stage with him, didn’t hesitate to kiss the ring when he served under Barack Obama. Their high praise could come back to haunt them: fanboy comments, selfies, tweets and even news conferences holding up Biden as a beacon in the Democratic Party.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, his closest rival in the polls, is among those expected to draw sharp contrasts with Biden on stage. He’s already criticized Biden for voting for the Iraq War and free trade deals. But it wasn’t that long ago when Sanders, in a press availability, heaped praise on the former vice president.

“Joe Biden is a man who has devoted his entire life to public service and to the well-being of working families and the middle class,” Sanders said in 2015. “He made a difficult decision based on the needs of his family and the view of his future and I respect the decision he made.”

“I want to thank Joe Biden and President Obama for the work that they have done over the last seven years in making very significant improvements to our economy,” Sanders went on. “Obviously, we have a long way to go. But because of Joe Biden, because of President Obama we have seen significant progress in the last seven years.”

Sanders, of course, made the remarks after Biden announced he wouldn’t run for president in 2016.

“In this business you learn early: no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent issues,” said Antjuan Seawright, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist. “I think the vice president is getting a taste of that first hand.”

Sen. Kamala Harris, who blasted Biden for his recent remarks about segregationist senators, has also vouched for him in the past. In 2016, she wrote this: “@JoeBiden is a good man with a big heart. He has worked tirelessly throughout his career to improve the lives of millions.”

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Among the Democratic contenders who will be debating the night before Biden takes the stage, Sen. Cory Booker has been among the most outspoken critics of Biden’s remarks about segregationist senators in recent days, calling on Biden to apologize.

But in 2008, Booker, then still a Newark mayor, was swept up in a Obama-Biden fervor.

“Waving a Biden sign, topped with an American flag, he said the vice presidential nominee had done an exceptional job of showing that John McCain’s ‘longevity doesn’t equal expertise,’” according to an account from the Democratic convention in Denver. “Biden, he said, had shown himself to be a ‘real guy with a good heart who loves his family and loves his country. And people felt that.’”

After Obama tapped Biden as his running mate in 2008, Booker was quoted in his local paper, the Star-Ledger, calling Biden “an old hand, but also a maverick, just like Obama.”

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan in 2016 said if Biden had run for president “he would have been a powerful candidate.”

“He is an extraordinary public servant who has made it his life’s mission to speak out on the issues important to the nation and be a voice for hard working Americans,” Ryan said at the time.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is another who has described Biden as exceptional leader. In March, when asked if Biden should run for president, he said: “I don’t see why not … I think he’s done an extraordinary job for this country as senator and as vice president … I think very highly of him.”

There is a way for Democrats to get around the fact that they’ve been highly complimentary to Biden in the past and that’s by not taking him on directly, but focusing criticisms on a specific policy or specific comments he’s made, said Doug Rubin, a Boston-based Democratic strategist.

“It’s easier to say: ‘Joe Biden is a good person, but I disagree with him on this certain policy,’” said Rubin. “That will allow them to avoid the hypocrisy argument.”

But there’s still a risk, he said.

“There’s a downside to attacking Joe — he’s well-liked by a lot of Democratic primary voters,” said. “If that’s your strategy and if you think that’s the way to stand out, you got to be smart about it and do it in a way that isn’t going to alienate those voters.”