Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-05-27)

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MARCO GUALAZZINI/CONTRASTO/REDUX

TheLongCampaign JoeBiden

“I knowsomeofthereallysmart

folkssayDemocratsdon’twant

tohearaboutunity.Theysay

Democratsaresoangrythatthe

angriera candidatecanbe,the

betterchanceheorshehastowin

theDemocraticnomination,”he

said,warmingupthecrowd.“Well,I

don’tbelieveit. I reallydon’t.”

ForBiden,76,arguingany

differentlywouldbedisingenuous:

Hisalmost50-yearrecordof

friendshipswithRepublicanswon’t

allowit. In thefaceofcriticism

fromwithinhisownparty,which

watchedforeightyears

asheandPresident

BarackObamacourted

Republicans,forthe

mostpartfruitlessly,

theformervice

presidentis bettinghis

campaignonthehope

thatvotershavea little

optimismleft.

“I’vegottothink

there’satleastsomedecentpeople

stillthere”amongtheRepublicans

in Congress,saidHarvey

Finkel,61,ofAllentown,

Pa.“They’llbewiththeir

ownpartymostofthe

time,butwhentheyhave

somebodylikeJoeBiden

thatcanreachoutand

knowshowtoworkthat

kindofthing,I justthink

they’vegottogettired

ofnotgettinganything

done.I mean,weare.”

Biden,whotookthe

stagewearinga blazer

andaviatorsunglasses

butshedthembefore

hespoke,tookcreditfor

cajolingthreeSenate

Republicanstosupport

theAmericanRecovery

andReinvestmentAct

in 2009,andonthe

campaigntrailhe’s

mentionedgettingGOP

supportforcancerresearchmoney

justdaysbeforeTrumptookoffice.

ButhepointedtotheAffordable

CareAct,whichpassedwithout

a singleRepublicanvote,asan

exampleofsomethingworthdoing

withouttheotherparty.“I knowhow

togotoe-to-toewiththeGOP,”he

said.“Butit doesn’thavetobe,and

it can’tbethatwayoneveryissue.”

Othercandidatesforthe

Democraticnominationarepushing

bigpolicygoalssuchas“Medicare

forAll”andtheGreenNewDeal

thatwouldallbutcertainlydie

inCongress.

“We’reata veryimportant

placein theroadhere.Weneeda

healer-in-chief,a restorer-in-chief,

a uniter-in-chief,”saidDebraPuzio,

61,ofMedia,Pa.,whosatonmetal

bleachersundertheshadeofa

bigtree.“I thinktheygoa littlefar

in theirprogressiveviews,”said

Puzio’sfriendDebraKohn,62,

ofElkinsPark,Pa.,speakingof

Biden’scompetition.“I thinksome

oftheirpoliciesarenotdoable.

They’rejustgoals.”

Sofaratleast,polls

suggestit’snotjust

Bidenrallygoerswho

agreewithhim.He’s

maintained—andin some

casesexpanded—his

leadin everymajorstate

andnationalpollof

primaryvoters.

“Theonlywayto

tamethebeastthat

is thedivisivenessin

thenationrightnow

is toreachacrosstheaisleand

collaboratewiththosewedon’t

agreewith,”saidNoelleMouhtarim,

22,a highschoolteacherfrom

Dover,Del.She’ssupportedher

formersenatorsinceheranfor

presidentin 2008.“He’stheone

whocandoit. Hecanandhas

tospreadlove,acceptance,and

collaboration.”�JenniferEpstein

PhotographsbyKareemBlack

TheIssue

● Unitethe

countryandwork

withRepublicans

afterfouryears

ofdivisionunder

PresidentTrump

Democratshavecalledhimnaive,outoftouch,or

worse.ButathisMay 18 kickoffrallyin Philadelphia,

JoeBidenstoodbyhisinsistencethatworking

withRepublicansisn’tjustpossible,it’stheonlyway

to“stopfightingandstartfixing”thecountry.

The Stop

① Eakins Oval, near

the “Rocky” steps

at the Philadelphia

Museum of Art

Pa.

①

Mouhtarim