Sorry, Tara, but I can’t quite get my head around Joe Biden assaulting you in a public space. Here’s my thinking based on reading several articles by people who’ve tried really hard to get to the bottom of this. One: A hallway? Not credible. Two: Assault with digital penetration? Beyond any other accusation or description of his behavior; unlikely. Three: No documents? What, you didn’t keep your copy? Four: Putin, seriously? Sorry, but it’s your credibility I doubt.

Biden might have creeped Reade out in some way with some behavior that didn’t affect others the same way. But his reputation for touching and sniffing, but not assaulting, is solid. The actions Reade describe just don’t seem plausible to me. Biden would have to have been out of him mind to have done this in a hallway, and at that time even his enemies were not questioning his cognitive abilities. 

Furthermore, my representative (WA-7) is Pramila Jayapal, an enthusiastic Bernie fan. She’s smart, articulate, passionate. She endorsed Biden a week ago, and I’m going with her judgement. 

So, then, what about #MeToo and the whole “believe women” mantra? Women who actually believed that no women would ever lie or exaggerate or use a story for any reason other than getting to the truth haven’t paid attention to what happens in real life. Sorry. Sadly, it never made sense to push the “believe all women” slogan. Absolutely, let them offer their stories and their evidence. HR departments should take them seriously. But the accused deserve to counter accusations with their own evidence. Al Franken deserved to be heard by the Senate Ethics Committee. Did his behavior change when he became a Senator? Might something less than resignation have served both sides? The country deserved to hear him out. Our loss, and it was a big one.. 

Here are two of the articles that I’ve read about Joe and Tara that come to different conclusions. Both contain links to other articles if you haven’t already had your fill of such. 

Joe Biden’s #MeToo Karma by Cathy Young in ArcDigital,
April 7, 2020, with updates

Tara Reade’s Allegation Against Joe Biden is Plausible, by Ben Burgis in ArcDigital, April 26, 2020, with update