Presidents generally don't like to appear before potentially hostile audiences – particularly when they are locked in tight re-election campaigns. The Biden re-election effort is no different. But owing to the active and vocal opposition of pro-Palestinian groups to Biden's support for Israel, the campaign has gone to great lengths to shelter Mr. Biden from any event where the audience may turn on him.
As NBC News notes, the tipping point for the Biden campaign came following a campaign stop in Virginia. Mr. Biden's topic was abortion. The protesters had other objectives, interrupting his speech a dozen times (environmentalists have attempted to use the heckler's veto at Trump events as well).
Biden's handlers responded with measures that, for now, appear to keep the protesters out. Now, the president's appearances are in smaller venues, and the staff is…
…withholding their precise locations from the media and the public until he arrives, avoiding college campuses and, in at least one instance, considering hiring a private company to vet attendees.
It's a far cry from the “front porch” presidential campaigns of long ago (when some presidential candidates rarely, if ever, left their hometown to campaign). And it's not quite as crude as the floating rope lines the Clintons – both Bill and Hillary — used to keep the press at bay during their presidential runs.
But stuffing a candidate in a bubble of carefully selected events and screened crowds is still galling to anyone who believes retail politics – even at the national level – is essential for voters to see, hear, and evaluate candidates.
The sense of inevitability that's surrounding this year's presidential primaries has made retail politicking all but obsolete. That's a shame not just for the political junkies who relish seeing candidates work crowds (including unfriendly ones) and for the voters who need all the information they can get about candidates in order to make informed decisions on Election Day.
Including how those candidates handle the unplanned, unscripted, and sometimes uncomfortable moments outside the bubble.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: Reluctant Progressives Continue To Be A Thorn In Biden's Side
