We want to hear that politicians won't just tell us what we want to hear
So far, this presidential campaign season has been dominated by the narrative of the steadfast outsider. A July poll found that more than three-quarters of Donald Trump’s supporters like him because he stands up to the media and isn’t interested in political correctness. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, a secular Jew and registered Independent, is energizing the Democratic base—not by minimizing his European-style socialism, but by shooting straight. “He’s so authentic, he’s hip,” wrote Steve Winkler in the Guardian.
Then there’s Joe Biden, who hasn’t said yet if he’ll run. Stephen Colbert’s recent interview with the vice president was remarkable in many ways: Biden’s vulnerability in talking about his personal tragedies, both men’s willingness to talk about their Catholic faith, Biden quoting a Danish Lutheran existential philosopher on late night.
As compelling as any of it: Colbert’s warm-up question. “Everybody likes Joe Biden, right?” he said, stoking wild cheers. He went on:
