The fact that Joe Biden is even taken seriously as a Democratic candidate for President is an indictment of his party, as well as evidence that  progressive principles are instantly alterable, optional or ready for deep freeze any time they become inconvenient.

The ethics value issue, of course, is integrity. If the Democratic Party cared about it, Joe Biden would be looking forward to spending his Golden Years playing with his grandchildren and copping feels with their baby-sitters.

That’s the threshold hypocrisy, as we know. Joe is a serial and unapologetic sexual harasser. There are many photographs online, and probably many more to be found, of him hugging, sniffing, and fondling women of all ages while they seem approximately as comfortable as if Joe were a rabid octopus. The conduct displayed is the equivalent or worse  of behavior that has caused hundreds of executives and  many  high-profile leaders in a wide range of sectors to be removed from their jobs. The Democratic Party styles itself as the party of women and #MeToo, but has been flagrant about applying double and even triple standards: witness Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, still in office with the support of his party despite both a credible rape accusation and an allegation of sexual assault, both more serious than any of the accusations made against Senator Al Franken, a Democrat, who was forced to resign. None of the Republicans or Democrats who have been pilloried for sexual harassment carry the photographic evidence that indicts Biden, and yet there he is, topping the polls.

The Democratic Party’s hypocrisy goes far beyond harassment where Joe is concerned, however, as a recent Times article called “Joe Biden Knows He Says the Wrong Thing,” itself a naked rationalization to excuse incompetence. Hmmmmm...Is this rationalization  on the Ethics Alarms list? Give me half a minute while I check…

NO!

Incredibly, Joe’s excuse, “I know I’m doing it,” has so far escaped the definitive rationalizations list! That will be remedied shortly.

Joe and his defenders regularly employ other rationalizations for his groping problem (and others), among them, #1. The Golden Rationalization, or “Everybody does it” variations “Everybody is used to it.,” “Everybody accepts it,”“Nobody’s complained before” and “It’s too late to change now,” #8. The Trivial Trap (“No harm no foul!”),#13A The Road To Hell, or “I meant well,” #19A The Insidious Confession, or “It wasn’t the best choice,’  #21A. The Criminal’s Redemption, or “It’s just a small part of what I am!,”#22. The Comparative Virtue Excuse: “There are worse things.,” #41 A. Popeye’s Excuse, or “I am what I am,”  #42. The Hillary Inoculation, or “If he/she doesn’t care, why should anyone else?,” 43. Vin’s Punchline, or “We’ve never had a problem with it!,” and #64A. Bluto’s Mistake or “I said I was sorry!.”

Sorry for the digression. Back to the Times article: I seriously considered posting the whole piece with Donald Trump’s name replacing Biden’s. How could the Times reporters write this, or anyone read it, without noticing that all the habits and tendencies being cited as Joe’s problems are the exact same proclivities that Democrats claim should disqualify Trump for high office, and all of the defenses on behalf of Joe echo the arguments of Trump defenders? Here are some quotes:

• “The next day, Mr. Biden made a gaffe saying “poor kids” were as bright and talented as “white kids” before correcting himself…”

Such a remark or a tweet from the President would prompt a week’s worth of Democratic claims that it proved his racism.

• “On Saturday, he said that as vice president he met with students who survived the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., when in fact that shooting had not occurred when he was in office.Indeed, in the span of less than a week, he also briefly mixed up where the El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, gun massacres took place; invoked former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain when he apparently meant to say Theresa May…”

Trump’s misstatements of this sort are instantly sources of social media venom and glee, followed by comment after comment noting that he’s an idiot.

• “Mr. Biden has a long history of verbal flubs and gaffes..In recent weeks, he has expressed frustration to allies that his candidacy will suffer if he is judged too harshly on the slip-ups, which he thinks he can do little to correct so long as he is being true to himself.”

Trump also has such a history, and his supporters also emphasize that it is his candor and lack of filters that they admire as opposed to the typical politician.

• “[Advisors] also say that Mr. Biden faces an unfair double standard.”

I’m sorry, I’m giggling too hard to be coherent. OK, I’m better now…Double standards have been the cornerstone of Democratic attacks on Trump, from executive orders to “Children in cages,” and Biden has been as guilty as any.

• “Mr. Biden’s campaign advisers and allies insist that Mr. Biden is as physically and mentally sharp as ever.”

As do Trump supporters who mock the 25th Amendment removal plot, who are then ridiculed by Democrats who say that Trump has never been fit to serve.

• “They plan to implicitly knock down any suggestion that his gaffes reveal a candidate past his prime by suggesting that his cringe-inducing comments are nothing new and that voters are already used to his propensity for misspeaking.”

That’s the Trump defense, word for word.

• But advisers said privately that there was little they could do to change Mr. Biden’s speaking style, even as they were quick to fault the news media for, in their view, blowing missteps out of proportion.

I’m giggling again.

• “Some even argue that Mr. Biden’s penchant for self-inflicted error is part of what humanizes him and draws people to him.”

(Still giggling.)

In short, Democrats want us to ignore Biden’s traits and behaviors that are redolent of Trump, who must be defeated because of those traits and behaviors

Got it.

And this tells us all we need to know about the integrity and trustworthiness of Democrats.