Joe Biden knew his time was up when he debated with Kamala Harris. He even said it himself

After tonight, we have to ask ourselves: does Biden really have that 'electability factor' his competition supposedly doesn't?

Joe Biden was presumably prepared to answer for his recent fond invocation of working with the segregationist James Eastland, but he was not ready for the specific challenge Kamala Harris would pose to whatever excuse he was ready to share.

Those who rushed to defend Biden’s tall tale of a more “civil” time in the Senate when a white male Democrat from the North could work with a white male Democrat from the South in the grand but dying tradition of compromise conveniently left out the source of the Biden-Eastland collaboration: anti-bussing. Harris did not, which made her assailment of his controversial remarks all the more satisfying. Biden could have solved this issue weeks ago with an apology, but much like the president he hopes to succeed, saying sorry proves difficult for him — thus tonight’s humbling.

“I do not believe you are a racist,” Harris said to the former vice president as she looked him squarely in the eye. “And I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground. But it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and careers on the segregation of race in this country.”

Harris went on to note the anti-bussing policy and added how such form of systemic racism impacted her directly.

“And there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools and she was bussed to school every day,” Harris explained. “And that little girl was me. So I will tell you that on this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats. We have to take it seriously. We have to act swiftly.”

“I did not oppose busing in America,” Biden responded. “What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That’s what I opposed.”

Let that settle for a second. A white man is defending his previous support of anti-bussing policy by not only explaining busing to a black woman, but by explicitly saying the objection was rooted in the idea that the federal government should not be involved in school desegregation. Biden sounded like someone who defends the rights of states to resist civil rights. Is this an example of the superior level of “electability” that Biden purportedly has over the competition?

If Eric Stawall intimating Biden was old every other debate question didn’t remind you of that, Biden’s entire exchange with Harris certainly did.

When Joe Biden launched his presidential campaign in April, he did so with a rallying cry to "battle for the soul of this nation," citing President Trump and his assertion that there were "very fine people on both sides" of the 2017 white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. Biden also claimed “history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time," a befuddling statement given not only America’s longstanding love affair with racism but Biden’s own history with working with white supremacists.

That’s what was always so frustrating about Biden citing segregationists while reflecting on “civility.” Biden wants to restore a great version of America that only ever existed for white men like him. Not once in his life has he ever seemed to remove his blinders.

So, we don’t need this old man and his old tales about the good old days that were only good for the old racist white men he seems to miss working with to this day. We don’t need this old man who can’t look back to the past and admit his mistakes about anti-bussing, mass incarceration, Anita Hill, and other issues that directly hurt black people.

Trying to defend himself from Harris, Biden ran through a list of legislation that he’s pushed to support black people. As he went through his list, he seemed to tire out and stopped himself. “Anyway, my time is up,” he said.

After Kamala Harris’ debate performance, here’s hoping more people start reach that same conclusion on Joe Biden.