The narrative that Biden’s probable victory is actually a semi-defeat conveniently forgets how difficult it is to beat an incumbent president. Do you know who was the last Democrat to do what Biden seems to have done, in similar circumstances? Roosevelt, against Hoover, in 1932.

Yes, Clinton did beat Bush Sr., but in very different circumstances — with a third-party candidate, Ross Perot, splitting the vote with 18,9%. And Carter did defeat Ford — but Ford was an unelected president, having succeeded Nixon after Watergate.

In sum: as a Democrat beating an elected incumbent Republican with no help from a third party we have only, in the last 100 years, Biden (probably) and Roosevelt. Somehow I doubt that Biden will feel that this is a dishonorable comparison.

Of course the Biden “semi-defeat” narrative is being promoted by national-populist commentators (abetted by progressive masochism) who for the last four years have banged on about how Trump’s losing the popular vote was a wave but Biden winning PV+CE would be disappointing.

In case you read such takes, tell them how the last Democrat to pull off what Biden can accomplish in the coming days was a certain Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in the middle of the Great Depression. Beating an elected President with no 3rd-party help is very very difficult, guys.