For the first six weeks of his campaign, Joe Biden largely drifted above the fray, a front-runner beyond the reach of the masses of the Democratic presidential field. His rivals publicly welcomed him into the race, and not a cross word was said about his moderate policy proposals or his advanced age.

For the first six weeks of his presidential campaign, Joe Biden engaged in a Hillary-like campaign: relaxing comfortably above the fray he barely deigned to acknowledge the existence of his myriad rivals.

His competitors publicly enthusiastically welcomed him into the race, and they treated him with the dame deference that functionaries in North Korea treat Kim Jong-un.

The heresy that Democratic presidential hopefuls shouldn’t speak ill of one another lest they weaken the eventual nominee had taken over the Democratic Party.

But politics ain’t beanbag, in fact it’s not even dodge ball, it’s a WWE Battle Royale where entertainment may be the name of the game, but the contestants suffer real physical injuries.

Miraculously, Biden survived the first six weeks of his campaign without suffering a major blunder, primarily because he barley campaigned and didn’t grant any interviews.

But you can always count on Biden to be Biden, and this week the real bumbling and stumbling Biden surfaced, and his opponents were quick to pounce.

In an unforgivable flub, for someone whose 1987 presidential run was derailed because of plagiarism, his campaign was forced to confess to plagiarizing a portion of the climate change plane he released this week.

On this same fateful week Biden reaffirmed his support of the Hyde Amendment – a measure banning federal funding for most abortions that’s universally opposed by his Democratic challengers – he reversed himself a couple of days later, saying he no longer supports the controversial measure.  

Biden’s rivals from the joke candidates like Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) to serious challengers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren were quick to attack him.

Enough with the kid gloves treatment, if Biden is to survive the Democratic Primary (which I doubt), a little roughing up by his rivals will do him good.