I really do believe that Joe Biden is a fundamentally decent man, albeit a flawed politician (though some might say that's a tautology!). That said, most people – politician or not – could legitimately look at Mr Biden's hits and misses over the course of more than a half-century in public life and feel the shock of familiarity. And any reasonable person might say of the cock-ups: there, but for the grace of God go I.