Joe Biden Is an Asshole

There is a moment in Back to the Future Part III in which Marty McFly steps outside of the unfamiliar mores of the 19th-century American West and says of Buford Tannen, the man who has challenged him to a duel, “He’s an asshole!”

That line is just three words long, but it contains a universe within its delivery. McFly is incredulous. He is impatient. He has lost his desire to play along with the customs of the age. “We can all see this, right?” he seems to be asking the assembled crowd. We all know that Tannen’s an asshole?

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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There is a moment in Back to the Future Part III in which Marty McFly steps outside of the unfamiliar mores of the 19th-century American West and says of Buford Tannen, the man who has challenged him to a duel, “He’s an asshole!”

That line is just three words long, but it contains a universe within its delivery. McFly is incredulous. He is impatient. He has lost his desire to play along with the customs of the age. “We can all see this, right?” he seems to be asking the assembled crowd. We all know that Tannen’s an asshole?