What Lesson Did the Democrats Learn From the Obama Years, Exactly? It’s great news that Biden and Democrats in Congress are going it alone on economic relief. Somehow, fewer Americans might get stimulus checks anyway. T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images There is a story about Joe Biden that has been retold many times in the press over the last several years, largely because it seems to illuminate his political sensibilities and penchant for dealmaking. Noam Scheiber told an early version of this story right here in The New Republic. And it showed up more recently in Alex Thompson’s Politico Magazine feature on Biden’s relationship with Mitch McConnell.