Yes, in defending his practice of compromising, Biden said he wouldn't compromise on his principles, and he said that so he wouldn't sound as nihilistic and transactional as Trump. But this is pretty hollow, when the liberal's principles are just platitudes. What exactly are the principles Biden believes in so strongly that he'd be willing to fight for them and refuse to compromise?

Once we realize that principles are articles of faith and that liberals are too rational, sophisticated, and postmodern to suspend their disbelief with the same ferocity as a benighted conservative, we shouldn't be so surprised by America's rightward slide. Conservatives are crazy enough to believe in their savage principles, whereas centrist (empowered) liberals are indeed on the verge of nihilism and are in that respect more Trumpian than they recognize.