The Joe Biden saga is settling into two camps.

One side (often women who know him) says: This Is Joe – warm, tactile, compassionate and they wouldn’t have him any other way.

The other camp is trying to paint him as a creep, not worthy of the presidency.

It should be said that the latter camp broadly supported the current president when he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

Mr Biden himself says he doesn’t believe he has ever acted inappropriately and that it was never his intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

The #MeToo era is a crucial moment in the progression of our society but nuance must be applied. No one is accusing Joe Biden of being a sex criminal.

His first accuser Lucy Flores said his kiss on the back of her head was not sexual but she still felt “uneasy, gross and confused”.

This isn’t just about women saying they have a right not to be sexually assaulted – it’s also about the right not be made to feel uncomfortable.

While men still hold the majority of the world’s power, it’s often women who suffer the consequences of sometimes unwitting displays of that entrenched sense of dominance.

It’s a sense of: “I have the control and confidence to act in the way I feel is appropriate, irrespective of how it may be received.”

Women who have defended Biden say he doesn’t make these public displays of affection in a sleazy way or to exert power – he does it to include and comfort those who might be feeling anxious or excluded.

This may be true but it does not change the outcome for the people on the receiving end.

Which brings us to Nancy Pelosi and her very astute response to the Biden issue.

The House Speaker basically said the intention behind the actions is irrelevant; what matters is how they are received.

If those women felt violated or uneasy in anyway, that is wrong.

Like so many who know Biden, she also lauded the warmth of his character and how much her own grandchildren adore him.

But ultimately, in this era, invading personal space is no longer acceptable.

Which begs the question; is he the right presidential candidate for the party who is promising progress and promising to bring down the man they see as the bigoted, misogynist in the White House?

There is no suggestion that Biden will abandon his yet unannounced 2020 bid, but there must be some hard thinking going on.

While those multiple accusations of sexual misconduct failed to impact Trump’s bid, Democrats feel they have to hold themselves to a higher standard.

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