“He’s going to lie and lie some more and spin everything and blame it on Biden and Obama,” said one longtime Biden aide. “The VP needs to go on offense and immediately say, ‘This is on you. The state of the economy, high unemployment, kids out of school, a pandemic that has gone unchecked. All of it is on you.

“He can’t get away with any of it. Not one f—ing thing,” the aide said, adding that voters want to see Biden “calling out all of the bull—-.”

“The only way he ‘wins’ is if he stays on offense,” another ally added. “The second it goes the other way, things could go sideways.”…

There is a palpable fear among some Democrats about whether Biden is up for the challenge, and whether being too aggressive could backfire. They’ve cringed when Biden has given long-winded answers or trailed off without returning to his initial thought, and when he’s gone off message or said the wrong name or city.