One hug and one selfie at a time, Biden’s mission to connect

By ZEKE MILLER
AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has never been at his best in big events, where his delivery can be stilted, his stories meandering. The end of a Biden speech is often the beginning of his favorite part of the event — the rope line, in the parlance of political operatives. He whirls around, scans the crowd and zeroes in on his first target for a one-on-one connection. It might be a small businessman who gets invited to Zoom with the president. It might be a small child that the president slips a few dollars for ice cream. It might be someone who stutters — they come in for special attention from the president.