WELL, BYE: Behind the Curtain: Biden’s bitter, sweet exit.

President Biden hasn’t had much to smile about lately. But we hear he got a huge laugh on a recent call when he was told about this encounter at Fenway Park in Boston:

A former top White House official under President Obama ran into Mike Barnicle — the “Morning Joe” regular, and close friend and ardent defender of Biden — and said: “Isn’t it great that f–king guy finally figured out he had to quit?”

Barnicle was tired, and wasn’t having it. “What guy?!” he replied.
“Joe Biden!” the West Wing alumnus replied.

“You know something? F–k you!” Barnicle replied. “And f–k all your friends with their anonymous quotes in the papers. Put your name on it next time!” And kept walking.

A source familiar with Biden’s reaction to the story told us: “He might still be laughing.”

Why it matters: Biden’s friends tell us that as the president heads to his Democratic National Convention sendoff in Chicago tonight, he’s somewhat relieved and pretty nostalgic — but also still stunned and pissed about the way he was pushed out of his re-election race.

And yet it’s still a kinder political end than he deserved.