In 2010, during the California governor race, the Jerry Brown campaign called his Republican opponent Meg Whitman a "whore." Democrats not only had no issue with that, the National Organization for Women even rushed to endorse him to prevent criticism of him, with the rationalization that she 'was kind of a whore.'

A lot has changed since then. Democrats are no longer calling it The Monica Lewinsky Scandal or vilifying her to protect President Clinton, and George Soros can no longer get away with blaming fellow Democrat and current Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for Al Franken being forced to resign for his behavior.

There is instead a reckoning for how men behave toward subordinates and especially women. That is why President Biden will likely act swiftly after a White House investigation concluded that Eric Lander, director the Office of Science and Technology Policy, often oddly referred to by journalists as the President's "Science Czar", created a toxic work environment. He only apologized when he learned Politico was publishing the results, and his former general counsel, Rachel Wallace, said he "retaliated against staff for speaking out and asking questions by calling them names, disparaging them, embarrassing them in front of their peers, laughing at them, shunning them, taking away their duties, and replacing them or driving them out of the agency. Numerous women have been left in tears, traumatized, and feeling vulnerable and isolated."

That he's still there is a bad look for a president who vowed to honor a zero-tolerance staff disrespect policy among his political appointees. It's not like another Democratic scientist is hard to find. Science academia is over 90 percent Democrats. Surely there is a choice who can get things done without resorting to bullying. And this is OSTP, famous for issuing science reports a year after topics no longer matter. It is hardly a stress job unless the old white guy at the top makes it that way because he's on a power trip. 

The old days are over. President Biden will likely honor his pledge and make sure he shows female Democrats that by having Lander resign.