"I have never talked to a Trump supporter, and my world is thick with them, who thought he had a high personal character. On the other hand, they sincerely believe he has a high political character, in that he pursues the issues he campaigned on. They hired him as an insult to the political class, as a Hail Mary pass--we've tried everything else, maybe this will work--and because he agreed with them on the issues."
--Peggy Noonan
What did we hire Joe Biden to do? His election wasn't a Hail Mary pass, or even a sneaky tight end screen. The election of Joe Biden might be more considered a curl route for the sure first down. Because the team desperately needs it.
Seemingly, Joe Biden had been preparing for Wednesday most of his life. "Hail to the Chief" fits him. So does giving a presidential inauguration address. Even after all these years, it was a pleasure, and something of a surprise, to hear Joe Biden's tone and rhythm at noon Eastern time on Jan. 20.
When at his best, Joe Biden's speeches sound more like sweet stories read to grandchildren. He's had much practice over the years fighting with his speech, so his inauguration comments came after decades of exercise, and it showed.
Some passages from President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s inauguration address might well live long in the history books:
"I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real, but I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization [that] have long torn us apart. The battle is perennial and victory is never assured.Through civil war, the Great Depression, world war, 9/11 . . . our better angels have always prevailed. In each of these moments, enough of us--enough of us--have come together to carry all of us forward."
He mentioned better angels. A president named Lincoln once did, too.
What happened to Joe Biden, the caricature on "Saturday Night Live"? Maybe NBC's comedy show will give it a rest for a few months at long last. Lewis Grizzard once said that the media was more respectful when it showed actors as presidents only from the back. We should go back to the past; in many ways it would be progress.
Back to the best speech of Joe Biden's career:
"Let's start afresh, all of us. Let's begin to listen to one another again, hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves can be manipulated and even manufactured."
Instead of a State of the Union address, the new president gave the nation something much more: humanity and magnanimity. Which, politically speaking, is the best way to douse a fire.
Joe Biden didn't look like an old man Wednesday. He looked like a president of the United States. And sounded like one of the better ones:
"To all those who supported our campaign, I'm humbled by the faith you've placed in us. To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. If you still disagree, so be it. That's democracy. That's America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of this republic, is perhaps this nation's greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you: I will be a president of all Americans.
"We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural against urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts."
He might have even had a Kennedyesque moment when he said the United States would show the world not by the "example of our power, but by the power of our example." It made us proud.
There were many things proven Wednesday afternoon: This nation remains one country, indivisible, under God. No matter what the extremes (there are more than one) in this country hope to accomplish. And U.S. Representative/Senator/Vice President/President-elect and now President Joe Biden deserves all of our best wishes as he takes control of the most powerful behemoth of a government on record.
What did we hire Joe Biden to do? To be Joe Biden. He was expert at it Wednesday. God bless him, and protect him, and guide him.