Biden's Speech

I was not fully paying attention when President Biden gave his speech after dropping out of the presidential race. (Yes, that isn't ideal, but it's often how people watch things -- they multitask.) The first time around the speech did not impress. 

He came off as old and tired if I want to be fully honest. Re-watching it, and paying attention, it was more impressive. I'm somewhat curious about it though. The audio and video do seem more crisp.

One worthwhile analysis early on references how President Biden was "characteristically decent and self-abnegating." That, at the end of the day, is a major reason why I deeply respect the man. I am and will be proud that Obama and Biden were my presidents. 

The fact they did some great things helped. But, their abilities as people hit home the most. Now, this can be problematic -- fine people can be bad leaders. Carter had some of that. Still, Biden has both. 

Trump has both the other way. I started this blog in the days of Bush43 and his presidency angered me in various respects. But, darn -- Trump makes Bush almost seem good. 

I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people, but this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It’s about you, your families, your futures. It’s about we the people, and we can never forget that. And I never have.

I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.

He later lists his accomplishments. But, this is the core of his message. His faith in our system of democracy, its potential for anyone to succeed, even some guy from Scranton with a stutter. Plus, his concern with the threats to the system we love. 

He explained why he stepped aside:

You know, in recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I needed to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition.

So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation. I know there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.

I strongly opposed how people responded to his debate performance. Washington Post (linked in the analysis above) had a generally fair analysis in early July. There were signs he was slipping. 

The debate performance turned out to be symbolic. Sometimes, an event crystallizes things that have been bubbling right below the service. I remain of the opinion that it was handled badly.  Anyway, what happened, happened. Biden handled it gracefully.

One thing he cited is particularly important:

I’m going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy — Supreme Court reform."

Yes, it is. Ultimately, we have a big role to play:

The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep faith, keep the faith and remember who we are. We’re the United States of America and there’s simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.

So let’s act together, preserve our democracy. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you.

Yes. We can begrudge this -- note that at the end of the day, the power is unfairly in the hands of a few swing states or too much in the hands of certain elites and/or the Supreme Court. But, he is right in a basic sense. 

His elegy remarks were not the last ones of a fifty-plus year public career. But, they had a taste of that. Let us end with a remembrance of how things began.

Thank you, Mr. President.