I’ve heard and read quite a few times that there won’t be a dry eye in the house tonight when President Biden addresses the Democratic National Convention. Many consider it his “goodbye” but not me. Oh, he and the First Lady will fly out to California and stay out of the spotlight which is the right thing to do. But don’t think for one second that THIS President is going to kick back. No, that’s simply not who he is. He will ‘run through the tape’ as the saying goes and give the job his all right up until noon on January 21, 2025. Tonight? It’s not ‘Farewell’ but rather the kickoff of what I think might be the ‘Farewell Tour’ of all Farewell Tours. And think about this: What diplomatic or domestic rabbit might Joe Biden pull out of the hat in the months ahead?
President Joe Biden worked himself and his administration with fierce determination to pull of the recent hostage swap with Russia. For months. All while dealing with backstabbing from his own Party, dealing with the mess in Israel/Gaza to prevent it from becoming a regional war, and hosting the NATO Summit (a resounding success I should add) in DC. Then the disaster of the debate, having an off night at the worst possible time. Still, he pulled off that deal and it took working with a half-dozen nations but he got huge results. Old man my ass! But the pressure from his own side, and concerns about down ballot races resulted in a stunning gesture of service to his Party and Country. His handoff of his campaign and the leadership of his Party was an object lesson for any American track team that runs a relay that requires a baton exchange!
The President gave this nation over a half century of extraordinary public service. He had some miscues along the way but on the balance it’s been a career of both service AND accomplishment I defy anyone to cite an example of that was better. President Biden is in truly elite company as only a handful of public servants either in this country or others can point to a similar resume.
We’re excited about a new generation of leadership in DC and we damned well should be. At the same time, it’s dawning on many people that we are losing someone unique. Sure, like any former President NOT named Trump Biden will be consulted from time to time. And heeded more than the others I’m sure. In addition to being the most recent occupant of the Oval Office there’s his decades in the Senate, eight years as VP and a Presidency that in four years racked up more accomplishment BOTH at home and abroad than most Presidents have managed to do in TWO terms.
I’ve been thinking today about two songs from long ago when I was young. To Sir With Love and Big Yellow Taxi. I was still a boy when that movie came out and when Lulu sang To Sir With Love I was ashamed to find myself sitting there in the theater crying. Classic ‘boys don’t cry’ stuff. Then as I looked around to see if anyone was staring at me, a BOY for crying I saw everyone else, including some grown men if not crying fighting to blink back tears. How DO you thank someone who’s given so much as “Sir” in the form of Joe Biden? (No one more so than Kamala Harris) The other song, Big Yellow Taxi keeps popping into my head because of the line ‘Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’
Luckily as I said former Presidents (again, with the exception of Trump) are never really gone when their successors need to consult. However, it won’t be the same. Deep down both the President, like those former Presidents who’s ranks he will join next January knows that. Speaking of luck though, how lucky is our nominee Kamala Harris (and by extension all of us) to have had Joe Biden as a mentor these last few years? She was already proving to be a force in the Senate when Biden tapped her on the shoulder. The two of them spoke the same language and she got a PhD in the intricacies of the Senate from her mentor and friend. On top of that she’s gotten a couple more in National Defense as well as Diplomacy.
I saw a pundit, I think it was Claire McCaskill point out the people President Biden surrounded himself with. She noted how outstanding his Cabinet has been. No scandals, just years of getting the job done and done well. Kamala Harris was simply one of a whole set of terrific pics for his administration. Yeah, he’s leaving things in good hands. Down ballot races be damned, if President Biden wasn’t sure he was leaving the Presidency in the best possible (other than his own) hands he wouldn’t have stepped aside. He believes this very moment (and I agree) that for all the doom and gloom he could have and would have beaten Trump this fall. And NOTHING matters more than that.
Well, in a bit we will see the first night of the convention and quite the lineup of speakers. And then our President will walk out and bring down the house. I have to confess in addition to seeing the best of Joe Biden he also lets Dark Brandon out for a romp on Trump’s and Vance’s ass. Complete with the sunglasses! Good natured ribbing like Obama gave to Trump at that WH Correspondent’s dinner. Or maybe not. President Biden has earned the right to play this any way he wants.
It will be a night for the ages. BUT it won’t be the last of President Joe Biden. He’ll cede the spotlight the rest of the week but he won’t stop working. And while he’ll make campaign appearances what will REALLY get Team Trump all hot and bothered is when some foreign Head of State comes to town and fawns all over Joe Biden. Oh, and there’s one “bigly” event on the fall calendar everyone keeps overlooking.
In mid September heads of state and their foreign ministers will all be gathered in NYC for the annual U.N. General Assembly. Trump literally had the crowd laugh in his face! I’m pretty sure when President Biden takes the podium he will get a reception that will go down in history. If news outlets won’t do it, then social media and/or meme generators will need to be ready to flood the internet with Trump being laughed at vs. Biden being showered with accolades. Complete with tag lines making fun of Trump’s claims we were respected when he was President and laughed at both before and since he had to leave the WH. It makes me wish the debate scheduled for Sept. 10 wouldn’t be taking place until later in the month. Can you imagine Harris tweaking Trump with that?
Anyway, tonight is one of those historical moments you know is coming and should savor. Just don’t go assuming it will be President Biden’s ‘Swan Song’ and that the sun will have set on his Presidency. He’s Joe freaking Biden and he ain’t done yet!
I concur. Excellent piece of journalism.
He’s still speaking, and proving why he COULD have and WOULD have beaten Trump this fall. Tomorrow morning a whole bunch of Democrats including prominent ones will be feeling some shame and guilt for allowing journalists to (at the orders from their bosses) scare the hell out of them. President Biden is wiser than them all and had laid out a plan, concentrating not so much on dealing with Trump but focusing on fundamental things. Creating a real, robust GOTV infrastructure around the country, buying up ad time for the post Labor Day period and other things. The convention, what we are seeing and hearing from him as I write this would be the true kickoff. He knew damn well what a sh*tshow the RNC would be and could easily have tweaked Trump some during the gap between the two.
What we are seeing tonight is what wound have been had this President been given the chance to execute a well thought out plan. Luckily he had an awesome understudy who was it seems about the only prominent Democrat trying to shove him aside. THAT in and of itself is proof of his wisdom in choosing her in the first place. She will carry on and do so well. Just four years earlier than planned. On the other hand we can be happy that he can spend some years as a former President and enjoy a well-earned semi-retirement. (No former President except Trump is ever truly retired from the job)
And the magats still can’t comprehend him resigning in favor of Harris.
Imagine putting your party and your country ahead of yourself.
They can’t.