Last night an adult addressed the nation in prime time from the White House. And it was something to behold.
Joe Biden may have a D next to his name, but he will never be mistaken for FDR or Barack Obama. If you were looking for eloquence, this was not your night. Indeed, Biden's plain-spoken style has much more in common with George W. Bush than with his former boss.
And that's the secret to the man's charm; the reason America elected him. Biden was the anti-Trump candidate from the very beginning; the man who wasn't polished or slick; the man who deflected credit instead of sucking the oxygen out of the room; Uncle Joe. After four exhausting years of listening to a carpet bagger, the nation desperately needed a chance to exhale and catch its breath.
And so the man who by all rights should be beating his chest, decided not to take a victory lap, and instead offered the people something they hadn't seen in quite a while: hope. Hope for a return to normalcy, hope for those who've been shuttered inside their homes for the last twelve months, hope for the unemployed, hope for the small business owner hanging on for dear life.
The light at the end of the tunnel is NOT a freight train. Biden made sure the nation understood that. He spoke of July Fourth barbecues taking place with family and friends and the entire adult population having access to vaccines by the beginning of May. Ambitious goals to be sure, but achievable nonetheless. In fifty days, this president has taken the wreckage left behind by his predecessor and assembled a team of professionals that knows what the hell it's doing.
Imagine a government that functions; that actually accomplishes things; that works for the American people instead of the other way around. If ever there was a time for competence and empathy in our politics, it is now.
In retrospect, Joe Biden was the right man at the right time to lead this nation. The man who spent the majority of his adult life training for this moment, seized it brilliantly. We often speak of Obama as being the smartest man in the room, yet too often that smartness rubbed people the wrong way. It came across as condescending and elitist.
No one could ever accuse Biden of being elitist. Far from it. Even those who disagree with the man like and respect him. You don't spend thirty-odd years in the Senate without knowing how to forge a few relationships. And that's an important distinction having watched Erwin Rommel blow up bridge after bridge throughout his administration.
During his address, Biden could've easily gone after the Republican governors whose decision to lift all restrictions in their states will have profound consequences for their constituents, yet he held his tongue, instead imploring the people there to act responsibly. His predecessor would never have let such an opportunity pass. Indeed, Trump often used his power to threaten blue-state governors who complained about his inadequate response just because he could.
His style and demeanor notwithstanding, though, there is one other quality which Biden possesses that sets him apart from past presidents, and it is one that most pundits assumed would be a liability: his age. In short, the man has seen and done it all. He's also had the opportunity to observe first hand what works and what doesn't.
For example, in 2009, then president Obama made overture after overture to Republicans in an attempt to gain bi-partisan support for both his stimulus and healthcare reform bills, to no avail. Biden knew Obama was out of his depth, but was powerless to help him. As a result, neither the stimulus nor the healthcare law were adequate. The former was less than half of what economists like Paul Krugman were calling for; and the latter still left millions without healthcare coverage. To this day, progressives have never forgiven Obama.
Biden seems determined not to repeat Obama's mistake. His first major piece of legislation could hardly be described as a half measure. At $1.9 trillion, it has everything including the kitchen sink in it. $1,400 stimulus checks to single people making $75,000 and under and families making $150,000 and under; extended unemployment benefits through September 6; financial assistance for small businesses; aid to state and local governments; money for schools; financing for vaccine production and distribution; and child tax credits.
Biden opted to use budget reconciliation rather than chase after non-existent Republican votes the way his former boss did. That's because as a creature of the Senate, he knows all too well that the longer a bill takes to make its way through committee and onto the floor, the more likely it is to get watered down. That's exactly what Mitch McConnell and his conference did with Obama's agenda; they watered it down to such an extent that a majority of people to this day still don't give him the credit he deserves.
Biden clearly wasn't going to let that happen. Call him sleepy if you want, but the man has forgotten more than most politicians know. Maybe that's why this law has a 75 percent approval rating out of the gate, including 58 percent approval among registered Republicans. It wasn't until several years after the Affordable Care Act passed that it finally cracked 50 percent approval.
And Biden is not close to being done. After he hits the road to promote his new law - something Obama never quite got the hang of - it's on to infrastructure and then election reform. As we speak, the GOP is hard at work looking to enact voter suppression laws in various states Biden won. Democrats must do everything possible to prevent this assault on our democracy.
The bottom line is this: Biden has the potential to be the most consequential president since LBJ. Think about it. While Republicans focus on Mr. Potato Head and Dr. Seuss, Democrats can come to the table with real-world solutions to real-world problems that will help millions of Americans. They can recapture the working class that Trump stole from them while still holding onto suburban voters.
This moment may never come again for Democrats. It is up to Biden and his party to ensure the moment is not wasted.
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