Biden Elected!

The thirtieth time I checked my phone yesterday morning, I received the news I was all but certain would come: Pennsylvania was called for Joe Biden, putting him over the 270 vote threshold in the Electoral College necessary to become the next President of the United States! I quickly went upstairs to tell my wife, my daughter and my grandson. We were all delighted and relieved, though my grandson (19 months) appeared to be more interested in his wooden trains than in the Electoral College math of it all.

We talked and read more about it, texting friends and calling my ninety-one year old mother who lives just a little north of Philadelphia. Over the past four years she has been nearly disturbed by Trump and his predations as I have been. I thanked her for delivering Pennsylvania to the Democrats. She was happy to celebrate together and, as usual, deflected the credit.

Melissa and I ‘stayed up’ to watch Biden’s victory speech from Wilmington, Delaware last night. We rarely watch live news on TV – we get our information from the New York Times, the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, the New Yorker and the Atlantic. I mention these media outlets as the media we consume seem increasingly relevant and determinative to our view of the world.

Seeing Kamala Harris take the stage was a moment of real joy. We were delighted to see the first woman, the first Black woman and the first Southeast Asian to be elected to the office of Vice President of the United States. In the midst of our growing awareness of the violence and racism that are woven into the imperfect fabric of our country, this was a clear demonstration of our ‘better angels’—the fruit of hundreds of years of struggle for and progress toward equality and justice.

Harris was strong, clear and inspiring. Her message was one of possibility and hope. Her presence on the stage, before Joe Biden in his big moment, was a huge signal of his respect for her, his awareness of the historic significance of the moment and, hopefully, how he intends to govern by inviting others to work with him. Harris was so impressive that, while watching her, I began to have concerns for Joe Biden coming next.

But Biden did not disappoint. He was energetic, sincere and laid out a vision of healing and possibility. He acknowledged the magnitude of the work ahead with bringing the pandemic under control and ending this polarization that has paralyzed our country. He was folksy, direct and hopeful:

‘Let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric.
To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again.  To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans.’

Last night, Biden represented the best of what it means to be a politician. He clearly loved being up on the stage, loved the idea of serving his country and expressed a desire to lead everyone, not just his partisan base. He was inclusive, hopeful and eager to take on ‘The battle to restore decency, defend democracy, and give everybody in this country a fair shot.’ With his lifetime of political experience, his natural inclination toward collaboration and his irrepressible enthusiasm, he seems uniquely suited for an utterly impossible job.

I watched for a while after the speeches to appreciate the fireworks and to listen to the PBS analysts and prognosticators share perspectives on what this moment might mean for our beleaguered country. Several things struck me.

Biden’s margin of victory was not ‘razor-thin’ as it had felt when everything seemed to hang in the balance, but rather typical for these days of partisan politics. And while he did receive more votes than any Presidential candidate in the history of American politics, the person who received the second most votes ever was his rival, Donald Trump.

Almost all the pundits talked about our current polarization as one of the biggest challenges facing the new administration—the one they will have to work with in order to make progress on the pandemic, the economy, the environment, and the many promises of working to end systemic racism.

Also reported was a bit of information from an exit survey of voters as they left the polls. 90% of Biden voters believed that if Trump was elected there would be serious negative consequences for the country. AND 89% of Trump voters believed that if Biden was elected there would be serious negative consequences for the country. If we assume that the relative ‘optimism’ of Trump supporters is within the range of polling error ;-), we’re left with a country in which we have lost all faith in the opposition. The parties now represent not different political choices, but the moral forces of good and evil. This makes collaboration a little more difficult.

Joe Biden spoke directly to this in his remarks when he said: ‘Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end — here and now.’ As I examine my own feelings toward Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, to mention just a few, I realize this will be hard work.

This morning, I am relieved, happy and only slightly apprehensive. It’s been a long month of tension, fears and hopes. This is a moment to rejoice in the regular functioning of our democracy and in the election of a decent and honest man into the office of the President. There are many weeks till it’s all official and enormous challenges ahead. We must remain watchful and engaged.