These Are the Times

Yesterday the Electoral College elected Joe Biden President-Elect of the United States. I congratulate him.

Following his election President-Elect Biden gave a 15 minutes speech, much of it criticizing his predecessor. I found the following passage the most important:

You know, in this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed. We the people voted, faith in our institutions held, the integrity of our elections remains intact. And now it’s time to turn the page as we’ve done throughout our history, to unite, to heal. As I said in this campaign, I will be president for all Americans. I’ll work just as hard for those of who you didn’t vote for me as I will for those who did. There’s urgent work in front of us. Getting this pandemic under control and getting the nation vaccinated against this virus, delivering immediate economic help so badly needed by so many Americans who are hurting today, and then building our economy back better than it ever was.

Earlier in the speech he mentioned that he had received more votes for president than any candidate in history. One thing he neglected to mention was that Donald Trump received more votes than any candidate in history other than Joe Biden. The simplest conclusion to draw from that is that there is a substantial difference of opinion about the country and its course today.

If any hypothesis can be made from candidate Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate or the several cabinet picks the now president-elect has made since the election, it is that he is doubling down on the identity politics that has become so great a part of the fabric of today’s Democratic Party. That is one of the things about which there is a profound difference of opinion.

It should also be observed that of the Democratic presidential candidates who actually received delegates to date only Pete Buttigieg has been appointed to a cabinet position.

It will be interesting to see if the ideas in the passage quoted above are more than empty words.

I fear that the next several years will be very fraught for the country. The reasons for this include the refusal of Trump supporters to accept their candidate’s defeat as well as things that are within Mr. Biden’s control and those that aren’t. Some of the latter are attendant on the president-elect’s age. Those that are within his control are the choices he will make.