Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden interact with supporters via video teleconference after Biden delivered his acceptance speech on the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center on Aug. 20, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.Win McNamee/Getty Images
Many doubts gnawed at Joe Biden and his party going into the 2020 Democratic National Convention. There are fewer of them now. The Democrats convincingly – some would say glowingly – passed the test over their four-day virtual event.
The caricature of Joe Biden, as nurtured by troller-in-chief Donald Trump, was that of a senile stumblebum. With the bar so low, Mr. Biden easily cleared it, dashing the depiction.
His resolute, uplifting convention speech, which is receiving rave reviews, was pronounced with conviction. It was like a preacher’s Sunday sermon. All about the heart and healing; about hope over despair, light over darkness.
It was right for the times, a man meeting the moment. It had the effect of setting the election stakes as a good individual versus a bad one. To hyperbolize: a saint versus Satan.
So repetitively and relentlessly over the four days was the point driven home about Mr. Biden being a caring, decent man who would restore the country’s dignity that you wanted to shout, “Enough already!” There was not a word from him on such major matters as China.
But repetition works in politics. The event, with its clunky slogan “Build Back Better,” made old Joe Biden seem as likeable as a politician can be.
Not just the person, but the party as well, were effectively marketed. Republicans are trying to characterize the Democrats as being in the grip of the socialist left. The event blew that away by keeping the leftists at bay. Their speaking time was significantly limited.
There were no policy fights. The virtual format made such things impossible. There were legitimate complaints that Latinos were not well enough represented but, by and large, a strongly unified party emerged. A segment Thursday night showed the defeated candidates in the primaries all singing the praises of Mr. Biden. It was not just he who had them in a spirit of togetherness. As Beto O’Rourke, one of the defeated, said, “I don’t think anyone has ever united us the way Donald Trump has.”
Republicans like to depict the Democrats as elitists. Working-class Joe diminishes that possibility. They’d hoped his vice-presidential pick would provide fodder for them. But the convention fed the impression that Kamala Harris is a good choice. Her speech, though marred by having to be delivered to an empty hall, was moving.
A big concern for Democrats going in were polls showing an enthusiasm deficit for their leader, as opposed to a stronger commitment by Trump supporters for their tribune. The Biden performance likely will narrow that deficit.
Mr. Biden has spent 48 years in politics. He failed at two previous presidential runs. At 77, he is older than 94 per cent of Americans. But finally, he appears to be the right fit for the times.
The country, with the rate of 1,000 people dying each day from COVID-19 and crises both racial and economic, desperately needs a healer. To those who lost family members or relatives to the virus, Mr. Biden had touching words of comfort: “Your loved ones may have left this earth. But they will never leave your heart.”
He filled the air with optimism: “Here and now, I give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness. ... We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”
His words reminded some Canadians of the final message NDP leader Jack Layton gave before passing away from cancer in 2011. So much so, that some on Twitter alleged Mr. Biden had plagiarized Mr. Layton. But there was sufficient difference in the wording to negate that charge.
While he hit Mr. Trump hard, Mr. Biden, who has a history of reaching across the aisle, tried to strike a bipartisan note, promising to be an American president, not a party president.
Former president Barack Obama issued a stark warning about Mr. Trump on Wednesday. “This administration,” he said, “has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win.”
While the convention had its share of tedium, overreach and boilerplate messaging, the marquee performers who closed off each evening gave presentations that well overshadowed the low points.
Republicans have been provided far less ammunition than they would have hoped. To score points, they will have to excel in the art of creating alternative realities. They get their chance with their own virtual convention next week. After four days of vilification, Joe Biden will hardly have the halo he has now.
There will then be three presidential debates. It won’t be easy, but with his performance this week Mr. Biden has given the Democrats and the country confidence – confidence that he can meet the challenge, and confidence that he can draw down the curtain on what he appropriately termed, America’s “season of darkness.”
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