By David Brooks / The New York Times
President Joe Biden’s speech Monday night was a reminder of why the Democrats were right to make the switch to Kamala Harris as their candidate for president. I expected something personal from Biden, ruminating on his life, commitments and the hills and valleys of a long career. Instead, we got a familiar campaign speech that was about as personal and moving as a platform committee report.
I was hoping for something in the spirit of the Harris campaign: ebullient and joyful. Near the end, he got a little sentimental and said, “America, I gave my best to you.” But largely he delivered an unsmiling, haranguing speech.
We’ve had roughly a decade of the politics of anger, anxiety and indignation. The country is exhausted, and it would have been even more exhausted if this campaign had been another few months of old guys growling at her. On Monday, Biden offered people a vision of what his campaign might have been. I suppose the vast majority of Americans will be glad we are spared it.
I confess I still haven’t gotten over the way Biden was pushed from the nomination. He’s a sensationally good man. He made a million decisions as president that contributed to a string of policy victories, decisions that made him a superior president. The way it ended for him was unworthy of all he gave.
But on Monday it was clear there has been a shift in the spirit of the times, and Biden hasn’t quite caught it. He remains a great public servant. But he reminded us of the wisdom of Nancy Pelosi’s decision to maneuver him from the race, and the strategies of all those who worked to replace him. Anger and indignation is not the spirit America is hungering for now. The culture has moved on.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times, c.2024.
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