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“America, I love you,” declared President Joe Biden tonight in his keynote speech at the first night of the Democratic National Convention as delegates from across the land cheered “We love Joe!” over and over.
Even with his constant evocation of Irish poetry over the decades, Biden has never been anyone’s idea of a great orator. However, on Monday, the 46th President of the United States gave one of the best speeches of his long stint in public life.
Combative, on-point, evocative and relatively succinct for Biden, the valedictory had a job for the campaign. A job that Biden obviously enjoyed. Ripping his 2020 antagonist Donald Trump as a “loser” and “a liar,” Biden went on to lament how “sad” his predecessor is “putting himself first and America last.”
“I’ve got five months left in my presidency and I’ve got a lot to do,” Biden told the crowd, many of whom had tears dripping down their faces. “I intend to get it done,” Biden added after cataloging his efforts to get a ceasefire in the Gaza War and bring a greater peace to the Middle East.
Quoting Norah Jones’ “American Anthem” song, Biden recited “America, America, I gave my best to you.”
“I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” the president continued as an almost chorus. “For 50 years, like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to our nation, and I have been blessed a million times in return with the support of the American people,” Biden added to a suddenly near silent arena. “I may have been too young to be in the Senate, because I wasn’t 30 yet, and too old to stay as president,” he went on, to sounds of near shock at his bluntness. “But I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you.”
As the convention thundered for Biden at the end of his just over 45-minute speech, Vice President and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff came on-stage with the president’s family. The 2024 nominee could clearly been seen telling the 2020 nominee that she loved him as the two hugged.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Biden being Biden, there was an occasional stumble. A bizarre reference to a compliment over his Ukraine policy from the now dead Henry Kissinger didn’t get the reception the president sought. A nod to the ancient Greeks could have gone off the rails. Much of the occasional self-mocking Biden’s bellowed remarks were a litany of achievements and well-worn anecdotes that clearly came from the acceptance speech he intended to be giving this week as recently as two months ago.
It didn’t really matter.
Playing to those at home and on the go more than those in Chicago’s United Center, the 81-year-old Biden was in a fighting spirit that we haven’t seen since the State of the Union earlier this year. In fact, you could say the gist of this speech was the state of the Biden-Harris administration. According to the president, it was in a very good state and good hands.
No wonder Harris was smiling as the man who wants to be her predecessor heaped acclaim on his party’s new standard bearer and the “47th President of the United States.” Beside calling his choice of Harris to be his running mate in 2020 “the best decision of my whole career,” the aside of “thank you Kamala” from Biden to chants of “thank you Joe!” was a spontaneous moment that said it all.
In a scene unseen in America since career politician Lyndon Baines Johnson withdrew from the 1968 race, career politician Joe Biden tonight figuratively handed over power in the pursuit of defeating a long-time foe. Unlike LBJ, who never showed his face at the chaotic ’68 DNC and was listless in his support of his VP Hubert Humphrey’s pursuit of the White House, Biden basked in love and respect from his party.
With a constant chorus of “Thank You Joe!” the DNC’s opening night and intimate words from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and First Daughter Ashley Biden, the President was preceded over Monday evening by a tribute to Civil Rights leaders and trailblazers like Shirley Chisholm, an array of governors, senators, congressmen and congresswoman.
For a newly streamlined party that has stressed discipline over the change of nominees, it got flabby with too many speeches from too many politicians we see every day. James Taylor (but not Taylor Swift) was set to play but ended up getting bounced because of runaway program. The film that extolled documentary director Dawn Porter made as part of a Biden tribute was pushed off the schedule too to make up time — though both POTUS and VPOTUS put the 11 minute effort up on social media on Monday.
We love you, Joe. https://t.co/Gslgi6uaZx
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 20, 2024
More importantly, the overflow of speakers took President Biden out of primetime with POTUS not taking the stage until 11:26 pm ET.
Then again, from the “We love you Joe!” roar of the on the feet Democrats when consummate retail pol Biden did step up to the microphone, it sure sounded like they could have gone all night.
It was a remarkable shift from just over a month ago when Biden was insisting he was staying in the race despite POTUS’s disastrous and sometimes painful debate performance against Trump on June 27 on CNN.
After loyal donors like Watchmen boss Damon Lindelof, in a Deadline exclusive, and George Clooney started withholding checks, party insiders like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi moving the chess pieces in the background, the writing was on the wall for Biden. Even with crashing numbers, only a fool would think that the president planned to drop out before hosting the NATO Summit in D.C. in early July. After a press conference of ups and downs on July 11 at the end of the summit, Biden suddenly revealed on Sunday July 21 that he was stepping aside. Minutes later POTUS endorsed VPOTUS for the Democrats’ nomination, which the California native clinched within less than 36 hours.
In a handover that appeared improbable just a few weeks ago, Biden’s decision to pass the torch to his loyal VP has been near seamless – as was evident tonight. Biden’s forced hand turned this into a real race with the Democrats now holding a thin lead. If Harris is elected, that handover is set to be as much a part of the incumbent’s legacy as his legislative and foreign policy successes.
Also on stage at the DNC on Monday night were singers Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell and various labor leaders. Tellingly, Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien, who spoke to mixed results at the hard-nosed GOP convention last month, was not among those at the lectern on Monday.
Source: https://deadline.com/2024/08/biden-dnc-speech-1236044394/