Biden accepts nomination, seeks national unity in convention finale
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden vowed to unite an America torn by crisis and contempt Thursday night, accepting the Democratic presidential nomination and achieving a pinnacle in an unfinished quest that has spanned three decades and been marred by personal tragedy, political stumbles and more dynamic rivals.
The past hurdles fell away as Mr. Biden addressed his fellow Democrats and millions of Americans at home who he hopes will send him to the White House to replace Donald
Trump — though his triumphant moment was drained of immediate drama by the coronavirus pandemic, which left him speaking to a nearly empty arena rather than to a joyously cheering crowd.
Mr. Biden led off his address lamenting the amount of anger and fear in today’s America, and said it was time to “choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”
“This campaign isn’t just about winning votes, it is about winning the heart and, yes, the soul of America,” he said.
The pandemic has shaken the nation and fundamentally altered the campaign. But Mr. Biden pointed to the public health emergency and the severe economic fallout to turn traits previously seen as vulnerabilities, notably a long career spent in elected office, into an advantage by presenting himself as a competent
leader in a moment that Democrats say cries out for one in the White House.
“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,” Mr. Biden declared. “I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness.”
“And make no mistake ... we’ll overcome this season of darkness in America,” he added.
The night’s keynote address was the speech of a lifetime for Mr. Biden, who at 77 would be the oldest president ever elected if he defeats Mr. Trump in November. The convention leaned on a younger generation earlier in the night to help energize his sprawling coalition.
Cory Booker, only the ninth African American senator in U.S. history, said Mr. Biden believes in the dignity of all working Americans.
Andrew Yang, a 45-yearold Asian American political outsider whose love of math inspired millions during the primaries, cast Mr. Biden as a leader capable of digging America out of “a deep dark hole.”
Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois senator who lost both legs in Iraq and is raising two young children, said Mr. Biden has “common decency.”
And Pete Buttigieg, a 38year-old openly gay military veteran from Indiana, noted that Mr. Biden came out in favor of same-sex marriage as vice president even before President Barack Obama did.
“Joe Biden is right: This is a contest for the soul of the nation. And to me, that contest is not between good Americans and evil Americans,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “It’s the struggle to call out what is good for every American.”
Above all, Mr. Biden was focusing on uniting the nation as Americans grapple with the long and fearful health crisis, the related economic devastation, a national awakening on racial justice — and Mr. Trump, who stirs heated emotions from all sides.
Mr. Biden’s positive focus Thursday night marked a break from the dire warnings offered by Mr. Obama and others the night before.
The 44th president of the United States warned that American democracy itself could falter if Mr. Trump is reelected, while Mr. Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, the 55-year-old California senator and the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, addressed race problems in a way Mr. Biden could not.
Throughout their convention, the Democrats have summoned a collective urgency about the dangers of Mr. Trump as president. In 2016, they dismissed and sometimes trivialized him. In the days leading up to Mr. Biden’s acceptance speech, they cast him as an existential threat to the country.
Thursday’s program was designed to highlight the diversity of the Democratic Party and the nation Mr. Biden hopes to lead.
“We know how important it is that we elect real leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, people of honor and integrity, who hold justice close to their hearts and believe that the lives of my four black children matter,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. She spoke ahead of a tribute to the late John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights leader who devoted much of his life to ensuring African Americans are able to vote.