Biden seizes moment
Democrat accepts nomination, pledges to be ‘ally of the light, not of darkness’
What many are calling the best speech of Joe Biden’s long career capped an unconventional Democratic National Convention that experts say positioned the nominee well for the campaign against President Donald Trump.
“Although Joe Biden has been in the public spotlight for decades, the final night did a good job of reintroducing him as a man of resilience — overcoming economic hardship as a youngster, overcoming a stuttering condition, overcoming the death of his wife and daughter, and overcoming the death of his grown son Beau,” said Robert Alexander, political science professor at Ohio Northern University in Ada.
“This fit well with the qualities that were emphasized throughout the week regarding Biden’s empathy, experience and relationship-building. These are qualities they were looking to contrast with President Trump.”
While Biden never uttered Trump’s name, the former vice president cast his campaign as a battle of light versus darkness.
“The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.
“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 of the darkness,” Biden said at the beginning of his 25-minute address.
Biden carried the theme through the end of his speech
“May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation.”
Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan, lauded the speech.
"Vice President Biden certainly rose to the occasion while delivering the most important speech of his political career on Thursday night,“Kall said. ”Though it was only 25 minutes in duration and lacked an audience, the speech will be fondly remembered if Biden is elected president in November.“
While the Democratic challenger may have talked about the incumbent a little too much, Kall said, “He looked like a political candidate who has eagerly awaited this moment for his whole life, and his supporters will definitely be thrilled with the outcome."
Trump apparently was watching the speech as well but was less impressed.
“In 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!“he tweeted.
Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director, said in a statement, “Joe Biden is a twice-failed candidate for president and is, without question, a far worse candidate the third time around.”
But Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said the convention built a strong case for Biden as a pro-worker candidate who should appeal to Ohioans.
“Joe Biden and the Democrats this week showed Democrats are focused on workers … contrasted with the betrayal of Trump” in the closing of the GM plant at Lordstown and his call this week for a boycott of tires manufactured by Akron-based Goodyear.
As the four-day, mostly online convention drew to a close, Democrats seemed eager to present a united front instead of the divisions between the camps of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders that plagued the party through the 2016 election.
This time, the Vermont senator appeared on screen with six other vanquished Biden rivals to sing the praises of the newly minted nominee. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg got his own prime-time slot.
The evening’s most poignant moment came not from a politician but from a 13-year-old New Hampshire boy, Breydon Harrington, who deals with a stutter. Biden has given the youth tips to overcome the affliction.
"About a few months ago I met (Biden) in New Hampshire. He told me that we were members of the same club: We stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became vice president," the teen said.
Biden said his struggle with stuttering helped him become more compassionate and empathetic.
In a rather unique twist for a Democratic gathering, Biden’s faith was put on full display, perhaps to counter Trump’s claim that Biden is “against God” and would “hurt the Bible.” Convention organizers played a CNN clip of the Catholic explaining his faith during a forum shortly after the Charleston, South Carolina, church shootings.
Michael Wear, who led faith-based initiatives for President Barack Obama, praised the change.
“I was clear in 2016, unafraid to call it as I saw it when it came to the Democratic
campaign and how they approached faith. In 2020, Joe Biden and this campaign are not making that mistake. They are asking directly, explicitly for the votes of religious Americans. That matters.”
In a joke that seemed to draw mostly negative reviews on Twitter, host Julia Louis Dreyfuss cracked: “Just remember, Joe Biden goes to church so regularly that he doesn’t even need tear gas and a bunch of federalized troops to get there.”
It’s likely no one laughed at a Trump campaign tweet about the same time: “Phony Kamala Harris is an anti-catholic bigot.” Ohio's Bob Paduchik, one of Trump's top campaign advisers, "liked" the tweet.
“This campaign isn't just about winning votes, it's about winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America,” Biden said in his speech.
While Biden didn’t blame Trump for the coronavirus that’s taken more than 170,000 American lives, he said the president’s inaction made the pandemic far worse in the U.S. than in other countries.
“Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to this nation. He failed to protect us. He failed to protect America,” said Biden, who favors a national mask mandate.
“And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable.”
The COVID-19 outbreak combined with the country’s economic woes, struggle for racial justice and the growing dangers from climate change means that “history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced,” he said.
“Will we be the generation that finally wipes the stain of racism from our national character? Biden asked. ”I believe we're up to it.“
The realities of a coronavirus convention prevented the traditional balloon drop at the end, but the candidates and their spouses went outside the auditorium in Delaware where Biden spoke for a fireworks show as cars parked in the lot flashed their lights and honked their horns.
Alexander said, “Sure, there were awkward moments and transitions, but their messaging was pretty consistent throughout the week: Namely that Donald Trump’s character is not up to the job, that his policies have put Americans at risk economically and physically due to his laggard response to the coronavirus.”
As he often does, Biden quoted an Irish poet in his message.
He cited a work by Seamus Heaney that spoke of a time “when hope and history rhyme."
Biden said, “This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme.”
Dispatch Reporter Randy Ludlow contributed to this story. drowland@dispatch.com @darreldrowland