President Joe Biden gave an emotional and, by all accounts, powerful farewell to more than a half-century in politics Monday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
It took a while to get there.
As cable news pundits have repeatedly said, the evening was so long that Biden’s speech, which had been the centerpiece of the coverage all day, was pushed out of prime time on the East Coast, starting well after 11 p.m. there (after 8 p.m. Arizona time). That this really matters in an era when people consume news differently than they used to—one person on social media said, “What about prime time, I watch this on my phone?”—was at least symbolically awkward. (Some speakers were cut from the evening, as was James Taylor’s performance.)
Or, as Jake Tapper said on CNN: “There’s going to be a lot of people who think Joe Biden got the lion’s share of the action tonight.”
Why did Joe Biden intervene so late?
Fox News was quick to suggest that this was intentional (and they weren’t the only ones). Asked whether it would work to seat Biden so late, Karl Rove replied: “It will work if you don’t want the face of the convention to be Joe Biden. … This is an indication that they want to put him in the rearview mirror as quickly as possible.”
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Uh, maybe.
The long lines to get into the United Center were supposed to be the real cause of the drama. Regardless, the evening was billed as a passing of the torch, from Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris. And it was. Sort of. Biden’s 48-minute speech, highlighting his administration’s accomplishments and attacking Republican nominee Donald Trump, sounded a lot like the one he might have delivered Thursday night had he accepted his party’s nomination.
This is how it was supposed to go just a month ago. One failed debate later and Biden was out, Harris and Tim Walz were in, and a once-moribund Democratic Party is clearly more energized, as was evident Monday night. Harris made a surprise appearance and received rock-star applause. Fiery speeches from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Sen. Raphael Warnock indeed signaled a new, more aggressive stance toward Trump.
Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, gave a nod to the past. Her speech was poignant, with a reminder of her signature phrase about breaking the “highest and hardest glass ceiling.” Now it would be Harris’ turn to try.
Ashley Biden’s speech brought tears to my eyes
But all day, on every network, all the coverage was focused on Biden’s speech. On CNN and MSNBC, he made a tough choice that he didn’t want to make for the good of his party. On Fox News, he was the victim of a “coup,” the network’s word of the week. It’s like a right-wing “Sesame Street” out there.
Biden’s daughter, Ashley, introduced him, speaking of her father in personal terms, calling him “the original girls’ dad.” In one of the most emotional moments of the evening, when he finally came out, they embraced and spoke briefly; he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his eyes.
“That was my daughter!” Biden shouted with obvious pride after a four-and-a-half-minute standing ovation. It was a sweet moment.
It was also a sign of the energy to come. “He was in his State of the Union groove, kind of yelling,” Bret Baier said on Fox News, referring to Biden’s high-octane speech in March. Indeed, Biden raised his voice a lot, especially when talking about Trump. (“Who the hell does he think he is?”) When he talked about the future, it often sounded like he’d put “Kamala and Tim” where “I” was in the original speech.
“America, I gave my best for you.”
He had some good lines. “We saved democracy in 2020, and now we have to save it again in 2024.”
He was once told he was too young to serve in the U.S. Senate, and then told he was too old to remain president. “All this talk about how angry I am at everybody who told me I should resign, it’s not true.” Of course, the great line: “I love my job, but I love my country more.” Nothing drew as much applause as when he quoted the American anthem and said, “America, I gave it my all for you.”
“The old lion’s last roar,” Van Jones said on CNN. “A long roar,” Dana Bash responded.
To give him credit. Given the chaos of the last few weeks, everything seemed to be going well. And don’t forget, there are still three nights to play.
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Contact Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com.Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm.X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movie newsletter.
