Q: Why do you support Joe Biden?
A: Competent governance on day one.
That was my answer to every survey and challenge I received for the past year and a half.
It is no secret that I supported Joe Biden since the first day he announced he was running for President a year and a half ago. I was on his team through the dreadful Iowa and New Hampshire primaries when the pundits declared him done, and have continued ever since. Why?
My answer has been the same: President Trump is gutting the effective management of the Federal Government and Joe Biden will effectively repair good governance on day one.
And now, here we are. January 20th will come - it would seem - with no transitional support from the outgoing administration. At this time I fully expect that President Trump will continue down the litigious rabbit hole of election denial and accusation to the bitter end.
There is no rational reason for the lawsuits today, so there is no rational reason to believe that he will stop at "reasonable" moments of clarity in the weeks ahead. There are such moments, and they will come and go by like Burma-Shave signs on the highway in a forgotten age: state certifications (before Dec 1), naming of electors (December 8), voting by electors (December 14), or even the counting of electoral college ballots and the proclamation of Joe Biden as President elect in the Congress (Jan 6). No, none of these deadlines are likely to stop the man who sued his casinos and hotels into the ground from doing the same with the Federal Government.
And then, on January 20th, we will get Joe Biden. Experienced, calm, professional Joe Biden. He knows exactly how to convene a cabinet and oversee their work. He knows how to handle the situation room in the white house, and where the bathrooms are. There will be no lost time gearing up and training someone for a job that almost no one knows how to do before they start.
So no, I am not worried about the transition because I honestly don't believe that there is anything that Donald Trump has to offer Joe Biden that would be even theoretically helpful. Yes, blocking intelligence briefings is obnoxious. It could even be dangerous. But is there anything that Trump has on a hidden back burner that the new President will have to deal with on day one? Highly unlikely.
I believe in the power of good government, good diplomacy, and national and international economic policies. Joe is trained and ready. And, quite frankly, thank God.
Yes I agree with your analysis and thanks for putting it into good prose.
ReplyDeleteGoing forward, we will eventually have to deal with the mechanics of how it's possible for one personality to exude a "cult" like departure from logic and fair play, even among people who may champion such ideals in their every day lives. One only has to consider the numerous accounts of medical professionals in 'red" states still baffled by the denials of very sick patients. There is healing to be done on a broad scale and it will take time and more struggle, for sure.