BIDEN IS OUT. NOW THE PEOPLE WHO PUSHED HIM OUT TAKE THE DNC STAGE. Now that it has happened, it seems inevitable that Democrats would deal President Joe Biden one final indignity on his way out. As speaker after speaker droned on Monday night, not singing Biden’s praises but extolling the Democratic Party’s real passion, which is abortion, it became clear that Biden would not be speaking at, say, 9 p.m. Eastern time, or 10 p.m., with a prime-time audience still awake and ready to listen to the president of the United States. Instead, the talking went on so long that Biden did not begin his remarks until 11:25 p.m. Eastern, ending well past midnight. Then he headed off to California for a “vacation,” while Vice President Kamala Harris took his treasured place on the Democratic ticket.
Just as a practical matter, weren’t Democrats concerned that the 81-year-old Biden, who is said to be at his best between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., would flag as midnight approached? If they were, it didn’t stop convention organizers from letting every last speaker go on, pushing Biden later and later into the night. After it was over, party officials blamed…the crowd. Those in attendance were just so crazy about Harris and running mate Tim Walz that they couldn’t quiet down. The night moved slowly “because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker,” a party statement said. “We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket.”
What about the substance? Like every other speech that Biden has given in his life, it was unremarkable. He praised his own accomplishments and tried not to appear angry at the Democratic Party brokers who muscled him out of the chance to stay in the job he worked all his life to attain. “It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president,” Biden said. “I love the job, but I love my country more. … And all this talk about how I’m angry at all those people who said I should step down — that’s not true.”
You will be forgiven if you don’t believe that. In any event, Biden is in temporary exile in California, and the convention is moving on to the real stars of the show. Former President Barack Obama will headline Tuesday evening, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will speak Wednesday night. When Biden’s defenders, and even some neutral observers, call Biden’s ouster a “coup” — well, these are the coup plotters. With the victim out of the way, the insiders and their new candidate are taking over.
As has become the tradition at conventions, Harris herself showed up at the hall on Monday night. To call her brief remarks boilerplate would be unfair to boilerplate. “Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation,” Harris said. “People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here, united by our shared vision for the future of our country. And this November, we will come together and declare, with one voice as one people, we are moving forward.”
In a brief press gaggle in Pennsylvania earlier Monday, Harris appeared to suggest she will accentuate the positive in her big address to the convention Thursday night. The speech, she said, will be “much of what you’ve probably heard me talk about before in terms of just what I believe to be the promise of America and the fact that we’re all in this, and there’s obviously a lot at stake. But there’s also a lot to feel good about in terms of the future of our country.”
How will the feel-good work into Harris’s speech? There is likely to be a lot of happy talk about the country — a possibly difficult case to the majority of voters who believe the nation is moving in the wrong direction. Then there will be more happy talk about the state of the economy, but with the recognition that there remain “affordability” concerns, which Harris will purport to solve by 1) imposing “anti-price-gouging” measures better known as price controls and 2) giving people taxpayer money with which they can buy higher-priced products.
Here’s a prediction: The crowd will go wild. One thing that is clear from the first night of the convention is that the audience of delegates and other party activists is so, so, so stoked to be out from under the burden of Biden’s age and infirmity. In gratitude for the relief they felt, they instantly transferred their loyalty to Harris and will be happy to spend the next three nights celebrating her.