The Reviews Are In
This clearly did not surprise me, but it’s worth noting regardless. President Biden’s 20-minute-long inaugural address was either the best such address ever…or the worst…depending on your personal preferences.
Those who are predisposed to liking anything Biden said were effusive in their praise…from its length, to its conciliatory tone, its call for healing and unity. Those who would have preferred another chorus from the previous president called it hollow, empty, and devoid of substance.
And that yet again shows us how difficult it will be for governance. Granted, feelings were more than a little raw on both sides today…it’s going to take quite a while for Trump fans to get over this, if ever…and Trump haters would have fawned over a cardboard cutout, so happy they are to be rid of the hated orange man.
I’ve said before, and repeat now…there is not a figure in this country who could unite the citizens. There is no one figure who would be listened to by these opposite sides. And I do think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I don’t know what a President Biden can do to help that. Part of me says it would go a long way toward the unity and healing he says he wants if he leaned on the Democrats in the Senate to put the past behind them, ignore any move to hold an impeachment trial for a president who is already out of office, and focus everything on moving forward. But I don’t think they’d listen to him…and besides, there are plenty of Republicans who want a pound of Trump’s flesh too.
So as with more inaugural speeches, this one will soon be forgotten. The pictures of masks and fences will linger…and that is hardly an optimistic way to begin a presidential term.
