Biden Asks America to Hope Again
The Democratic presidential nominee promised light in dark times and a way out of our present crises
Hope.
That simple word underlined one of the defining images of the 2008 presidential campaign, and will be forever associated in the political arena with the first White House bid of a charismatic young African American U.S. senator whose election many saw as a significant step in healing America’s racial divides.
Then last night in Delaware, the much-older white man Barack Obama chose as his running mate and who served as his vice president for eight years revived the dream, promising to once again lead America out of crisis. “Hope is more powerful than fear, and light is more powerful than dark,” Joe Biden said in his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president. “This is our moment.”
In 2020, hope has felt like a jinx.
During his second term, Obama set the high-water mark he intended to on a wide array of fronts, from same-sex marriage to trans rights, and his first-term contribution to the health of Americans through the expansion of Medicaid at the state level has yet to be rolled back. And yet the accomplishments of a presidency that operated significantly through executive actions have proved all too…
