Just about 4 years ago, I posted the following entry into my blog. It was partly a congratulatory message to the new president, partly a review of my evening as I watched the returns come in, partly some thoughts on why Trump may have won, and lastly, a comment on the lack of turnout for such an important and pivotal election. I have a link to it if you choose to read it in its entirety.
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2016/11/congratulations-to-donald-trump.html
So, to be consistent, congratulations Joe Biden. While one might say that Donald Trump won the 2016 election by employing tactics that were, to say the least, totally outside the norms of a traditional presidential campaign, Joe Biden's campaign was almost the exact opposite. He was steady in his message of unity and did not make the mistakes that Clinton made by denigrating the supporters of Trump while ignoring the voters of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But most importantly (to me), did not pretend that a pandemic that has killed over 240,000 Americans (over 1.2 million earthlings), would go away on its own, choosing to convey his message in ways that lessened the spread of the virus, while Trump conducted rallies that spread the virus among the citizens of our country.
There was one significant similarity between 2016 and 2020; the polls under estimated Trump's support. It was not a blue wave as some predicted, although Biden will win the popular vote by a wider margin than Clinton. Also, while one might say that the person, Donald Trump, was rejected by Americans as a leader, the GOP most likely will gain a few seats in the House (although it will still be a Dem majority), and will also retain control of the Senate, 51-49 or 52-48 depending on the outcome of the Georgia runoff. So, we remain a split country in our perspective and philosophy, a state of affairs that will present president elect Joe Biden with an incredibly complex challenge.
The big difference, hopefully the beginning of a trend, and not an anomaly, was the 2020 turnout. We will break all records for votes cast, Biden and Trump both over 70 million received votes, both surpassing Obama's 2008 record. Percentage of registered voters who will have voted will exceed 66%, may even reach 70%, a number not seen in a century. As I said in my last post, we owe a debt to Donald Trump for this record, but more importantly, we must congratulate the American electorate who, rather that shrugging their collective shoulders and saying "all politicians are the same", made a choice and exercised their most precious right, the right to vote.
I watched some of the speech that Biden gave as the vote count continued into the weekend, and then his victory speech yesterday. He continued expounding of the theme of unity that he displayed during the campaign, and I was happy that he addressed those who supported the president, while not attacking the president himself. I would encourage that Biden, indeed all liberals, progressives, etc, do their best to put Donald Trump out of our consciousness. He will continue his legal attacks on the election, will continue his attacks on the institutions of our country, but we must remain steadfast in our reaction, or in this case, non-reaction. If there is one thing of which I am most certain, it is that Trump feeds on attention, positive or negative, and the best way to encourage him to disappear is to pretend he is already gone.
Of course, the best way to remove Trump from the limelight, is for Biden to create and execute a successful plan to combat COVID-19 while allowing the economy the opportunity to recover. Certainly a vaccine by early 2021 will help, but Biden must jump start confidence in the public's perception of the government's message concerning the use of mandates to protect the health of Americans versus our ubiquitous belief in freedom and liberty. It is a fine line that Trump preferred not to walk, due to the difficulty of treading such a difficult path. If there is one overall strength that Biden has always displayed, it is the ability to listen to a range of opinions, then merge those various opinions into actions. He will need to temper the desire of those on the left to charge ahead while also assuring those on the right that change will be for the good of all, and not just those who voted for him.
For now, we have just over 10 weeks before inauguration 2021. We will hear about some of Biden's plans. We will continue to suffer the ravages of the pandemic in terms of sickness, deaths, and economic stagnation. But, as Biden has said many times, together, we can overcome these difficulties. Together we can balance the needs for suppression of this deadly pandemic with the needs for our children to be in school, our small businesses to be able to operate safely, and our communities to incorporate the new normal of masks and distancing with the indomitable will of individual Americans to adjust, accept, and then prosper.
I am cautiously hopeful, and encourage anyone who reads this to be the same.
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