THE BIDEN-HARRIS INAUGURAL: FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE

 

The last episode of the great television drama The West Wing centers around the inauguration of Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) as successor to the show’s two-term president, Jeb Bartlett (Martin Sheen). While riding to the capitol, Bartlett asked Santos about his speech. Santos replied that it included a few good lines, but nothing like John F. Kennedy’s ‘Ask not what your county can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’ Bartlett sneered, “Yeah, JFK really screwed us with that one, didn’t he?”

When Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address, it’s unlikely he can meet the JFK standard either. Nobody has since that bitterly cold day in 1961 and little in Biden’s rhetorical past suggests he has such a speech in him. That doesn’t diminish the importance of the moment or the address he will give.

 

A Different Inaugural

Few inaugurals in American history present the combination of challenges this one does. Perhaps this resembles 1933 as Franklin Roosevelt faced the great depression. Maybe 1864 compares when the nation remained deadlocked in the Civil War. Knowing Biden could do as well as Abraham Lincoln that day would put everyone’s mind at ease.

With the January 6 invasion and occupation of the U.S. Capitol by a mob inspired by outgoing President Donald Trump, our political situation arguably rivals what Lincoln faced. These marauders, having builtgallows outside, marched through the building waving Confederate flags and shouting “Hang (Vice President) Pence.” The House of Representatives has since impeached Trump for his role in the insurrection and the U.S. Senate will soon hold a trial.  Add the pandemic that has killed 400,000 Americans and still rages and throw in the historic nature of the new vice president’s ascent and we have a truly unprecedented situation.

The January 6 debacle means a massive security presence at the capitol for the

inaugural ceremonies, including thousands of National Guard troops, tall fences, concrete barriers, and multiple checkpoints for capitol employees and the limited number of visitors who can attend the festivities. Inaugurals play a key role in showing the nation and the world what a peaceful transition of power looks like in a

democracy. Trump’s decision that he won’t attend diminishes that to an extent, but even the symbolic power of an appearance by the outgoing president pales in comparison with the need for putting the destructive Trump presidency in the rear-view mirror. Biden now doesn’t want him at the inaugural and neither do many Americans.

   

The security arrangements and the pandemic dictate that this inauguration

look different than any we’ve seen. First, thousands of people won’t look on from the capitol mall. Though Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office on the capitol steps as usual, social distancing will keep attendance at a fraction of normal. Biden’s inaugural committee has told his supporters they shouldn’t travel from across the country for the proceedings, recommending television or virtual viewing.

 

The Harris Factor

The challenges of the nation’s political divide, Trump’s impeachment, the pandemic, and the resulting economic difficulties will justifiably make Biden’s speech the lead in every post-inauguration news story. Calmer circumstances would likely mean more emphasis on the swearing in of the nation’s

first female president or vice president. Kamala Devin Harris of California will make that history when she takes the oath of office as the 49^th vice president. That she is also a woman of color only increases the historical significance. Trump’s blatantly racist presidency and the number of Americans who would have given him a second term squash any suggestion her election hails a post-racial America.

 

Biden says she will play the same kind of role in this administration he played in the Obama-Biden years. He promises he will consult her on every major decision and make her the “last person in the room” in those situations.

 

The Speech and the Job Ahead

Harris will stay busy presiding over the senate following Democratic victories in Georgia runoffs that made the upper chamber a 50-50 party split. The incoming administration has plenty on its plate. Biden and Harris emphasize how much they will focus on the pandemic. As one observer put it, the coronavirus remains the “boss” of everything and everybody. Until the country gets it under control the things ordinary Americans most want can’t happen -- an economic revival and a return to normal life unfettered by social distancing,fan-less sporting events, and restrictions on family and  other gatherings. The pandemic, the limping economy, the political and racial divisions January 6 so starkly demonstrated, and the country’s fragile psyche make for a long, complicated to-do list.

      

Biden’s speech, therefore, requires substantive and spiritual components. Substantively, he need not provide every detail, but he should offer an outline for conquering the pressing problems, including the need for restoring the hollowed out federal government Trump leaves him. He must convince people he will work for them and show he will govern in a way that benefits everyone.

 

The moment also requires a speech that touches souls. It must offer hope for renewing the American spirit. After four years of a lawless, destructive presidency marked by racial discord and political turmoil, a bitter campaign, and a dangerous, tumultuous lame duck period, Biden faces a tired, discouraged, and distraught country.

 

Inaugurals serve many functions. They

represent renewal  and new beginnings. They also put American democracy on the world 

stage and advertise the virtues of our system. January 6  and Trump’s four years

dimmed our brand. America’s first chance at polishing its image comes with the Biden-Harris inaugural. Even with an 

dimmed our brand. America’s first chance at polishing its image comes with the Biden-Harris inaugural. Even with an impeachment proceeding against Trump pending in the U.S. Senate, a little JFK-style inspiration might help.