Biden can do one thing Trump never will
Stephen H. Provost
Stephen H. Provost is a former newspaper editor, columnist and reporter. He’s the author of two books about Donald Trump: “Political Psychosis” and “Media Meltdown.” Both are available on Amazon.
Joe Biden already had my vote.
As anyone who follows this blog knows, I would have voted for a pile of steaming cow dung before I would have considered voting for Donald Trump. I’ve blogged about him; I’ve written books critical of him.
No matter how much I like Biden, my vote will always be more a vote against Trump than anything else. But Biden has impressed me since winning the nomination in a couple of ways.
First, and most importantly, he’s shown his humanity. His personal story is a powerful one, filled with courage in the face of tragedy and loss. I can’t imagine what he’s gone through in losing a wife, a daughter and a son. It’s that story that’s convinced me his expressions of compassion are more than just campaign posturing.
Compassion and humanity are important to me in a leader, and Biden has demonstrated that he possesses these qualities. Of course, it helps that he’s contrasted against the most self-absorbed, amoral president in memory. But even compared with other candidates (the Clintons come to mind), Biden comes across as genuine and responsive.
But not weak.
And that’s the second area where Biden’s impressed me. Since the convention, in particular, he’s come across as someone willing to call Trump out — bluntly and forcefully — on his corruption and incompetence. There’s never been any question in my mind that Biden would be more competent than Trump, but again, that’s a very low bar. (I refer you back to my comment re: that steaming pile of cow dung.)
Biden showed his own competence in his decision to choose Kamala Harris as his running mate. Not because she’s a woman or a person of color — although we would do well to have more of both in positions of power — but because she’s smart, experienced and speaks plainly about where we are and where we need to go.
(Harris herself provides quite a contrast with her opposite number, Mike Pence: She’s an independent thinker who brings something to the ticket, not a boot-licking yes man who parrots his boss’ talking points.)
Biden listens
Biden may not have been progressives’ candidate of choice, but it’s notable that Bernie Sanders has been much more forceful about endorsing Biden than he was in backing Hillary Clinton four years ago. And progressives in general seem to be more united in support of Biden than they were in backing Clinton in 2016.
A big part of that is because of the stakes. Four years ago, Trump was a troubling but still somewhat unknown quantity. There was some hope, however unfounded, that he would grow into the presidency instead of bending it to fit his personal agenda. There’s no mystery this time, and progressives are largely convinced that the stakes are so high they can’t afford to sit this one out.
The good news for the party’s progressive wing is that, even though Biden might not be one of them, he’ll listen to them. In fact, the one thing that’s a prerequisite for true progressivism — compassion — is one of Biden’s strong suits. Compassion is the gateway to listening, which in turn is fundamental to understanding and empathy.
Again, Sanders’ insight is instructive: “I have a better relationship with Joe Biden than I had with Hillary Clinton,” he said, adding that “Biden has been much more receptive to sitting down and talking with me and other progressives than we have seen in the past.”
Biden isn’t just listening to progressives, but people of color and even Republicans fed up with Trumpism.
The contrast with Trump couldn’t be more profound: The Donald listens to nothing but his own often misguided instincts and cares about no one but himself. He’s under the dangerous self-delusion that he never makes mistakes, so he never apologizes and — crucially — can never learn from them. Biden, on the other hand, acknowledges he’s not perfect, which means there’s room to grow. To get better.
That’s the one thing Biden can do that Trump will never accomplish, not because he couldn’t, but because he refuses to try.
The idea that Trump is as corrupt and narcissistic as he is, no matter how disturbing, isn’t the worst of it. The worst of it is that we know he won’t get better, because you can’t get better if you think you’re already perfect.
I wrote earlier that I’d be voting for Biden because, although he’s a flawed candidate, Trump is a failed president. When it comes right down to it, all candidates are flawed in one way or another, but those who succeed in office are those who admit their flaws and work to overcome them. Biden has overcome more in his life than most of us. He knows how to do it. I’m confident he’ll be able to do it as president, too.