‘I Love the Job, But I Love My Country More’
Biden passes the torch on evening celebrating his service
At a late hour that most people might be expecting Saturday Night Live, President Biden spoke to the packed, raucous crowd gathered for the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
In clearly emotional remarks, Biden spoke at length for 48 minutes, in which he passed the mantle of leadership to a new generation and exhorted the nation to elect Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.
He insisted that any reports he was “angry” about stepping aside were “not true,” and he was acting out of love of country.
It was a very different appearance for the president than once imagined. Until just weeks ago, he was the one who would have capped off the Democrats’ quadrennial nominating convention in Chicago by accepting the nomination for reelection.
That all changed with Biden’s disastrous performance against Donald Trump in their debate and then weeks of intraparty convulsions which culminated in Biden’s decision to get out of the race and back Harris for president.
Those dark weeks clearly are past for Democrats, who came to the DNC ebullient in the surging candidacy of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz as they quickly have overtaken Trump in voter opinion polling.
“Each of us has a part in the American story. For me and my family, there is a song that means a lot to us, it captures the best of who we are as a nation. The song is called ‘American Anthem,’” Biden said. “There is one verse that stands out — and I can’t sing worth a damn so I won’t try, I'll just quote it. ‘The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day. What shall our legacy be? What will her children say? Let me know in my heart, when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you.’”
Democrats in the hall also recognized First Lady Dr Jill Biden with an ovation of her own.
There seemed to be no rancor as Biden passed the torch to the Harris/Walz ticket.
“My dad — my dad — used to have an expression for real, he’d say, ‘Joey, families are the beginning, the middle, and the end and I love you all,” the president said, as his speech was interrupted by chants of, “We love Joe!”
“And, America, I love you! Folks, let me ask you — let me ask you — are we ready to vote for freedom? Are we ready to vote for democracy and for America?” he added. “Let me ask you: Are we ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?”
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