Biden accepts nomination as Dems unify for election
WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, achieving the pinnacle — so far — of his nearly five-decade political career on the final night of the most unorthodox national convention in modern history.
The former vice president is hoping the night helps the Democrats make progress toward not only unifying the diverse party but a deeply divided America struggling through a global pandemic as well.
Biden was feted by family and former foes as he became the Democratic Party’s official standard bearer in the campaign to defeat President Donald Trump in November.
The night’s keynote address was the speech of a lifetime for Biden, who at 77 would be the oldest president ever elected. The convention leaned on a younger generation earlier in the night to help energize his sprawling coalition.
Cory Booker, only the ninth African American senator in U.S. history, said Biden believes in the dignity of all working Americans.
Andrew Yang, a 45-year-old Asian American political outsider whose love of math inspired millions during the primaries, cast Biden as a leader capable of digging America out of “a deep dark hole.”
And Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms cast Biden as a man of character.
“We know how important it is that we elect real leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, people of honor and integrity, who hold justice close to their hearts and believe that the lives of my four Black children matter,” Lance Bottoms said. She spoke ahead of a tribute to the late John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights leader who devoted much of his life to ensuring African Americans are able to vote.
Above all, Biden focused on uniting the nation as Americans grapple with the long and fearful health crisis, the related economic devastation, a national awakening on racial justice — and Trump, who stirs heated emotions from all sides.
Biden’s positive focus marked a break from the dire warnings offered by former President Barack Obama and others the night before. The 44th president of the United States warned that American democracy itself could falter if Trump is reelected, while Biden’s running mate, Harris, and 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton declared that Americans’ lives and livelihoods are at risk.
Throughout their convention, the Democrats have summoned a collective urgency about the dangers of Trump as president. In 2016, they dismissed and sometimes trivialized him. In the days leading up to Biden’s acceptance speech, they cast him as an existential threat to the country.
Beyond Biden’s speech, Thursday’s program was designed to highlight the diversity of the Democratic Party and the nation he hopes to lead.
Speakers included four former rivals: Pete Buttigieg, who was trying to become the nation’s first openly gay president; New York ultra-billionaire Michael Bloomberg; Booker and Yang.
“We are in a deep dark hole and we need leaders who will help us dig out,” Yang said. “We must give this country, our country, a chance. And recovery is only possible with a change of leadership and new ideas.”
Biden’s Democratic Party has sought this week to put forward a cohesive vision of values and policy priorities, highlighting efforts to combat climate change, tighten gun laws and embrace a humane immigration policy. They have drawn a sharp contrast with Trump’s policies and personality, portraying him as cruel, self-centered and woefully unprepared to manage virtually any of the nation’s mounting crises and policy challenges.
Biden’s call for unity comes as some strategists worry that Democrats cannot retake the White House simply by tearing Trump down; Biden needs to give his sprawling coalition something to vote for. That’s easier said than done in a modern Democratic Party made up of factions that span generation, race and ideology.
