President Biden said the right things in his inaugural address about bringing the country together. Now, he’ll have the tough task of governing — of squaring his unifying words with the demands of his party.
Speaking from the spot that had been overrun by rioters just two weeks ago, Biden declared, “At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
The common thread of the speech was a welcome call for unity during a politically tumultuous time. Invoking Abraham Lincoln, Biden said, “My whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause.”
He also said, and we hope it is true, that “politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.”
He made a point to reach out to those who did not vote for him, many of whom still believe he stole the election: “To all of those who did not support us, let me say this — hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart. If you still disagree, so be it. That’s democracy. That’s America. The right to dissent peaceably within the guardrails of our republic, it’s perhaps this nation’s greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you — I will be a president for all Americans. All Americans. And I promise you, I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.”
He added, “We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus — rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.”
All of the rhetoric was encouraging and came across as sincerely felt. But an inaugural is a speech in broad and vague terms without details that might prove divisive. Now, Biden has the immense task of filling in those blanks.
At one point, he claimed, “It’s time for boldness, for there is so much to do.” What, exactly, does he mean by boldness? It sounds less like a summons to staunchness and more like a tip of his hat to those who want him to be radical. To the activist Left of his own party, “boldness” implies using any means necessary to advance the progressive agenda — nuking the filibuster, expanding and packing the Supreme Court, and taking executive actions to impose policies that cannot win congressional approval. Is that where Biden is going?
During his campaign, our new president signaled openness to all of these ideas, which would deepen divisions and threaten America’s institutions.
Biden also used the term “systemic racism,” which goes further than acknowledging some racism still exists and suggests, as the Left insists, that America is built on racism. It was unnecessary and regrettable that the new president, who promises unity, should deploy a phrase coined to smear this nation as irredeemably racist and to deny our real progress toward a racially just society.
Biden understandably and properly called out the “rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront, and we will defeat.” But it is wrong to imply, as this portion of Biden’s speech did, that white supremacists and violent supporters of Donald Trump are a unique threat to democracy and the rule of law. Last summer, scores of cities across the country were racked with less symbolic but more damaging and lethal violence than we witnessed at the Capitol this month. Democratic politicians were slow to condemn that widespread anarchy, which included looting, beatings, vandalism, murder, the creation of an “autonomous zone” in Seattle, the attempted siege of a federal courthouse in Portland, and statues being torn down by mobs. At the time, the violence was downplayed and even encouraged by Biden’s party, and by Kamala Harris, who is now his vice president.
Any mention of what happened over the summer is dismissed as false equivalence and an attempt to excuse the Capitol rioters. But both were bad, both posed a threat to law and order, and both must be confronted. Were Biden to govern as though one side were more responsible, indeed solely responsible, for political violence, it would be a recipe for failure and more disunion.
We congratulate Biden and cheer his call for unity. But we will be watching closely to hold him to his words as he begins the tough task of trying to make them reality.
