When Joe Biden finally appeared in the entrance of the House chamber Thursday night to deliver the most important speech of his life, I cried.
I cried not so much for the man, but for the moment the man was meeting.
-I cried because we’ve heard a lot of guff from a lot of people who want to remind us every other damn minute that the man is too old, and out of touch.
-I cried because we’ve heard a lot of outright crap that the man’s predecessor had all the momentum and was leading in one stupid, meaningless political poll after another.
-I cried because we know in our hearts which man really has America’s best interests at heart, and which man would never, ever attack him like his loathsome predecessor.
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-I cried because we know when it comes to preserving a woman’s right to choose what is best for HER, this man will be there for her, unlike his grabby, grotesque predecessor.
I cried, because FINALLY everybody in the world was about to hear from our side — the silent majority’s side.
And let me tell you this: The man positively delivered. I have watched too many big speeches in my lifetime, and I swear to God I have never seen anybody come right out of the chute and unequivocally say exactly what needed saying.
There was no slow, careful buildup. The man made the decision that the speech he would deliver during these historic times didn't call for that. They called for action, and the Man from Scranton was clearly packing a punch.
The beginning of this monumental speech reminded me of a heavyweight boxing match I covered way back in my sportswriting days. During that bout, the bell sounded, and the underdog defending champ got off his stool, slowly walked from his corner, met his big-mouth challenger in the middle of the ring, and then spent the next 27 seconds pounding him into submission, until the fight was mercifully stopped by the referee.
It was stunning.
When the old champ met with the press shortly after, he was asked what motivated him to bring a cannon into the ring. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said, “Well, I’d heard more than enough yapping” out of his big-mouth opponent. “I finally got my chance to show him who was boss, and wasn’t gonna waste time reminding him or anybody else of that.”
Well, Biden wasted absolutely no time throwing haymakers, and from word one let his opponent and everybody in the world know what was at stake in these historic times: “Freedom and Democracy.”
Biden immediately stood up for America, Ukraine and NATO, and went right after Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and the fawning Republicans who pathetically hug the murdering dictator.
“My message to Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple,” Biden said. “We will not walk away. We will not bow down.”
He said that because every true patriot needed to hear it. He said that because veterans like myself needed to hear it. He said that because freedom-lovers around the world needed to hear it. He said that because that is what the leader of the most powerful country in the world is supposed to say.
Right away, he reminded everybody of the greatness of the United States of America, and why she has always risen to the challenge, no matter the odds.
And let’s say this, too. Biden didn't deliver his speech as if it dripped from a bottle of syrup. That is not who this man is. That is not who Joe Biden ever was.
He is an imperfect orator because he is an imperfect man. He stutters at times, not because he’s unsure of what he wants to say, but because he knows in his heart it so desperately needs saying.
I have already read shameless screed from some likely sources who called the speech “choppy” and “a rant.”
I take heart this seems to be the minority opinion today. More have asked where this Joe Biden has been the past three years.
Well, the silent majority knows where he’s been. He’s been doing what he’s always done during 47 years in public service: relentlessly working behind the scenes on behalf of the American people.
“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history,” he said. “And we have. It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”
Well, last night he got his chance to tell it. Jobs, jobs, jobs … healthcare, infrastructure, eliminating junk fees, cheaper prescriptions, environment, women’s rights, voting rights, wage increases, falling unemployment — the best economy in the world, by far.
He rebuked the shameless GOP for “trying to bury the truth” about the attack on America on January 6, 2021, and we, the silent majority, needed to hear that, too. Because that damn day was gross and terrible and can never be forgotten.
Real Americans don’t attack America, dammit.
When he started winding down after an hour of reaching so high, he returned to the place where he had started: the soul of America.
“I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it. I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms, not take them away.”
"The state of our union is strong and getting stronger."
So sure, I cried. The man said what needed saying.
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D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. Follow @EarlofEnough and on his website.
