Bye Don, Hello Biden-Harris
November 9, 2020
With a global pandemic and a grueling election season coming to a merciful close, stress levels are pretty high right now. That might help explain why the results we shared with you in last Thursday’s Pnut didn’t make much sense. We know other people have also been stressed about the election results, and the extended says of counting probably didn’t help. At the Daily Pnut, we felt a bit like this last week.
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” ― Winston S. Churchill
“A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation” — James Freeman Clarke
Bye Don, Hello Biden-Harris
(Win McNamee via Getty Images)
In the end, as President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. said, we the American people should choose “hope over fear, unity over division, science over fiction, and yes, truth over lies.” He isn’t a perfect person, but he’s the perfect leader America needs at this time in her history. A decent, honest, and compassionate man, Biden has prevailed despite some initial concerns over whether another elderly white male politician — one who’d spent over 3/5th of his life in Congress, who wasn’t the most charismatic, or foible-less, or progressive of figures — could overcome the rock-solid, cult-like support enabling the incumbent president, with his bully pulpit and evidence-free accusations.
Biden’s genuine concern for the “soul” of this nation became the touchstone of his campaign. Propelled by a sense of moral duty, he ran as a sober and pragmatic centrist — the Democratic Party’s best hope to reclaim the American government from a president he considered to be a poisonous, amoral figure.
The 2020 campaign had the unfortunate circumstance of being waged during the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Trump continued holding large rallies, attended by hordes of mask-less supporters all crowded together. Biden was ridiculed for holding smaller campaign events that comported with CDC guidelines. The president’s dismissal of the virus’s dangers helped shift the political landscape in Biden’s favor.
But it wasn’t the pandemic alone that helped. The competition was tough enough — Biden didn’t want Democrats fighting Democrats. After a bruising primary he managed to unite his party by reaching out to the progressive wing, embracing some of their ideas, and adding several progressive policy hands to his campaign staff. His inner circle, however, was dominated by relative centrists. He never budged from his conviction, and the ideological thrust of his campaign, that the Democratic Party is primarily a center-left coalition, rather than one of the activist-left.
Biden’s choice for a running mate reconciled competing pressures on his candidacy without creating new vulnerabilities that Republicans could exploit. His vice president would be a historic choice: Senator Kamala Harris of California, an extremely capable, intelligent, experienced younger woman of color who largely shares his own pragmatic political instincts.
Biden wound up with a message and policy agenda that left Trump with limited avenues of attack. He also benefited from Trump’s lack of interest in learning details, and his impulse toward incitement and division. Trump tried to present himself as a fearless steward of public safety, but he could never bring himself to denounce far-right extremist groups. As the election drew closer, the more unraveled Trump became.
Ultimately, Biden’s campaign was a case study in discipline and restraint, not just for taking the nation’s health crisis seriously, but for following the rigorous guidance of his campaign manager, 44-year-old Jen O’Malley Dillon, who remained laser-focused on the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin that President Trump narrowly won in 2016. Biden ended up winning all three states, giving him a crucial 46 electoral college votes.
For more reads on 2020’s historic presidential election, check out the Daily Pnut Election Reading List.
Welcome Back, America
- Just as many millions of Americans did when Joe Biden was pronounced president-elect, many world leaders breathed a profound sigh of relief. On Saturday, foreign leaders in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America began showering President-elect Biden with congratulations. Diplomats and commentators expressed gratitude, satisfaction, and even jubilation that a new president would bring a much-needed return to normalcy.
- The mayor of Paris tweeted “Welcome back America!” in a message to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel all expressed their congratulations and excitement to be working together again. The collective sentiment seemed to be as much about ushering in Biden as removing President Trump.
- Foreign leaders see Biden as a familiar fixture on the global stage, a centrist Democrat who is likely to restore the traditional habits and methods of American power abroad. Trump has been the great disrupter, leaving alliances in tatters and casting into doubt the international order the US helped build after WWII.
- “I feel optimistic for the first time in quite a long time,” said a former head of Britain’s Foreign Office. “I’m not expecting a radical change in American foreign policy, but I do expect a change in body language and tone, and a shift away from unilateralism to collaboration with allies.” (NYT)
From South Asia To The West Wing
- Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was born in California, but her parents were immigrants to this country. Her late mother was from India, and her father is from Jamaica. Her election is historic; besides being the first female vice president ever elected, she is the first Black woman, and the first Asian American woman ever elected to that office.
- In the tiny Indian village where her maternal grandfather was born, proud residents wrote tributes to Harris in colorful rangoli power on a dirt lane; on Sunday they set off fireworks. Home to just a few hundred people, mostly subsistence farmers, the village of Thulasendrapuram, in India’s southeastern Tamil Nadu state, has embraced Harris as their native daughter, even though her ancestors moved away decades ago.
- The caretaker of the Hindu temple in Harris’ ancestral village expressed the excitement the villagers felt. After offering prayers of thanks in the temple, he said: “I hope this scene reaches Kamala. She should know we’re here celebrating her.” The caretaker said he hopes Harris might visit the village after her inauguration. If she does, he’ll kindly request better broadband internet and some road maintenance. “Other than that,” he said, “we live a contented life.” (NPR)
Additional World News
- Silence speaks volumes: As Biden is offered congratulations, these leaders remain quiet (NBC)
- A U.S.-China detente under Biden? Beijing isn’t betting on it. (WaPo, $)
- Hong Kong security law: Why students abroad fear it (BBC)
- Who controls your scroll? TikTok executive says app used to censor content critical of China (Axios)
- Iranian president says next US administration should make up for Trump’s mistakes (Reuters)
- United Arab Emirates to relax Islamic laws on personal freedoms (Guardian)
- Club-wielding police in Belarus arrest over 500 protesters (AP). Mayhem in Minsk.
- Europe can shut down terror attacks quickly. But it’s still unable to prevent them (CNN)
- Opioid Epidemic Settlement Offer, Worth $26 Billion, Gains Support (NYT, $)
COVID-19
- Covid-19: Global coronavirus cases pass 50 million (BBC)
- Clots, Strokes And Rashes. Is COVID-19 A Disease Of The Blood Vessels? (NPR)
- A Lockdown With Loopholes: New Virus Restrictions Come Into Force in England (NYT)
- Covid immune response faster and stronger post-infection, scientists say (Guardian)
- Biden Under Pressure to Name New FDA Chief as Public Faith in Vaccines Falters (Daily Beast)
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Fox Is In A Foxhole
(Gary Hershorn via Getty Images)
- The Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News Channel, sometimes referred to as Trump TV, has been an extraordinarily important ally to the now lame-duck president. Its role in shaping conservative thought and Republican Party politics is unrivaled, at least within the media. Murdoch allied himself with Trump despite holding the former reality show host in low esteem.
- So on Tuesday night, when Fox News became the first major news outlet to declare that Biden would win Arizona, a furious Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, phoned Murdoch to demand he reverse the network’s call. Displeased gun-toting pro-Trump supporters in Maricopa County, Arizona led chants of “Fox sucks.” And for days, the network’s top opinion hosts supported the president’s unfounded and corrosive claims of voter fraud by Democrats, as he sought to discredit the entire electoral process.
- Trump and Fox are so connected that reality has put the channel between a rock and a hard place. Fox News’ journalists, by and large, have attempted to navigate a gentle landing for their audiences so that they recognize Trump has lost the election. But Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, and others have continued to live in Trump’s alternate universe and relay his baseless claims. The chasm between truth and fiction at the network could make for some tough choices in the future. Or not. (NPR)
- Rupert Murdoch-owned US outlets turn on Trump, urging him to act with ‘grace’ (Guardian)
- Murdoch Family Tries to Dodge Backlash for Fox News (Intercept)
Contact Tracing Through Trump Votes
- According to an analysis by the Associated Press, 93 percent — or about 350 of the 376 counties with the worst COVID-19 outbreaks right now — went for President Trump in the election. Most of the counties were rural areas in red states, including Montana, the Dakotas, Kansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The pandemic is currently the worst it has ever been in the US, routinely hitting six figures in new cases per day.
- On Thursday the country set a new record with more than 121,000 new cases. Late Friday Texas recorded its 1 millionth case of COVID-19, the most in the nation. At this rate at least 10 million confirmed positive cases overall could be hit by next week. So far over 237,000 people have died from the disease. (Vice, NBC News)
Additional USA News
- You’re fired! Donald Trump refuses to concede defeat as recriminations begin (Guardian)
- Jared Kushner, Melania Trump advise Trump to accept election loss (CNN)
- The Nation Reacts To Biden-Harris Victory (NPR)
- Our long national nightmare is over (WaPo, $)
- Biden Agenda To Face The Challenges Of A Closely Divided Congress (NPR)
- It’s time for Biden to go cabinet shopping: Meet the contenders for Biden’s Cabinet (Politico)
- Trump Broke the Internet. Can Joe Biden Fix It? (Wired)
- Georgia Is a New Political Battleground (NYT, $). Peach State politics reach a fever pitch.
- How ‘Defund the Police’ Roiled Competitive Races in New York (NYT, $)
- No shroom for doubt: Voters Rejecting the War on Drugs Is a Win for Public Health (Ars Technica)
- A Motorcycle Rally in a Pandemic? ‘We Kind of Knew What Was Going to Happen.’ (NYT, $)
Party In The USA!
- When the news of Joe Biden’s victory broke on Saturday morning, a non-official Twitter account under the president-elect’s name wrote: “Go celebrate! Listen to Miley Cyrus’ ‘Party in the USA.’” Less than two hours later another Twitter account, Chart Data, reported that Cyrus’ 2009 hit single had broken through the iTunes Top 200 chart in the US.
- Multiple radio stations across the country also picked up the song. Cyrus shared her excitement for the Biden-Harris victory by tweeting: “Now THIS is a PARTY IN THE USA!” She also retweeted videos shared by her fans showing people dancing in the streets of New York City, Washington DC, and other cities, jamming and singing along.
- Last month Cyrus hosted an Instagram Live with Harris, who spoke about the importance of voting and how young people can make a difference in today’s political environment. Harris also shared her campaign trail playlist and her favorite song, “Work That” by Mary J. Blige. (Variety)
Additional Reads
- The Black Hole Information Paradox Comes to an End (Wired)
- How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart? (NYT, $). Is this house a Rome?
- Caught in time’s current: Margaret Atwood on grief, poetry and the past four years (Guardian)
- Watch This Snowball Fight From 1897 for a Jolt of Pure Joy (NYT, $)
- Clues from the Lost Colony: Newfound survivor camp may explain fate of the famed Lost Colony of Roanoke (NatGeo)
- ‘Never end the job interview before asking this No. 1 question,’ says career expert of 15 years (CNBC)
- US Feds Seized Nearly $1 Billion in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road (Vice). How much does $1 billion in Bitcoin weigh?
- To make batteries a better investment, let them do more (Ars Technica)
- How to Maintain Your Health After Holiday Eating (Lifehacker)