While everyone who has sworn an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution” has an obligation to denounce the “Trump Party’s” ongoing lawlessness, no one is so well positioned to raise the necessary alarm as the President. Only the President has the “bully pulpit. And from it the President can command national attention at will.
American democracy is under assault from the Republican Party. (A Republican Party which also damages the American future in numerous other ways— like re climate change, campaign finance, abortion rights, gun rights, inequalities of wealth, a discourse based on lies, putting the gaining of power over the serving of the interests of the people.)
And yet the upcoming Midterms are presently on a trajectory to hand power to a Republican Party that is openly pushing America toward a future under the sway of a fascistic (authoritarian, minority-rule and permanent) regime.
This Republican Party getting control of the Congress, many observers believe, could be a death knell to American democracy itself.
The President, with his bully pulpit, has an especially important role to play.
With such stakes in an upcoming election, the President has no more important role to play between now and the Midterms than to be for America in this moment what Winston Churchill was for his nation. — a leader who inspired his people to join the fight of the fascist threat of that time.
So serious is the fascist-looking Republican threat to the constitutional order, that the President’s most important job between now in the election must be to move the nation to use the election in November to repudiate the Party of Fascism (and to give the Party of Democracy enough power to make the system work for the good of the nation).
The role the nation needs Biden to play is clear, but it is unclear how effective Biden can be in that kind of a role in this kind of a battle even if he wants to.
- Where Biden has been most impressive is behind the scenes (putting together his administration’s Build Back Better package, unifying NATO – and much of the rest of the world -- when Putin threatened Ukraine). But this Churchillian role must be played at center stage, and Biden’s strength is not commanding the stage.
- Where he is weakest is as a public speaker. He lacks charisma, and he never completely overcame his stutter. (But perhaps he can command credibility because of his personal virtues of decency and honesty and caring that are obvious to anyone whose mind hasn’t been poisoned by the right-wing propagandists.) We know that people will not be playing tapes of Biden’s speeches in 80 years, as they do many of Churchill’s great wartime speeches still.
- Biden’s natural bent is to bridge-building, not war-waging. The friendly relationship is his specialty. (His Asia trip called a “Charm Offensive” last week.)
But Biden, like anyone else, can only do his best. And however much or little Biden can make himself into the Churchill we need in this moment — a leader who inspires the people to join him in fighting against the ugly forces of fascism — giving that role his best shot is Job One for Joe Biden for the months between now and November.
