Geoffrey: “My you chivalric fool…as if the way one fell down mattered.”
Richard: “When the fall is all there is, it matters.”
—from the film “The Lion In Winter” (1968)
This summer, in a moment of selflessness and political courage, President Joe Biden showed us that how one walks away matters. Certainly, the pressures were there and some loyal supporters were walking away. But in the end the man himself came to the right conclusion and then told the world of his intentions.
And he did so in terms that evoked the best of the best of political leadership in this country. George Washington walked away after two terms. John Adams set the standard and precedent for the peaceful transition of power.
Cynics may scoff at his announcement. But those people never really counted with President Biden anyway.
While he was still the vice president, I was in D.C. meeting with people who were recruiting me to run for Congress. Rep. Steve Israel got a call from the vice president, who told him to send me over to his office in The White House when I was done.
At one point in the meeting, Joe Biden pulled me aside to talk about my father.
“Jay, I want you to know something. Back in the 1980s when we had hearings about steroids in college football, your father was the only major coach who had the guts to talk to us. So I know exactly what kind of man he was. I want you to know how much I respect how you’re fighting for him. But remember this: 90% of the people know what kind of man he was. As for the other 10%? You never had them to begin with and you’ll never convince them. So, the hell with them.”
It was a piece of advice that related to something my own father used to tell me. He’d say, “Jay, don’t get into a pissing contest with a skunk.” Just a few difficult years after my father had died, it took that meeting and that moment to remind me of that sage wisdom.
For that moment, I will always hold President Joe Biden in the highest regard.
The president remains a true throwback who believes in service over self. He worked to get legislation passed and when it passed, he was not one to spike the ball. At a mid-term campaign stop at Penn State in 2010, I was asked to give an opening speech for him. Those remarks touted a lengthy list of that administration’s accomplishments. Biden’s remarks did not brag about what he’d personally helped accomplish.
Even in his own presidency, that approach remains.
He remains focused on getting legislation passed through compromise. He remains quick to share the credit with others. In a day and age that celebrates braggarts trying to grab every headline on social media, humility may not have served him well in running for reelection.
At a time when most everyone quickly turns their back on anyone who might be a political liability, he steadfastly stands by his son through addiction and through missteps. Loyalty and love are just an admirable part of his DNA, even as political opponents mocked him for it.
He had the courage to end decades of an unwinnable war that three other presidents had passed to him.
As he steps away a few months from now, I hope that he will sleep well knowing that even in this decision, he remained true to who he has been as a public servant for decades. He should know that he called us to look toward a brighter future rather than turn toward the worst impulses of an imperfect past. He called us to join in common cause rather than use division for political gain.
He will be remembered as a president with a unique ability to reach those who were in sorrow, those grieving. He has a unique ability to heal those who were hurting. He is a man rooted in faith, a man who uses that faith as a beacon to others.
He is a man whose faith reminded him of what was written in Matthew 25:40: “Truly, I tell you, whatsoever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
He saw his presidency as a way to help lift the least of our brothers and sisters, rather than to push people away, bar others from the American dream or hold others down.
In the biggest moments in the final roles of a big political career, he lifted others up, and was a willing team player for a greater good. He served as vice president to a historic and successful presidency. Now he willingly steps away to pass the torch to a new generation of people, setting an example to us all.
Above all, he can recite the same words written by John Adams: “No matter how high or low my estimation in the eyes of the world, my conscience is clear.”
