Biden bids a late-night farewell to the DNC

Chicago

Monday night at the Democratic National Convention served as a protracted thank you and farewell to President Joe Biden from his party — one that ran very, very, long. 

In a final act of cruelty to a president who works best between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Biden didn’t take the stage at the United Center until 10:25 p.m. He was introduced by his daughter Ashley — tearing up as he took the stage — and he followed on from laudatory remarks by his successor as Delaware senator Chris Coons and a presumably truncated First Lady Jill Biden. And the adoring crowd dragged the night out further  — pausing the president with whoops and cheers of “we love Joe!”  

In many respects it was a typical Biden speech, with the usual slurs, stumbles and themes that have punctuated his presidency, as he chewed his way through the autocue, adding his own ad-lib flourishes. “Democracy must be preserved,” he said. “We are facing an inflection point.”

“As your president I’ve been determined to keep America moving forward, not going back,” Biden said, before rattling off a list of changes that have occurred during his tenure, such as creating 16 million jobs and Covid being “no longer in control of our lives.” 

“Donald Trump promised infrastructure week every week for four years… and he didn’t build a damn thing,” the president roared, in contrast with the “infrastructure decade” that his administration had ushered in through enormous public spending.

And of course, he meandered, taking almost his full hour. An extended riff about electric vehicle charging stations didn’t really help Biden reach the destination.

“Folks, I’ve got five months left of my presidency, I’ve got a lot of work to do — and I intend to get it done,” he told the audience, gradually winding up to his conclusion.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” Biden said.

There was a struggle to find seats for much of Monday night, with a buzzing atmosphere that would have out-screamed most evenings of its Republican counterpart a month ago — Hulk Hogan and Trump excepted, of course.

Hillary Clinton, one of the godmothers of the Democratic Party, received a particularly warm welcome as she talked up the party’s next great female hope. “On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office,” she intoned to rapturous applause. “When a barrier falls for one of us it falls and clears the way for all of us.”

The first evening of the convention gave ample billing to what it sees as its future stars: young congresswomen of color. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the most prominent of them, walked a fine tightrope between the party line and the passions of the progressive activist base in which she has her roots. “She is for the middle class because she is from the middle class,” AOC said of Kamala. But she also made a point to say how the presumptive nominee would work to “secure a ceasefire in Gaza” — a line met with a lot of noise in the crowd, to head off any accusations of shilling from the likes of the protesters outside, who’d spent the day waving Palestinian flags, charging fences and decrying the genocide they see in Gaza.

The sharply dressed congresswoman from Texas Jasmine Crockett also showed flashes of star quality, in a speech drawing parallels between Kamala and her opponent. “Kamala Harris has a résumé, Donald Trump has a rap sheet,” she said. Older members were left on the cutting room floor as the program ran long — pour one out for Congresswomen Grace Meng and Debbie Wasserman Schulz. Given the witching-hour conclusion — Biden finished well past 11 p.m. local time — perhaps a few more could have been given the nudge, in what is now Democratic Party tradition…