The inauguration of an American president is a solemn and symbolic occasion marking the peaceful, democratic transfer of power. The ritual is familiar and confidence-inspiring. Yet easy reassurance may be hard to find when Joe Biden takes the oath of office on Wednesday under heavy military guard, overlooking an empty mall, in the midst of Covid-19 and security lockdowns. Rarely has a presidency begun in such inauspicious circumstances. Taken together, the challenges he faces are unprecedented.
That said, all Americans, and a watching world, should be greatly encouraged by the dignified, conciliatory and statesmanlike way the president-elect has conducted himself so far. Few expected his candidacy to succeed a year ago. They said he was too old and out of touch. But it is hard to believe any of the other Democratic presidential hopefuls would have exerted the calm authority displayed by Biden during an extraordinarily difficult transition.
The refusal of Donald Trump to concede the election, and his inexcusable boycott of the inauguration, speaks to the deep national divisions his successor must try to heal. Biden will call on citizens to join together as “America United” to tackle the triple challenge of the pandemic and concurrent political and economic crises. “The very health of our nation is at stake,” he says. Never were truer words spoken.
By many measures, Biden is already acting president. Pathetic, isolated Trump has abdicated responsibility yet is still in the way. His second Senate impeachment trial could obstruct the urgent work at hand. So, too, could mealy-mouthed Republicans, many of whom still cannot admit their disgraced leader deserves punishment. For its survival as a serious party, the GOP must purge Trump and help ban him from public office for life.
Even if Republicans draw a line under the past four years, the inflammatory prospect of a federal prosecutor criminally investigating Trump looms large. So, too, does the lengthy spectacle of a broader commission of inquiry into the 6 January assault on the Capitol. Trump will relish the attention, if not the possible penalties. All this may serve to deepen the country’s schisms.
Biden must not allow himself to be distracted. In making the pandemic his top priority, he may yet discover new pathways to national healing, political and physical. His announcement of a $1.9tn rescue package, if backed by Congress, could go some way to both arresting the virus devastation and restoring faith among disaffected Trump voters that government, when properly led, can and will help alleviate their pain.
In addition to $400bn for an accelerated “vaccine offensive”, the package earmarks $350bn for state and local governments to assist those most in need. Increased direct payments to individuals and improved childcare support, plus a mooted minimum wage rise, could, if delivered, begin to persuade many alienated Americans that Biden means what he says about a fresh start.
Much the same logic applies to next month’s promised, even more costly economic stimulus plan, which will fund job creation, New Deal-style infrastructure projects, clean energy and improved healthcare through higher taxes on business and the rich. Returning prosperity, good jobs and a degree of wealth redistribution may go a long way to exorcising the ghosts of the Trump era. Over time, it could even help salve America’s racial wounds, another big challenge facing Biden.
If only a few of these ambitious ideas come to fruition, they will still confound those on the left who dismissed Biden as an establishment hack lacking the vision to affect real change. And if a mainstream democratic leader like him were to succeed in these critical endeavours, it would undercut the appeal of rightwing populists, nationalists and Trump-like authoritarians everywhere. Much rides on the next few months.
Biden’s battle is thus not only for America’s future. It’s for Europe’s and the world’s, too. Myriad challenges abroad are no less daunting than those at home. Many cling desperately to his promise to recommit America to fighting the global climate crisis. Rejoining the Paris agreement is a welcome step. Setting long-term carbon-neutral targets is another. But the US, like China and other big economies, must go further, faster. Will he make the leap? Does he have the clout? It’s far from clear.
Those looking for rapid fixes to other entrenched international problems – a truce with Beijing, an Iran de-escalation, a halt to the horrors in Yemen and Syria, a UN renaissance – will likewise require patience. So much damage has been done, so much rubble must be cleared. Everything is urgent. It cannot all be done at once.
The US has escaped the Trump nightmare by the skin of its teeth. Biden’s restoration project starts with the right ideas: make America healthy again, get the economy firing, restore faith in democratic governance, rehabilitate America’s global image. Given the powerful, illiberal challenges the world faces from China, Russia and others, it cannot happen too soon.
Joe Biden, the unexpected president, is no FDR. He’s no miracle worker. But he is the hope on whom all this rests. We wish him well.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
