Biden did exactly what he needed to do

The passages early on in the speech about the pandemic, Donald Trump’s failures in fighting it and Biden’s own promise to defeat it, were important because they hit the president at his most vulnerable spot. Other references to policy were significant and well delivered, too — including lines about wiping out the stain of racism, defending Social Security and Medicare, supporting a living wage, and working for a secure, peaceful, and prosperous world.

But what mattered most of all is that Biden spoke clearly, passionately, and lucidly about the country, without any hint of the geriatric incapacity the Trump campaign has been alleging, and in a way that will appeal to a great many Americans. He offered a vision of a nation less vulgar and cruel, more compassionate and decent, less cramped and close-minded, and more earnest and idealistic than the one we’ve seen since Trump activated a darkness in the country’s soul. In place of American carnage, Biden is offering the promise of a better future, of the purposeful pursuit of very old American ideals by way of incremental social-democratic reforms and a reaffirmation of “our love for each other.”