As a journalist, I appreciate President Joe Biden’s respect for the profession.
No more accusations of being “the enemy of the people” or purposefully producing “fake news.”
On Thursday, the president gave his first full-fledged press conference, opening himself up to an hour of wide-ranging questions.
It was congenial, informative, and pretty much reinforced the impression that he’s going to give it his all.
Biden so far has stayed pretty much behind the scenes. For those who actually track such things, in his first 64 days as president, Biden has publicly spoken 116,000 words and been on TV 12 hours. For comparison, former President Donald Trump had spoken three times as many words and been on TV three times as much by the same benchmark.
Ezra Klein, a columnist for the New York Times, said perhaps Biden’s motto is to “speak softly and pass a big agenda.”
My take on Biden’s decision to hang back is that it sends two messages: Being president is not about him — his signature is not on those $1,400 stimulus checks being delivered to 85% of American households — but about what he hopes his administration can accomplish; and second, that attitude helps de-escalate today’s polarized political climate.
If members of Congress could stop looking for ways to disagree and instead put their focus on finding common ground, real progress could be made on addressing climate change, gun control, voting rights and immigration reform.
Biden sure hopes Republicans come to see it that way.
“I think my Republican colleagues are going to have to determine whether or not they want to work together or … continue the politics of division. But I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to move forward and take these things as they come.”
“All I know is I’ve been hired to solve problems, not create division,” he said.
That’s something we all can aspire to, whatever our profession.
FOR MOST, Biden’s plain-spokenness is refreshing, especially in the aftermath of the 2020 Election.
Gone is the double-speak. “Stop the steal!” “The election is rigged.” “Voter fraud.” Words that seed division and doubt while serving as a screen to overturn the election.
That misguided fervor culminated on Jan. 6 when mobs attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to halt the official transition of power from Trump to Biden.
