Timing is everything in life. This is Joe Biden’s time.

His inaugural address was excellent but the most important thing that has happened in the last few days was the COVID memorial on Inauguration Eve as seen above. It’s the first time a president has acknowledged the horrors of the pandemic instead of shirking blame. Thank you, Mr. President.

President Biden’s speech was the opposite of triumphalist. He knows that he has a hard row to hoe, but he’s equal to the challenge. He made it clear that the unity he mentions is aspirational. It’s also imperative to end what he accurately called our “uncivil war.”

I’m exasperated with the people who insist on damning Joe Biden with faint praise. It’s unclear if any other Democrat could have defeated Trump. Cross-over votes from suburban women and conservative leaning independents carried the day. I think we should thank the President for coming out of retirement at an advanced age to rescue our imperiled democracy.

A reminder to those who worry that President Biden will relapse into his supposedly centrist ways:

Franklin Roosevelt was regarded as a lightweight when he was elected president. Nobody thought he would be a transformational leader. He rose to the occasion.

Harry Truman desegregated the military and saved Western Europe from starvation and Soviet domination. This from a man who used the N word and made ethnic jokes in private conversation. He rose to the occasion.

Jack Kennedy was all profile and no courage when it came to McCarthyism and its creator. Joe McCarthy was popular with JFK’s Irish Catholic base so JFK pandered to them. As president, he proposed sweeping Civil Rights legislation, which was passed by his successor. He rose to the occasion.

Lyndon Johnson voted against every Civil Rights bill until 1957. As president, he passed Medicare, the Civil Rights Act, and Voting Rights Act. He rose to the occasion.

I believe that Joe Biden will rise to the occasion. He certainly did in his historic selection of Kamala Harris as his vice president.

America also rose to the occasion. Security was tight today but we did not cower and move the ceremony indoors.

Times are tough but hope is back in fashion. Thanks Joe and Kamala.

Finally, I’d like to thank Joe Biden for allowing me to remove the asterisk from the word president. It’s been a long time coming.

The last word goes to Paul Simon: