President Biden didn’t quote George Harrison’s Beware Of Darkness in his speech last night but he might as well have:

Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow
Beware of darkness

It just occurred to me that Joe Biden is the George Harrison of the Democratic party. He’s not as flashy as his presidential predecessors Bill Clinton and Barack Obama but he’s rock solid and likeable. It’s easy to underrate the Joes and Georges of the world. As I said elsewhere after the 2020 election, nice guys don’t always finish last.

The Independence Hall speech was promoted as a major address on the future of democracy in America. It lived up to the advance billing.

The staging and setting were brilliant. Independence Hall was bathed in lights and the Bidens entered with a Marine escort to the strains of a Marine Band. It was a presidential speech with political undertones not a strictly political speech. Besides, the right lost bitching rights when the Impeached Insult Comedian held his party convention at the executive mansion.

As with every Biden speech, it was something of an adventure because of his stutter. He tends to start off slowly because of it then gains momentum as the words wash over him. It’s a familiar pattern that reoccurred last night. He’s not a great orator like Barack Obama BUT he’s a sincere speaker, which is as important in an age when his opponents lie incessantly. They’ve gone from the loyal to disloyal opposition.

It’s not the sort of speech that Joe Biden wants to make but it’s the sort he has to make in 2022. He stuck the landing. I jotted down a few phrases during the speech as possible post titles before giving George the nod:

• “Equality and democracy are under assault.”
• “There is no place for political violence in America.”
• “You can’t only love your country when you win.”
• “America is an idea. It gives hate no self-harbor.”

The name Donald Trump was only mentioned twice. It’s the old school way of dealing with your foes: why give them the publicity? I prefer the term MAGA Republicans. It’s as ugly as what passes for their ideology. It also reminds me of my early formulation, MAGA Maggots.

I like the feisty Joe Biden of the 2022 campaign season. Last week, he even used the F word with a qualifier: semi-Fascist.

It’s not hyperbole. Someone-I’m guessing Steve Bannon-must have told him about Mussolini’s long march to Rome that led to the Fascist takeover of Italy. Former President* Pennywise hoped to duplicate the Duce’s triumph by showing up at the Capitol amid the Dipshit Insurrection. His plan was thwarted and resulted in another epic tantrum.

President Biden’s Independence Hall speech is an important moment in American political history. The lazy legacy media described it as unprecedented. It was not: FDR and Lincoln also gave speeches about the plight of democracy. It may not have been unprecedented, but it was necessary.

Here’s a link to the full transcript of the speech.

Another line from the presidential address still echoes in my head: VOTE, VOTE, VOTE.

Yeah, you right, Mr. President.

The last word goes to the late, great George Harrison: