Jeff Wattrick
| Contributing columnist
Toward the end of his late night tenure, Tonight Show legend Johnny Carson worried about overstaying his welcome. Peter Lassally, the show’s executive producer, later said Carson often told his staff, “I don’t want to stay too long at the fair.”
Joe Biden’s triumphant speech on the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention reminded me of Carson’s Tonight Show exit.
By the time Carson announced his retirement in 1991, plenty were convinced the King of Late Night had indeed stayed too long at the proverbial fair. His show felt tired after 40 years. Viewers seemed over Ed McMahon, the alimony jokes and Aunt Blabby. Just as American voters seemed over Joe Biden.
Critics, NBC executives, and Jay Leno’s notoriously abrasive agent Helen Kushnick were openly relieved when Carson finally decided to hang it up. Just as journalists and politicians in the chattering class were giddy when Biden announced his retirement.
In truth, Carson didn’t stay at his desk too long. Perhaps unburdened from endless will-he-retire speculation, Carson’s last year of shows, leading up to his May 1992 finale, were among his best, featuring memorable final appearances by regular guests like Robin Williams and a-list first timers like Elizabeth Taylor.
Carson was, more or less, forced out of The Tonight Show. But he went out on his own terms, and left audiences wanting more.
A consequential presidency
Joe Biden was forced out of this year’s presidential election. But his energetic DNC address demonstrated that he, too, will go out on his own terms, leaving behind “an America where everyone has a fair shot, but hate has no safe harbor.”
Biden brought righteous indignation to the DNC stage Monday night as he challenged Americans to find solutions for pollution devastating poor neighborhoods, the cost of higher education and gun violence. The Joe Biden on stage in Chicago debunked the caricature of a feeble old man stumbling around the Oval Office.
Unburdened by the campaign trail, Biden seems primed for a Carson-like conclusion to what his daughter Ashley Biden correctly called one of the most consequential political careers in American history. He is right to say his administration delivered “the most extraordinary four years of progress ever. Period.”
Nearing a universal COVID vaccine? Check. Historic infrastructure bill? Check.NATO expansion? Check. A still sovereign and independent Ukraine? CheckInflation curtailed? Check. Full employment economy? Check. Expanded health care access? Check.$35 insulin? Check.Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich safely returned home? Check.
Consider the context of these achievements. When Biden rallied the Democratic Party into a coalition that won him the nomination, Bernie Bros accused Biden of rigging the primary. His election was challenged by unwashed hordes attempting to overthrow Congress and hang Mike Pence on Jan. 6. He achieved his legislative priorities in a divided U.S. Congress, with the narrowest of majorities.
Biden’s legacy isn’t merely historic. It’s a testament to the resilience of American democracy — when we elect fundamentally decent people, instead of a self-dealing condo peddler who failed at selling football and gambling.
A bittersweet handoff
Americans’ enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ candidacy underscores that Biden’s time at the fair is nearing its end. He made the right decision to pass the torch to Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“I love the job,” Biden said of his decision to stand down, “But I love my country more.”
For many of the 81 million Americans who voted for Biden in 2020, this ending feels increasingly bittersweet.
If you listen closely, you can almost hear Bette Midler serenading Joe Biden from stage left: “So set them up, Joe … we’re drinking, my friend, to the end of a sweet episode.” Jeff Wattrick is a freelance writer who lives in Grosse Pointe Park. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it in print and online.
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/08/20/dnc-joe-biden-kamala-harris-farewell-speech/74866137007/
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Publish date : 2024-08-19 22:14:00
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