Yesterday Joe Biden formally accepted the Presidential nomination at this year’s convention of the Democrat Party. He did so in a speech that impressed both his fellow Democrats and some notable Republicans.
Though he was criticized early on in the campaign for being a boring candidate who lives in Barack Obama’s shadow (since he served as Obama’s Vice President), yesterday’s speech gave Biden a chance to show himself as a capable politician and a leader in his own right.
In his speech, Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump for dividing the nation and for not handling the responsibilities of the US Presidency well enough. Biden also used the occasion to present himself as a candidate who will bring unity and peace, rather than the chaos and “war” kind of rhetoric that has characterized Trump’s first term in office.
Biden specifically outlined several problems that need immediate addressing - the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting economic crisis, the recent protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement, and global warming.
Biden, and everyone who vouched for him throughout the convention, stressed that if elected, he will be guided by science and facts. This is a direct response to common criticism of Donald Trump for spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news.
Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, also gave a speech earlier this week to accept her Vice Presidential nomination. Biden’s campaign has received praise for choosing Harris as the VP candidate, because she is a well-liked politician, a respected attorney, and a woman that represents both the Black and Indian-American communities.
In other words, this week’s Democrat Convention proved successful in presenting the Biden-Harris ticket in the most positive light possible, without any hiccups.
Next week the Republican Party will hold its own event, where Donald Trump will accept his nomination as well.
Joe Biden currently leads in the pre-election polls by about 8%. Nevertheless, even if he maintains the lead, that is not a good predictor of the election results. In 2016, Hillary Clinton had the most votes (i.e. won the popular vote), but she was not elected President because of the electoral college.
If Biden wins the elections, the economic outlook of the United States will improve, because Biden is expected to implement better measures against the pandemic (as the outbreak is likely to continue into 2021) and support more stimulus for the economy.
