This is going to be fun getting used to
Here’s an interesting thought. I keep finding myself, in my conversations and in my writing, having to get used to referring to Joe Biden as “President-elect Biden” or “President Biden.” It’s a wonderful thing to have to get used to. And it’ll become more natural once he’s actually in office. But I keep asking myself why it’s been taking me a minute. After all, I just spent all that time fighting to make “President Biden” happen.
Then something hit me. The other Presidents in my lifetime that I’ve liked and respected, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, were only on the national stage for a couple years before becoming President. In other words, there wasn’t that much time to get used to them not being President, before they became President.
Then there’s Joe Biden, someone I’ve been aware of for nearly my entire life. I remember watching him as a guest panelist on “Politically Incorrect” when I was in high school, and thinking he was one of the better panelists on there. I think I remember knowing who Biden was, even before high school. The guy has always been around, and I’ve always liked him, but I’ve spent my entire life thinking of him as not being President.
Even when Biden became Vice President, it was a little different. He was still just “Joe” on some level; Obama was President. But now here we are with a guy who’s been on the national stage for nearly fifty years, and is just now becoming known as President Biden.
In the early days of the country, it was more commonplace for elder statesmen – not just in terms of their age, but in terms of how long they’d been gradually building their reputation in politics – to become President. We’ve since gotten away from it. But I can’t think of a better time for a respected and experienced elder statesman at the helm. Joe Biden. President Biden. It’s going to be fun getting used to saying it.
