It was the day after President Joe Biden’s formal Farewell Address to the Nation.
As we remember, he had started his live Oval Office address rather traditionally. Then, just over halfway through, Biden made an epic, historic turn – and warned us that our democracy was being threatened by the rise of a powerful “oligarchy.” Right here in America.
The day after he had warned his way into history, Biden was conducting his last scheduled Oval Office TV interview. MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell began by asking how it felt to have been in government longer than any other president. And Biden had answered by mainly reminiscing and ruminating, in a relaxed stream of conscious fashion.
As someone who has known Biden well for decades, I think my friend has just inadvertently given us a personal insight into the compassion that has pushed Biden into wanting to lead us to fight back against the threat from the oligarchs in our midst.
“I got involved in public life because of the abuse of power,” Biden began. “The worst thing that ever happened to me was I used to stutter when I was a kid and they really made fun of me…. I was a runt when I was a kid. …I learned how to fight when I didn’t want to fight. When you’re made fun of, you learn to step up….