Surgical Strike

Let me start by saying how thrilled I am about Joe Biden becoming President-elect. For me, it signals the United States rejoining the world, and the end of my having to be ashamed of the leader representing us. There are so many global challenges that we can’t deal with strictly by ourselves, and it will be nice for our allies to know they have a friend in us, the US, again.

But let’s be clear about something else: there has been no “blue wave.” The Democrats did not flip the Senate, and they lost seats in the House. The Presidential election was close enough to shorten a lot of fingernails.

What has happened is like finely targeted surgery. President Trump has been an abnormal cell in an ailing Republican Party that grew large enough to take it over. Removing it has required a mighty effort, and recovering from the procedure will take time. But I dare say there are more than a few Republicans who are just as relieved as the Democrats about the apparent outcome of the election, though they may not show it.

While many Americans wanted to try an outsider as President, I’m just as happy we will have an insider like Biden again, who knows how the system works, as does Senator Kamala Harris, now the first female Vice President-elect. Joe Biden has had solid relationships for decades with those on the other side of the aisle.

Indeed, you’d think the Republicans would feel better about having Joe Biden to deal with. Instead of viewing him as a Trojan horse who will allow the more left-leaning members of his party to run things, maybe Mr. Biden’s moderate views and experience in government will actually make him a buffer against that element. And the right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists at least will receive no further nourishment, perceived or otherwise, from the White House.

I don’t mind the idea that some depth might be coming back to the state again, starting with a real coronavirus task force, a structure for dealing with future epidemics, and perhaps a rehabilitated CDC. Reviving the State Department would allow us to start clawing back our standing in the world. There will be a new Cabinet with secretaries who actually care about the departments they’re in charge of.

We still have some rapids to paddle through, but we will move into calmer waters, when something resembling normalcy returns. Things may actually get just a little boring. Sounds pretty good to me!