A Campaign Supernova

I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra. I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova. —Bruce Springsteen

Most elections are about undecided voters. For the past several weeks, the 2024 presidential election was about an undecided candidate. That changed on Sunday when Joe Biden did something unnatural for a politician, and completely unthinkable for his opponent: He ceded power. In an era when the Supreme Court has given the president the authority of a king, Joe Biden affirmed that the presidency is bigger than one person. There are infinite contrasts in this election, but none could be more pronounced than this: Joe Biden put country over self. And his party, predicted to devolve into a state of chaotic bedlam, followed his lead and unified behind Kamala Harris. The only thing that poured in faster than the endorsements were the small money donations. Everyone who knows how to type has offered their opinions on the Biden saga, but there’s still been one under-covered part of this story: Joe Biden’s new role in this campaign. He stepped aside, but he won’t go away. In a single moment, Biden went from a frail, political liability to a powerful and potentially historic force. There were countless articles calling for Biden to quit the race, but nearly all of them lauded his excellent record as president (a topic all too often ignored by the supposedly liberal press). By exiting the race, Biden is left with all the positives and none of the negatives, rising from the political ashes of his sluggish campaign to become a campaign supernova. Instead of the next gaffe, Biden may yet have the last laugh. He has become the Democratic party’s Yoda, and no one ever complained about Yoda’s wrinkles, age, ponderous pauses, or bizarre speech patterns. At political rallies and the Democratic National Convention, Biden will be greeted like a heroic, conquering king … precisely because he chose not to be one.