Biden was not, and is not an “exciting” candidate. But you know what? I am OK with that. We used to have presidents who were not dominating the 24 hour news cycle. I would feel just fine going back to that. I never used to need to think or worry about what the president may be doing on a day to day basis that will have a disastrous impact on the quality of my life. I would be just fine going back to that. The idea of having a president you could trust to just do-the-right-thing, instead of one hell-bent out to destroy our country and turn it into a 3rd-world dictatorship hell-hole is enough to get my vote. It’s a no-brainier.
Biden was not my first choice. The thoughts of having actual progressive changes in the country (as embodied by Bernie and Warren) was indeed an exciting thought. But you know what? I cannot say I actually disagree with any of Biden’s policies. They may be mostly boring policies, and not nearly as progressive as I would personally like, but they are not policies that seem to be intended to actively destroy my life, my country, and everything I hold dear, which is a very stark difference from donald trumps policies. So it’s a no-brainer choice for me who to vote for.
And as far as the Democratic party goes, it’s clearly been headed in the progressive direction. Look how far Bernie, who is not, and never was a Democrat, actually got. Who would have thought a Socialist would come that close to actually getting the nomination? And besides just the presidential run, there are a number of progressives who are in congress now (AOC for example), which was something unlikely to happen in the past. Things like Medicare-For-All/Single Payer get serious policy considerations now where-as they used to be so unlikely that a short time ago they were not even on the table for discussion. And ideas like free collage are being discussed, and even guaranteed income are talked about. By real, they-acutally-have-a-chance candidates. That did not used to happen.
So, sure, with Biden we’re not going get all the luxuries and peace-of-mind that our European friends (and, well, just about any other advanced nation) get from their “socialist” government policies (unless Congress/Senate swing in that direction). But at least Biden won’t be trying to take us in the opposite direction.
