Joe’s mantra was a simple but powerful one. Over the last four years, America has lost both its integrity on the world stage and its conscience at home. Like many, when the results came through at last, I was delighted and relieved to see the tides beginning to change… and yes, this is only a beginning. America is fractured and the divide must be reckoned with. For all his shortcomings, I believe Joe Biden might actually be just the right man for this essential duty.

One of the reason’s why is that this man’s ethos is his compassion. He’s lost close ones under tragic circumstances, paid witness to decades of political transformation, and still come out of it as one of the more humane politicians I’ve ever seen. That does not mean he’s always made the right decisions (support of Iraq) or exhibited empathy when needed (Anita Hill trial) but in a way, his mistakes speak to his character because he’s at least humble enough to admit he’s made them (as with Hill).

Another reason is that he’s not an ideologue. Initially I was on board for a Bernie Sanders’ administration (and still believe that was a great lost opportunity) but right now, America needs someone who doesn’t lean too left or too right. If the Democrats’ strategy was to appease moderates on both sides, then I think that strategy paid off. Joe will by no means be a revolutionary liberal but in light of where we’re coming from, that’s okay (for now). As is too often the case with politics, any strong measures tend to exacerbate the opposition and therein lead to a swing in the pendulum when complacency sets in with the victors (which happens tragically too often with Democrats come mid-terms).

No, if anything, Joe just needs to steady this ship out of troubled waters. He may not need a second term but in his first, he should do what can be done to restore the divide, so that the chances of an extreme bi-polarity come 2024 are slim. By then, we should be looking back on the period of 2016-2020 as a strange blip of history that no one quite remembers.

Of course, you might argue that the Trump supporters hardly deserve a break, given the level of vitriol they displayed. I can’t protest the merit of such a point given the basic principles of human rights and democracy they so casually disregarded. But have we not reached a point now where we can appreciate how poor the view is from a galloping high horse? Does it make us so honourable to disgrace and shame those we claim to be the actual bullies? You can rummage through a bag and take out media slant, percentages of hostility, gerrymandering, and all sorts of other indiscretions they’ve chucked in but in the end, perception is what matters. And you’re never going to convince someone otherwise by calling them an idiot. Moral posterity, in effect, won’t get us anywhere.

I think Joe understands this and even if the Democrats lose Georgia come January, he will still have a chance to do the job required of him at this point in time. Once the foundation is rebuilt, then the building can begin again. Without speaking to any specific legislation or policy measures, President Biden needs to set a tone of reconciliation and unity.