That’s the thing that bothers me most about the sort of attitude that seems to be emerging to some degree in American politics. But they also understood that patriotism and loyalty to the country meant shelving their personal feelings in favor of doing the right thing for the country.īiden, in answer to reporters’ questions about why he didn’t mention Trump during his speech, flicked at that sentiment. Of course they thought they would make a better president than their opponent. What Gore (and Douglas) understood was that this wasn’t all about them. Gore also cited the words of Stephen Douglas following a loss in the 1860 presidential race to Abraham Lincoln: “Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. “I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our Constitution affirms and defends.” “For the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession,” Gore said. Bush had been elected president, Gore conceded the election following an adverse Supreme Court ruling. You only need to go back to the 2000 election to understand the power – and uniqueness – of America and its commitment to the peaceful transition of power.Īfter a 36-day interregnum in which it wasn’t clear whether Al Gore or George W.
THE POINT - NOW ON YOUTUBE! In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics.
BIDEN UNITY QUOTES FREE
The idea that whether your preferred candidate wins that you a) accept the results of a presidential election as free and fair and b) recognize the winner as the president sits at the core of who we are as Americans. What makes America so special? Nothing differentiates us from the other world powers – China, Russia – more than our commitment to the peaceful transition of power every four years. “The future doesn’t belong to globalists,” Trump said in a 2019 foreign policy speech at the United Nations. Remember that Donald Trump ran for president in 2016 expressly on the idea of putting “America first.” The idea that animated both his campaign and his four years in the White House was that the United States was exceptional in the world and that, for too long, American leaders had been afraid to loudly and proudly proclaim that fact, choosing instead to make America subservient to lesser countries around the world. It’s not only a memorable line – it’s likely to be the one that gets repeated the most today and in the days to come – but also a hugely important one if we hope to fully come to grips with what happened last January 6 and everything that led to that moment.Īt the heart of the line is the idea of patriotism. That’s President Joe Biden during a speech he gave Thursday morning to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the US Capitol riot. “You can’t love your country only when you win.”
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