On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris did their first event together since the former announced he would not seek reelection and the latter emerged as the Democratic replacement nominee.
And one thing stood out to me: Biden was really, really good.
He was pointed. Funny. Charismatic.
It reminded me that this often happens with politicians — they are at their best when they have nothing left to lose.
I vividly remember the 2000 campaign when then VP Al Gore was widely derided as a boring figure. Which was mostly true!
But then, when Gore ultimately conceded the election to George W. Bush — following an adverse Supreme Court ruling — the speech the outgoing VP gave was powerful and inspiring.
After that speech, I was flooded with emails from people asking where THAT Gore was during the campaign.
It’s a quirk of human nature that we are often at our best after we realize that what we most wanted isn’t attainable any longer. I feel it in my own life.
I reflected on that in today’s edition of The Morning.
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The Morning: Why Joe Biden was so good yesterday