The first 100 days of Joe Biden’s American mission

Over the course of his third bid for the White House, Joe Biden was considered by many to be the wrong man for the job. Too old, too cautious, too moderate, too gaffe prone. His opponent mocked him as “Sleepy Joe”. After finishing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire during the Democratic primaries, the pundits all but wrote him off.

This is the problem with horse race politics and the “breaking news” cycle. Style trumps substance. Boring doesn’t rate. Boring, however, turns out to be an antidote to four years of constant chaos. It also provides perfect cover for a revolution in American government.

In his inaugural address President Biden repeated his call for unity, both to heal a divided nation and to draw on collective resolve to surmount America’s myriad challenges. He understands that many people believe this is naive.