119 Days: Did the Lord Almighty Just Speak to Joe Biden?
Will a defiant President be open to hearing messages from Democratic leaders and possibly the Lord Almighty himself?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And if Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi come down and say, "We're worried that if you stay in the race, we're gonna lose the House and the Senate," how will you respond?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I-- I'd go into detail with them. I've speaken (PH) to all of them in detail including Jim Clyburn, every one of 'em. They all said I should stay in the race-- stay in the race. No one said-- none of the people said I should leave.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But if they do?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, it's, like, (LAUGH) they're not gonna do that.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You’re sure?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, Yeah, I’m sure. Look. I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, "Joe, get outta the race," I'd get outta the race. The Lord Almighty's not comin' down. I mean, these hypotheticals, George, if, I mean, it's all--
I’m a practicing Catholic. So too is Joe Biden.
Yesterday, I attended Mass in a school gymnasium in Indiana1, where I’m visiting family, and was struck by the second reading, which came from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.
If you’re a living, breathing American, you’ve no doubt heard fallout about The Debate, and you’ve probably heard about Biden’s interview with George Stephanopolous from ABC News this past Friday, which I pulled a portion of the transcript from and placed at the beginning of this piece.
With all of that in mind, I give you St. Paul’s reading, which President Biden would have heard read aloud if he attended Mass yesterday:
Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.
There has been much talk and speculation about whether Biden will step down as the nominee for the November election.
If you’ve watched the full interview with Stephanopolous, like I have, it is pretty clear: Biden has no intention of stepping down.
However, the chorus of Democratic leaders calling for him to step down is growing, including a non-committed Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on this Sunday’s Meet The Press.
Unlike St. Paul, Joe Biden appears to have no interest in not only boasting about his weakness, but in completely denying any weakness.
In the context of this Bible passage, you realize what Joe Biden may be able to do for his party, for the American voter, and for the future.
The next few days will be very important to November’s outcome.
Donald Trump is likely to name his pick for Vice President, which will likely only gather momentum for a campaign that is sitting quietly on the side of the road while the Democrats control the news of this entire campaign, and not in a good way.
As I’ve written, I believe if Biden were to step down, it would not be a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength, not only for him but for Democrats, it would energize not only his party, but American voters everywhere, many who do not like either of these candidates.
I don’t know if Biden attended Mass yesterday. If he did, he might have heard the Lord Almighty speaking directly to him.
The actual church building is having a new floor installed, which I didn’t know. One of the joys of travelling is visiting new churches. Unfortunately, this was not an aesthetically pleasing experience, but may have open my mind to the message I heard.