It was the kind of reluctant departure that Irish people are long familiar with. It was characterized by stubborn resistance, obvious pride, and not a little anger and frustration directed at nobody in particular over the fact that long cherished habits, the old familiar if you will, might have to change. Then came the acceptance tinged with a whiff of fatalism.
Joe Biden takes pride in his Irishness so we recognize the singular Irishness of the man. He is not one for baloney and malarkey, as he so often reminded us. But when it comes to even the most important decisions in life such intolerance of nonsense and the nonsensical can actually light the way.
So Joe Biden followed the lighted path and announced that he would not run again for the biggest and most important job in the world. The man, only the second Catholic to occupy the Oval Office, wasn't giving up sweets for lent; he was giving up the chance of a second presidential term.
Of course, he still has six months to serve in his first term and is determined to fulfill his mission. Not having to take on the enormous pressure of a campaign, Biden is now freed up to do things that could make life a little easier for the American people. Given his new and exalted status within his party, the man is no lame duck.
There have been calls for Biden to now resign the presidency but he is having none of that. As far as "Scranton Joe" is concerned that's all, well baloney and malarkey.
And so we proceed into the final months of the presidential election campaign and in a political landscape that Joe Biden has shaped to a degree thought impossible just a few weeks ago.
To borrow from the 46th president: "God Bless America and God Bless Our Troops."
