Speaking about his dad, the late Beau Biden said:
Every time he has been knocked on his tail — 1972, 1979, 1988, six months later with his aneurism — never once, did I see him be a different way. I always saw, and never had any doubt, that he would go on . . . There was no denying the gravity of those situations, for all different reasons, but never did I see any hint of him giving up, ever. I call this incredible resilience and I see it today.
Biden’s parents instilled this in him. They taught him that the trait you judged a person on wasn’t whether they got knocked down, it was whether they got back up. Biden put that lesson this way in his 2008 memoir, Promises to Keep:
The art of living is simply getting up after you’ve been knocked down. . . . After the surgery, Senator, you might lose the ability to speak? Get up! The newspapers are calling you a plagiarist, Biden? Get up! Your wife and daughter—I’m sorry, Joe, there was nothing we could do to save them? Get up! Flunked a class at law school? Get up! Kids make fun of you because you stutter, Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-Biden? Get up!
Biden has shown this resilience many times in his life. Not many people could deal with what he has dealt with and come back with deeper faith in life and a stronger resolve to make a difference.
When he has setbacks, he uses them as an opportunity to move forward and learn and improve. It is not that he doesn’t suffer. Biden talks about the days after his wife and daughter died as days when he had trouble finding the will to live. Beau’s death was devastating to him.
Biden has suffered. But Biden doesn’t give up — he digs deeper. It is how he was raised and who he is as a person.
Being president is full of many moments of failure mixed with a few precious moments of victory. A great president can weather the disappointments and move on with increased devotion to helping the American people. A great president gets back up.
Joe Biden is a great president.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.
We will be off tomorrow for the holiday. See you on the 5th!!