God keep you, Joe

President Joe Biden released this statement on Sunday:

I want to share a brief update.

My presidential memoir, PROMISE ME, AMERICA, is coming out on November 17th. I hope you'll read it. It covers my years as President. The challenges we faced, the decisions I made, and why I made them. It's about who we are as a nation. What we stand for. And America's role in the world. More than anything, it's about my faith in the American people and the great American experiment in self-governance and democracy.

While writing the book, I was diagnosed with cancer, a disease known all too well to millions of Americans and their families. My doctors continue to be encouraged by how I've responded to treatment. And the prayers and kind words and well wishes from so many of you have meant more to me and Jill and our family than you can ever know.

Some days are better than others. It hasn't stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down. What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.

Looking forward, I'm going to keep following what my father told me a long time ago: "Champ, when you get knocked down, get up." It's a good lesson for me. And for America.

We are blessed. America is the most unique nation on earth. Unlike other countries, we're built on an idea. An idea bigger than any ocean. More powerful than any army. Stronger than any tyrant or dictator. That idea? All of us are created equal.

Promise Me, America, we'll never forget it.

Let us not dwell on the thought that if he had run in 2024 and won, he would most likely have resigned the presidency with the detection of his cancer and his vice president, one Kamala Harris, would have ascended to the presidency. Counterfactuals are fantasies. 

Let us instead honor a man who has never given up on the dream for which this country has stood for. A man who, if asked "why?", would respond "why not?" Or, more aptly, "It's the right thing to do."

Joe Biden is neither saint nor angel. He is that increasingly rare creature: a good, decent human being, in all his complexity. Unlike the demon currently befouling the White House, his first thought has never been about enriching himself. It has always been about being of service to others. To his family. To those he loves. To his community. To his nation.

It is because of men and women like Pres. Biden that this nation functions. Decent people doing the hard work of citizenship. Disagreeing with neighbors, as humans do, but not seeing them as evil, as Other. His example is not of a super-human; it is of a normal, ordinary man, doing the best he can, failing often, hopefully balancing failures with successes. It is really the best to which any human can aspire: be better more often than not. Anything extra? Well, that's grandma's gravy.

We don't know how long Joe Biden has left. And that's not the point. When his time comes, as it must, we will honor and celebrate him. But that time is not now. And he has lived to see himself vindicated in his faith in his fellow-Americans. His faith isn't some starry-eyed faith. It is borne of experience. And it has always served him.

Be well, Joe. Rest as you must. Live to see the scourge scoured from the country. And, as always, get plenty of ice cream.