How Biden won
THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN A DRAGON IS A DRAGON SLAYER.
For four years, Donald Trump’s penchant for division and chaos was the dominant force in American life. In the end, after a long and excruciating battle, it was vanquished by Joe Biden’s promise of decency, unity and national healing.
Biden’s win was at once widely anticipated and stubbornly doubted, and came after days of agonizing vote counts that began with deficits in key swing states. Biden stayed calm through early defeats on election night, urged patience during delays in crucial states and projected confidence despite torrents of disinformation spread by the President. By Nov. 7, it was clear Biden had rebuilt the so-called blue wall that crumbled in 2016; first Wisconsin, then Michigan, then finally Pennsylvania tipped in Biden’s favor, a slow drumbeat of rejection of a President who had won all three states four years ago.
In the end, Biden won more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, shattering Barack Obama’s record. He won with a coalition of young voters, college-educated suburbanites and voters of color. Nearly every major Democrat played a role in his ensemble victory: Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar helped him win the primary; Bernie Sanders helped him unite the party; Stacey Abrams helped deliver a likely win in an unlikely state, Georgia.
Biden’s triumph was also a vindication of a style of American politics that many feared was gone forever. A career politician in a nation that claims to loathe
