The 4 Vulnerabilities of Biden's Oval Office Address

Last Sunday, President Biden addressed the nation from The Oval Office. In the speech, he called on his "fellow Americans" to keep their cool. In the speech, Biden did what he had to do: express sympathy for Trump and the victims, speak out against any form of violence, call for calm, dignity and respect and profess faith that Americans must and can stand side by side to keep these challenging times from spiraling out of control.

It contained references to those few icons that all Americans hold dear. He mentioned the fouding fathers and The Declaration of Independence and with his "You know, that's how we do it, at the ballot box - not with bullets" he paraphrased Abraham Lincoln's "To give the victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary."

And he was honest: "The Republican convention will start tomorrow. I have no doubt they'll criticize my record and offer their own vision for this country. I'll be traveling this week, making the case for our record and the vision - my vision of the country - our vision.

I'll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy, stand up for our Constitution and the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box, no violence on our streets. That's how democracy should work."

And yet it felt like a rearguard action and this speech exposes 4 vulnerabilities of Biden.

Of course, Biden should condemn this act of Thomas Matthew Crooks in all its terms. But it has a side effect: indirectly, it legitimizes Trump as a "normal" presidential candidate. Trump himself has often downplayed and incited violence. He stoked Capitol stormers, baptized them as victims in his campaign speeches, mocked Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who had been attacked by a madman with a hammer, and stirred up hatred against Hillary Clinton, the "leftist" press and many others. Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum writes in his The Atlantic article The Gunman and the Would-Be Dictator "In rightly denouncing violence, we are extending an implicit pardon to the most violent person in contemporary U.S. politics. In asserting unity, we are absolving a man who seeks power through the humiliation and subordination of disdained others.

Saturday, Biden had been under fire in his own party for several weeks because of his dramatic debate and weak performances. More and more Democrats spoke out against his candidacy, and donors also began to pull out. Odds are that it wouldn't have taken long for Biden to withdraw. The attack shifts the focus from Biden to Trump and eases the pressure on Biden, at least for a while. Meanwhile, the "window of opportunity" to replace him is shrinking. It is also easy for Biden to argue that it is precisely in these challenging times that stability and unity are important, and he can capitalize on the weight, dignity and media opportunities, such as an Oval Office speech, that the presidential office gives him. While Trump with the image of courageous martyr draws the last swing voters to his camp.

For now, Trump is keeping a reasonable low profile after the attack. There is speculation as to whether this traumatic experience has fundamentally changed him. Let's hope so, but the chances are slim. More plausible is that he realizes that a moderate and generous stance will get him more for the time being