An introduction: long time reader (since 2005), first time writer. I’ll save the personal introduction for another time.

Think back, if you will, to the days in February 2020 between the Nevada and South Carolina primaries. Media forecasters thought Joe Biden would have to withdraw from the presidential race. One such forecaster gave Biden a roughly 10% chance of winning the nomination. The cart was pulled in Burlington and Senator Bernie Sanders, according to the press, had in fact won the primary.

Three weeks later, after masterful political maneuvering, Joe Biden had secured the nomination. The final debate between him and Senator Sanders played out like a conversation between two old friends. Shortly after, Sanders endorsed Biden, and Joe Biden was elected president in November 2020.

Fast forward to July 2024. After a debate with his opponent while he was clearly ill, and after three weeks of “not good enough” reviews of his performance, the media turned on him. The Democratic Party had slipped. If the rumors were true, the party defections were in an effort led by legendary former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Like that sepia-toned February, the polls predicted the end. An untimely Covid diagnosis for Biden served as a precursor to the inevitable announcement that the aging quarterback would hang up his boots for good. The prevailing view was that Biden had no choice but to end his campaign for reelection and release his delegates.

As of Thursday, July 18, 2024, it was over, except for the screaming.

At least, that’s what America thought.

On Friday night, two unlikely allies showed up to support the president in his re-election campaign. Senator Sanders, who had defeated Biden so handily in 2020, gave an interview on late-night television. He praised the president as an advocate for policies that helped the working people of America; who deserved a second term. Because Sanders had campaigned on this message his entire career, his words were those of an honest broker.

Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a charismatic young congresswoman whose caucus in Congress had spent months criticizing President Biden’s foreign policy, blew the whistle on wealthy donors’ efforts to force Biden out of the race. According to Ocasio-Cortez, the debate had nothing to do with pushing to oust Biden. Instead, donors wanted someone they could influence, and Biden’s policies had gone too far against their interests. They wouldn’t even accept Biden’s trusted vice president, Kamala Harris, as a replacement; despite her lauded performance on the campaign trail in the preceding months. The debate was an excuse for angry billionaires to get rid of both Biden and Harris.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus’ support for President Biden has remained steadfast, unwavering during the previous three weeks of media bombardment.

Congressman James Clyburn, who was arguably the most important ally when Biden turned his primary campaign around in 2020, continued to play a key role in efforts to sustain Biden’s campaign.

There was a groundswell of support for Biden from the Democratic Party’s base on Saturday. News spread Saturday night that former President Clinton and former Senator/Secretary Clinton, two other unlikely allies, had joined the effort to keep Biden’s campaign on track.

Biden had done it again. Against all odds, he had rebuilt his base of support in 72 hours. He had a new message: Biden versus the billionaires. He had outsmarted Pelosi (or did he? Was she already in on the plan? We may never know.) and defied the odds. An old man who had lost his cognitive faculties could hardly pull off such a political strategy.

Another chapter has been written in the Joe Biden mythos. The next chapter is ours.