The Bishop of Burnley, the Rt. Rev. Philip North, waded into the mire of American political opinion today by offering an encomium to President Joe Biden. Speaking on the BBC’s Radio 4 Thought for the Day for July 22, 2023, Bishop North repeated the talking points shared by Democratic pundits in the hours following the posting of a letter purportedly written by the president on the social media platform X on July 21.
Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election ended: “one of the great political careers. Joe Biden has offered to his nation over 50 years of public service. During the course of his career, he has faced huge challenges, a serious stutter, complex brain surgery, and, worst of all, the death of his son. Whatever view one takes of his politics, he is a man of determination and strength.”
President Biden’s career had been marked by strength. Not merely the “capacity to hang on at all costs” but “the strength of character to know when to step aside and let someone else take over”.
The prophet Elijah was “a man of great strength and faithfulness,” Bishop North stated. “Elijah had the strength to know that the priority was not his own role but the work of God.”
However, “It’s easy for anyone to hang on to a job for too long. A role can become so much part of a person’s identity that they find it impossible to let go. But, as Elijah demonstrates, what matters is not personal legacy, but a vision of the common good which goes beyond an individual. . .
“In a long career, maybe yesterday was Joe Biden’s greatest act of strength.”
American opinion is sharply divided upon the points raised by Bishop North, with some political commentators noting the president’s withdrawal from the election was a sign of weakness, not strength.
