For a Canadian citizen, resident in Germany, never having lived (and with zero plans to ever do so) in the US, there sure seems to be a lot of American political content on this blog. But as I've mentioned before, there are many reasons that American politics -- whether we like it or not -- affect us all. Seems major newspapers in, e.g. Germany, France, Spain, and Canada agree (from top-left clockwise: der Spiegel, le Figaro, el País, and the Globe and Mail):
I have to say that somehow I'm finding myself a bit happier with the new guy "running things" (in quotes because Trump clearly never ran anything) than I was with the old guy (although they are both clearly old). But the more I read about Biden, the more I like him. Now, like any politician -- and especially one who ran for and is now the President -- he is far from perfect. But it sure is easy to like someone when they replace someone who was just so indescribably bad. So without further ado, here are the top 6 reasons that I'm a Joe Biden Fan.
1. He's a Watch Guy
While Trump may have worn a solid yellow gold Rolex Day Date (among others), there are important differences between wearing a watch -- especially an ugly, ostentatious, and very expensive one -- and being a Watch Guy. Biden is the latter. It is to appreciate craftsmanship, design, attention to detail, ingenuity, expertise, and engineering; connect oneself to history and the daily passage of time and anchor yourself to a moment; acknowledge the connections between social, cultural, and historical moments and the people therein. While there are people who wear a Nice Watch (TM) to try to display their wealth, for most others, it can be a way to express who you are: that you care about some of the above-mentioned things, for example, or that you see yourself as someone who appreciates finer things, more classical things, analog things. For men -- who have fewer options in terms of "fashion" than women -- a watch can fill that void in terms of how you might choose to partially show who you are: an adventurer, an artist, a racer, whatever. The most important thing for a Watch Guy -- I think -- is the story that the watch tells (to him- or herself -- yes a Watch "Guy" can also be a Girl).
Biden's watch collection is a pure reflection of a true Watch Guy. They reflect a "tool watch viewpoint" that projects his working class roots and shows his appreciation for historically significant watches that are either connected to events or people and that have a deeper meaning than just "this watch is expensive" (it seems all of his watches are in steel rather than a precious metal such as gold or platinum). Biden is a well known partisan of the famous Omega "Moon Watch" the Speedmaster, more affectionately known as the "Speedy". This watch was, of course, the first (and I believe only) watch worn on the moon, and is still certified by Nasa for spaceflight. His (good) taste in watches has been chronicled by Gear Patrol here [and where I grabbed most of the below pictures], and they put things quite nicely by describing his watches as "down-to-earth workwear [that still] communicates that he values quality and style" and they "reflect on Biden as serious but not extravagant". His collection includes other noteworthy members such as the James Bond-style Omega Seamaster 300m Diver and the "harmless dog whistle for watch enthusiasts" Seiko Alarm Chronograph (from top-left CW: Speedmaster, Seamaster, Seiko).
The Datejust is a great choice of watch for anyone, let alone the POTUS. It's sporty but goes with a suit. It's also legible, accurate, and tells the date – important for someone with such an ungodly schedule.
2. He has Battled Adversity
Ok, battling "adversity" (which every Hockey Canada team must do during the World Juniors, Olympics, etc. by losing some early not-so-important games so that they can build their character and learn how to work as a team and not take things for granted) isn't necessarily a reason to like someone -- or for sure a reason to be a fan of them. But going through what Joe Biden has gone through and still functioning as a human being -- let alone the President and let alone being seemingly the good person that he is -- is quite the task which leads to an admiration that directly leads to being a fan. And I have to say I admire Joe Biden.
If you don't know about his story of personal tragedy, Antoinette Bueno for Entertainment Tonight (sorry) outlines it pretty well here. Basically, among other things (leaving out his childhood stuttering problems which play out as very "The King's Speech"-esque), just after being elected as the youngest ever Senator in 1972, in a "stunning upset against two-term incumbent J. Caleb Boggs", Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in a car accident while out Christmas shopping. His 4- and 2-year-old sons were also in the car that was slammed into by a tractor-trailer but escaped with their lives (and some serious injuries). He planned to resign from the Senate before even being sworn in but was encouraged to keep going by his colleagues and for his sons. Famously, he would commute to Washington, D.C. via Amtrak (and would do so for years) so he could stay in Delaware and raise his sons. He was sworn into the Senate in early 1973 at his son's bedside who was still recovering from the accident.
3. He's a Cyclist
Not only is it amazing that Joe Biden is a cyclist, but while looking for a recent picture of him riding a bike, I came across this great story that again reinforces (as if we needed any more reinforcement) how plain good Biden is and how plain terrible Trump is. In addition to disparaging John Kerry for riding a bike when he fell and broke his leg while cycling in the French Alps, and claiming he would never ride a bike in his life (thank you Trump for keeping the sport pure! ha!), there was also a great tidbit about how (of course):
in 1989, [Trump] sponsored what was billed as the American equivalent of the Tour de France. The Tour de Trump [ran] for two years in a row, [where cyclists] raced a multi-day stage race on the Eastern seaboard. [...] One of the teams on Trump’s signature event was Sauna Diana, a Dutch squad sponsored by a brothel.
But greater yet, the fact that he's a cyclist gives us our first view of a return to normality. Normality in the context of many things, but specifically, normality for presidential "scandals" as reported by Fox News, et al. on presidents who might actually just be good people. This particular type of "scandal" is often referred to being of the "tan suit" variety (if you'll remember). This is just such a good synopsis of the "scandal" that I have to reproduce it here from Wikipedia:
The Barack Obama tan suit controversy occurred on August 28, 2014, when Barack Obama, then-President of the United States, wore a tan suit while he held a live press conference on increasing the U.S. military response against the Islamic State in Syria. Obama's appearance on television in the tan suit sparked significant attention and led to media and social media criticism. The issue remained prominent in the media for several days with the issue being particularly widely discussed on talk shows.
Just love it. Even better though, consider, while keeping in mind the most recent President's daily embarrassing behaviour and his very recent incitation of treason among his supporters, this priceless note:
Conservative Republican Representative Peter King of New York called Obama's wearing of the suit unpresidential, and stated that “There’s no way, I don’t think, any of us can excuse what the president did yesterday. I mean, you have the world watching.”
Anyways, back to the cycling. As many commentators have expressed in varying ways -- but on the same topic -- thank God, we're back to this level of scandal:
i see we're moving seamlessly back into "tan suit scandal" phase of discourse... https://t.co/z493yo5xW0 pic.twitter.com/t5XXIBwetq
— Gasca (@gasca) January 19, 2021
So, to fill you in, apparently Joe Biden has a "Peloton" bike which is basically a stationary bicycle with an iPad connected to it that allows you to do live workouts where you follow what the instructor does on the screen. It's kind of like a virtual spin class. Anyways, I don't know what extra commentary this requires: "It doesn't exactly comport with his 'regular Joe from Scranton' persona". Obviously no other person in Scranton could afford a stationary bike for their home or something. I dunno... But super cool that he's a cyclist. Cyclists are good people (except for Lance Armstrong, I guess 😁).
4. He's a Dog Lover
While I have to admit that not all cyclists are the greatest of people (though we do have Mike Woods who maybe I should also write a "top 6 reasons I'm a Mike Woods fan" post about), if you're also a dog lover then it gets harder to imagine that you're not a good dude. And Joe Biden is both.
5. First act as President: put the US back in the Paris climate accord
Now, simply re-joining the Accord is not going to solve climate change, obviously. But if we learned anything over the last four years in American politics (and I hope we learned a lot, even if it was all very obvious from the get-go), it's that symbols, actions, words, whatever: they all matter. Even separate from any legal weight that the Paris Accord might have, the fact that the US is back in it sends an important message not just to regular people and other states, but especially to kids: it matters; the climate matters; decisions matter; getting along matters; multilateralism matters; etc.
6. He's not Trump
'Nuff said.
