The essay, from July 22nd, is titled, "Joe Biden, My Friend and an American Hero."
Mr. Meacham is a highly-regarded historian. He has also served, during the Biden presidency, as a sometimes-advisor to the President--such as, assisting in the writing of some of Mr. Biden's speeches.
I really love Joe Biden. He is a man of great substance, and consequence. He is honorable, moral, thoughtful, exceedingly smart, patriotic, determined; he is devoted to his family, and his faith, and is a man of great feeling.
He has had, in many ways, an unusually accomplished presidency. I'm extremely saddened by what has taken place--his exit from his re-election campaign---yet I believe he made the right decision, for the country.
Here is the full letter which he released today, addressing his decision.
https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/07/GTB11JnW8AAhCDP.png
There's a story which has recently made news--in
mainstream media outlets, but which has also, certainly, been promoted by conservative outlets.
The story has, I believe, been inaccurately reported. It has--very quickly, and very unfortunately--taken on the character of an urban myth.
The matter involves this: the claim that in a recent interview with a radio host on a Black-oriented Philadelphia station, President Biden said that he was "the first Black woman to serve with a Black president."
The New York Times--a paper whose journalism I admire tremendously; my day would not be complete without reading the Times--employed the quote, in a news story by reporter Michael D. Shear, on July 4th.
Mr. Shear wrote: "Mr. Biden made the mistake...as he tried to deliver a line that he has repeated before about having pride in serving as vice president for President Barack Obama."
The widely-read Times columnist Maureen Dowd subsequently cited the "first Black woman" quote from Mr. Shear's story, in a July 7th column.
The reported quote--in that it appeared in the midst of questions about Mr. Biden's
mental acuity--has felt particularly inflammatory.
I have listened, many times (with headphones), to the part of the interview in which Mr. Biden is alleged to have made the above remark. Here is a recording of what he said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp6q_acgbMQ
I will not say this with 100% certainty--but will claim something close to certainty: that President Biden did not say what has been reported.
My argument about this issue in large part comes down to two words. The first is the word "to" (as used in the reported quote, "to serve").
The word "to" connects the first phrase, "the first Black woman," to the next part of the sentence, "to serve with a Black president."
The "to," I believe, does not belong in the sentence; I am simply not hearing it in the audio of the interview.
The second word is "serve." In listening to the President's remarks, I believe the word, as used by Mr. Biden, was likely, in fact, the word "served"--past tense.
It is true that Mr. Biden has a tendency to rush through some of his sentences, and, sometimes speaks in a kind of shorthand. I think he was doing both, during this particular moment in the interview with the Philadelphia radio host.
To be sure: the comments Mr. Biden made were a bit disjointed. Yet I think those focusing upon them should have taken far greater care in listening to--and reporting upon--what he said.
In presenting, below, what I think Mr. Biden was in actuality saying, during the radio interview, I have, as suggested above, removed the crucial (and I believe inaccurately included) word "to" from the phrase "to serve," as it appeared in the Times report. I have also replaced the word "serve" with "served."
Please note, as well, that near the start of the remarks in question, Mr. Biden used the phrase "as I said"; he was clearly, at this moment, seeking to repeat, summarize, part of his previous remarks.
Indeed, as Michael Shear wrote in his Times story: "Earlier in the interview, [Mr. Biden] boasted about appointing the first Black woman to the Supreme Court and picking the first Black woman to be vice president."
So: here is what I believe the President said, and was attempting to say, in his shorthand style. I have interpolated one phrase, in italics and within brackets (for purposes of clarity, regarding what I believe was Mr. Biden's clear intention), and have made note, also in brackets, of a moment in the audio recording which is garbled.
Here are the remarks:
“By the way, I'm proud to be, as I said--[the person who chose] the first vice president, first Black woman. Served with a Black president. I'm proud of the [audio briefly unclear] first Black woman to the Supreme Court.”
Do I think Mr. Biden said he was the first Black woman to serve with a Black president? No.
Do I believe that the Times report--and other news and opinion outlets addressing Mr. Biden's comments--got the story wrong? Yes.
On July 3, 1952--72 years ago last week--the ocean liner S.S. United States began its maiden voyage, from New York Harbor to Southampton, England.
The ship--over 100 feet longer
than the Titanic--was taken out of service seventeen years later, in 1969. Its ownership subsequently changed hands a few times, through the years. In 1996, most of
its interior having been gutted, it was moved to a berth on the
Philadelphia waterfront, where it has since remained. I was given a tour
of the ship in 2000, by a representative of Edward Cantor, its
then-owner.
I've written periodically about the ship, in this space, in that it plays a part in my book about early television.
Five days before its 1952 maiden voyage, the NBC program Your Hit Parade
was telecast from throughout the ship. The show was the television
program's last broadcast of the 1951-1952 season. The telecast was also my
mother's last appearance on the program.
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| New York Times story, June 22, 1952 |
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|
Hit Parade rehearsal photo, on S.S. United States, June, 1952; bandleader Raymond Scott, center, conducting the Lucky Strike Orchestra. Announcer Andre Baruch stands at left side of photo. |
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| Hit Parade Dancers, including Virginia Conwell and Lenny Claret (center couple), rehearsing on deck of S.S. United States, June, 1952 |
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| NBC cameraman at S.S. United States, rehearsal photo, June, 1952 |
From 2003 to 2009, the ocean liner was owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, which had acquired the ship from owner Edward Cantor's estate, after Mr. Cantor's 2002 death. The cruise line planned on rehabilitating the ship, and making it seaworthy again; the plan was later abandoned .
In 2011, following a $3 million gift from Philadelphia philanthropist H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, the S.S. United States Conservancy, a group devoted to the ship's history, and its preservation, bought the ship, and has sought, for years, to find ways to repurpose it. The Conservancy has contemplated turning the ship into a mixed-use site--such as, say, a stationary hotel, along with other hospitality, event, and museum spaces. The efforts have not been successful.
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| S.S. United States, at its Philadelphia waterfront berth, 2000 |
A June court decision handed the Conservancy a victory, but also a significant defeat. The organization had been in litigation with the ship's waterfront landlord, Penn Warehousing and Distribution, which in 2021 doubled the daily $850 rental fee for the ship's berth on the Delaware River. The Conservancy refused to pay the higher rent, arguing, as a USA Today story reported, "that their lease...had no provisions for sudden and unilateral rent hikes."
The Federal Judge hearing the case agreed, regarding the rental issue--but also ordered that the ship leave its waterfront berth by this September 12th.
The Conservancy has therefore undertaken a fundraising campaign to find a new home for the ocean liner--temporarily, or permanently, largely in the East, and the Mid-Atlantic region. If a new site cannot be found, the Conservancy may be forced to sell the historic ship for scrap--or, have the ship sunk, to create an artificial reef.
Here is the Facebook page for the Conservancy:
https://www.facebook.com/SSUSC
(1952 S.S. United States photos, © Lost Gold Entertainment, Inc.; 2000 photograph of ship, © Jenny Lynn)
(The above piece was lightly edited, in the hours after its posting.)
I watch (and like) a lot of CNN news coverage and commentary--but was taken aback on July 4th (though not entirely surprised) by a regrettable on-air decision the network made. I have seen this occur before, on both CNN and MSNBC--when each network has covered certain live events, such as presidential speeches.
There have been occasions, on both networks, when the hosts, and their panels/guests, have kept talking, as a particular live event has approached--and because of this, the very beginning of the event has been missed.
On Thursday, Pamela Brown was hosting the network's early evening program; this was a little after 6 p.m. (Eastern time). In a corner of the screen, one saw speeches underway at The White House, as part of an event for active-duty military service members and their families, in commemoration of July 4th.
First, one saw the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, speaking; President Biden was standing to the side of, and behind, her. Pamela Brown said: "Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady, is speaking. Are we going into, to listen to her? Okay. Sorry. My producer is talking to me in my ear..."
In that the First Lady is obviously a crucial figure concerning the question of whether President Biden will continue as a candidate for re-election, it seemed to me the network should have aired her comments (or, at least, some part of them).
The producer, evidently, conveyed to Ms. Brown that her studio interviews should continue. Then, in the corner of the screen, one saw that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was speaking. At this point, I wondered why the network did not simply switch to the event. Clearly, the President would be speaking soon.
Then Ms. Brown said: "All right, we have to go to a quick break. We're waiting for President Biden to speak there at the podium. We'll be right back."
The commercial began; it was for Easter Seals. And then, during the commercial, CNN's "Breaking News" animation and music appeared, and Ms. Brown said: "All right. President Biden is speaking now at the podium."
And so, one watched Mr. Biden's remarks--but his initial words had been missed.
According to the White House transcript of the event, this was the beginning of what the President said:
Happy Independence Day! (Applause.) At least the rain helped the humidity a little bit.
Jill and I, Secretary Austin, Mrs. Austin, we’re honored so many of your families are here on this special day. I re- — really mean it.
You represent only 1 percent — not quite 1 percent of the American population, but you keep 99 percent of the rest of the population safe. It’s you. You’re all volunteers. You do it.
According to the CNN "rush" transcript of its program, the airing of the President's remarks began here: "--of the American population, but you keep 99 percent of the rest of the population safe.
It’s you. You’re all volunteers. You do it."
This was an easily avoidable mistake on CNN's part, considering the significance, right now, of President Biden's public appearances, and his public remarks. I don't believe Ms. Brown was at fault, here. The decision, I am guessing, likely rested with either the program's producer, or director--or, maybe, with a CNN executive. Or perhaps the network has a policy of only airing the President's comments, at such events, as opposed to also including any prefatory speeches; if this is the case, then I think the policy should be relaxed.
It is moments like these when a network such as CNN should take a cue from C-SPAN: let a public event--or at least part of it, when appropriate--unfold on its own. On CNN (and on MSNBC, as well-- which was not covering the White House event that night; a special was airing at the time), hosts and guests do not need to be continuously talking--right up to the moment, say, when the President begins speaking. I would like to have heard, on July 4th, Dr. Biden's and Secretary Austin's remarks--though, at the very least, would have appreciated hearing even just some of the Secretary's comments, and then, immediately afterwards, the entirety of what the President said. But CNN made the unfortunate decision to have its host (and guests) continue talking--and then, to make matters worse, aired a commercial at just the wrong time. This decision did a disservice to CNN's viewers.
I've posted a link to the recording, below, on previous July 4ths.
It is of Frank Sinatra singing "America the Beautiful."
The recording is from the 1963 album The Concert Sinatra; the album's songs were arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xC9xFuBvo
Here is one detail from the song, which I especially enjoy; it concerns Mr. Sinatra's lyrical/musical phrasing (which is, certainly, often commented upon).
It is heard at approximately 44 seconds from the song's start.
Mr. Sinatra sings:
America, America, God shed his grace on thee...
Yet, in his exquisitely distinctive way, he adds a pause between the words "grace," and "on"--which, I think, adds a subtle, after-the-fact emphasis to the word "grace."
America, America, God shed his grace (pause) on thee...
I love this brief pause (in addition to the overall superb rendition of the song).
Yesterday's Supreme Court decision regarding presidential immunity is deeply distressing, and dizzying.
Here is an essay by the Editorial Board of The New York Times. The piece is titled: "The Supreme Court Gives a Free Pass to Trump and Future Presidents."
