President-elect Joseph Biden and his Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivered historic speeches in their victory celebration speeches in defense of the “Democratic Ideal” and an inspirational message of hope geared towards healing and uniting a divided and polarised nation in their first remarks Saturday following a bitter and divisive battle for the U.S presidency.

I have admired Joe Biden (to put it firmly), but credit where credit is due: his speech Saturday night was the most brilliant celebratory victory speech I have ever seen; only President Barack Obama’s speeches ( 2004 convention speech, and 2008 victory speech, 2009 speech in Ghana and 2012 and his last speech in 2016 speech) even come close.  

Joe Biden’s victory celebration speech was good enough – one for the history books – a memorable speech that will school children and students of political science read decades from now and, toward the end, perfect but not in the same league former boss Barack Obama. 

Joe Biden’s best oratory is beautifully written, meticulously crafted, and theatrically delivered. It is a record of fear, flaws, shortcomings, and accomplishment. He organises his thinking by putting pencil to pad. We should listen to David Icke’s  “We Are Slaves to a Reptilian Brain system speech.” This rhetoric will change our attitude for the better.

Moreover, by the way, Barack Obama and Joe Biden removed this reptilian section of the brain in their Presidential Speeches.  The single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘we.’ We the People. We shall overcome. “Yes we can.” No one owns that word. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to try to improve this great nation of ours”; says continually — former President Obama and the same lines were borrowed and reechoed by President-elect — Joe Biden in his victory celebration speech. 

President-elect Joe Biden frames US election as an epic battle between light and dark one that unfolded in the middle of a global pandemic that generated the highest number of votes ever cast for a US President and a run that also brings the first  Black Asian female vice President Kamal Harris.

The art of speech writings and speech-giving is an art –  A good speech flows starts with a preconceived idea and is supported by evidence reinforcing the idea. 

President-elect Joe Biden has done justice to his campaign; political storytelling is not about policy, credibility, or qualification, but with how much people connected with you, the same way you get connected with books and movies, you will not engage with the people without a good story and with an appealing emotional beat rationale for connecting with the people: Persuasive politics appealing to emotions.

In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton’s narrative was “economic growth” in the 2000s, George W Bush was “protection for the American people.” Barack Obama’s campaign was built on a story of “hope and change.” 

In contrast, President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign narrative is built on “breaking down barriers and healing and unity, “real results,” stronger together,” and “fighting for us.”

Today’s Joe Biden’s acceptance speech, there is a balance between emotion and facts. It is essential to balance anecdotes and personal stories, which makes someone sound more with integrity, with some narratives that put his story in greater context – but put you better be honest. All those modules Joe Biden used in his victory speech.

“America has always been shaped by inflection points, by moments in time we have made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be,” Biden said at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, where the horns from hundreds of cars and cheers could be heard between his words. “Folks, we stand at an inflection point.”

Joe Biden’s remarks came as President Donald Trump continues to contest the cliffhanger election results, arguing without evidence that hundreds of thousands of votes are in question. 

His address, in addition to setting the tone for a Biden transition and presidency, was a symbol that the Democrat was working to move the nation past the contentious election. 

Biden sought to drive that message home from the very beginning of his remarks – saying voters had delivered a “clear victory, a convincing victory.”

“Folks, the people of this nation have spoken,” he said.

Reciting one of his slogans from the campaign trail, Biden said he ran for President for all Americans, not just Democrats. “For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment,” Biden said. “I have lost a couple of times myself. 

But now let us give each other a chance. It is time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.”

President-elect Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic President after John F. Kennedy, recalled the Catholic hymn “On Eagle’s Wings,” a song he said was essential his family and deceased son Beau. He died of brain cancer in 2015. 

“It captures the faith that sustains me, which I believe sustains America. And I hope, and I hope I can provide some comfort and solace,” he told the crowd before reciting the hymn. 

“And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand.”

President Donald Trump accused Biden of being “against God” despite the devout Catholic’s frequent references to his faith during the campaign. Biden, who has often talked about how his Catholic faith helped him survive the death of his first wife and their daughter in a 1972 car crash, dismissed Trump’s comments as an attempt at making a cynical appeal to religious conservatives.

As he wrapped his remarks on Saturday, Biden recalled his grandfather telling him to “keep the faith” before adding that his grandmother chimed in, “no Joey, spread it. Spread the faith.”

President-Elect Joe Biden made a direct appeal to supporters of President Donald Trump and called the moment a “time to heal” in America. “For all those of you who voted for President Trump, I understand the disappointment,” Biden said. 

“I have lost a couple of times myself. But now let us give each other a chance. It is time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.”

Reciting one of his slogans from the campaign trail, Biden said he ran for President for all Americans, not just Democrats. In his acceptance speech, President-elect Joe Biden quickly identified himself not as the 46th president but as the husband to Jill Biden. “I am Jill’s husband,” he declared. “Teaching is not just what she does; it is who she is.”

“For American educators, this is a great day for all of you. You are going to have one of your own in the White House,” he said as the crowd cheered.

President-elect Joe Biden specifically thanked Black voters for his victory.

“The African American community stood up for me. They always have my back, and I will have yours,” he said as he pounded the podium.

Overall, the victory speech of Joe Biden and his Vice President-elect  Kamala Harris is perfect, respectful, not apologetic, and best of all, hopeful for the future. Kamala Harris also addressed feminism, issue, voting rights, women’s rights vs. legal rights, social freedom, racial divides, police brutality, and economic justice.

Disappointedly, they never raised the disgraceful human rights violations, repression, and dictatorship in other parts of the world.

By Alagi Yorro Jallow