Biden Sworn In As 46th President of the United States

 President Joe Biden took the oath of office Wednesday at an inauguration ceremony that was drastically different from years past due to the Covid-19 pandemic and security concerns following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. 

Bucking long-standing tradition, Donald Trump skipped the inauguration and flew to Florida Wednesday morning.

About halfway through his inauguration speech, President Joe Biden said something very important about the work of Washington -- and how he envisions his presidency. 

"Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path," Biden insisted. "Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war."

If you blinked, you might have missed it. But that line -- and the sentiment behind it -- functions not only as a rejection of the political worldview of his predecessor in office but also as the core belief that underpins Biden's entire theory of the presidential case.

And yet, time and time again, Biden returned to that theme of unity -- and his belief that we are better than these last four years would suggest.

"This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge. And unity is the path forward," said Biden. "We must meet this moment as the United States of America."

It's a noble idea, to be sure. And there's no question that a significant chunk of the country is ready for a different kind of politics in the wake of four years of unending partisanship by a president who seemed only to consider his base when making decisions for the country.

Biden's speech on Wednesday is rightly understood as a metaphorical reaching of his hand across the partisan aisle. ("In the work ahead, we are going to need each other," he said near the end of the address.) The real question is whether anyone on the Republican side will reach their hand out to meet his.