Links: Inaugural addresses, Biden's Catholicism and a warty pig

Inaugural addresses are almost always a disappointment: The person giving it has an impossible job, becoming head of government and head of state, two jobs that demand different rhetorical approaches. In American history, there have been only three truly great inaugural addresses, all three of which came at times of political crisis. In 1801, after what remains the nastiest campaign in American history and a constitutional crisis that ended up costing Alexander Hamilton his life, Thomas Jefferson handled the first ever transition of power from one party to another with his splendid "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists" speech. Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address is the finest statement of American civic religion in our nation's history, and it is almost impossible to imagine it being surpassed. Finally, everyone remembers Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address for its famous line, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." But I am partial to the speech’s closing, which I think captures the spirit of patriotic confidence progressives need to reclaim:

We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.  

I hope those words are very much on Joe Biden's mind as he takes the oath of office tomorrow.

Relatedly, at The New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff calls Biden's recovery plan "Rooseveltian" and especially praises it for including efforts to lower the poverty rate for children, which is not related to COVID-19 but is a moral stain on our country. There is so much that can be accomplished in terms of the common good if Biden remembers his pledge to be the president of all Americans.

In The Washington Post, Michelle Boorstein looks at Biden's Catholicism, featuring quotes from NCR and NCR-friendly experts. I confess a naughty thought: I am looking forward a little bit to the ways that Biden's very public and regular Catholicism drives some of our conservative friends bonkers.

From Politico, a report on the struggles at the Democratic National Committee. Holly Otterbein details the hangover left by President Barack Obama's dreadful decision to erect a parallel organization to the DNC, and concern that Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, may not have learned the lessons of that failure. Incoming DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, however, is a grassroots guy. I hope it occurs to someone to have both Dillon and Harrison sit down with the last really splendid head of the DNC, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.