Opinion | Why Joe Biden, man of contradictions, is just the president to unite a divided United States
- What separates Biden from his predecessors are the intricacies of his character and career, which make him uniquely qualified to handle these extraordinary times defined by calls for unity and justice, healing and retribution, a return to normalcy and radical change
Ever since I arrived in the United States in 1949, I have closely watched presidential inaugurations. At first it was merely out of curiosity as an outsider; I always intended to return to China. I ultimately stayed in the US and spent nearly 50 years in Washington teaching at Georgetown University and working at the State Department and Library of Congress.
I watched both of Eisenhower’s inaugurations, as well as that of John F. Kennedy, who I once lived across the street from in Georgetown. Decades later, I had the privilege of watching the inauguration of one of my former students, Bill Clinton.
The nation’s second president, John Adams, failed to win re-election and left town early in the morning to avoid attending his successor Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration.
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US presidential inaugurations throughout history: a look back as Joe Biden is set to take his oath
