MSNBC's resident historian Jon Meacham's endorsement of Joe Biden during the virtual Democratic convention will influence nobody's vote in November, but that didn't stop Andrea Mitchell from giving him the spotlight on Friday to explain why, as a self-proclaimed nonpartisan historian, he is doing so.
But before he became a writer of history books, Meacham was the editor of Newsweek, where he also pretended to be a nonpartisan. Journalists usually avoid speaking at conventions on behalf of candidates, but Meacham's a historian now, so who cares any more?
Meacham, whose partisan credentials include claiming Ronald Reagan mistreated the poor and the environment, began by claiming nobody knows his or Mitchell's politics, "Well Andrea, we've known each other a long time. I don't know your politics. I don't think you know mine. But every once in a while, a choice presents itself where I believe, for me, ambivalence or neutrality is not an option."
This is a rehash. Former Time editor Walter Isaacson and Meacham played this game back in April when Meacham explained on PBS why he favored Biden.
Giving viewers an etymology lesson, Meacham explained the country is like a medical patient on the brink of death, "And we are facing a grave crisis. A crisis, remember, the word is Greek, it comes from Hippocrates, meaning a moment of decision in an illness where a patient lives or dies. We are facing a democratic, lower case "D," crisis in the country. It's not a partisan point. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican."
Meacham had to reach back 32 to years to his vote for George H.W. Bush in the 1988 Tennessee Primary to provide evidence for his claim. Since then he has implied he would vote for dog excrement over Donald Trump and Ted Cruz while ironically preferring Trump to Cruz, but that didn't stop him from claiming, "And so it's just -- this is not some sort of radical left, historian media figure representing the deep state."
Further proving his left-wing credentials, Meacham took time to acknowledge his white privilege, "What it is, is a citizen who was very fortunate to have benefited as much as I have from this country and my background, and I'm aware that I'm a product of privilege, you know? If you look like me, the country has tended to work out for you."
Therefore, he is voting for the supposedly Lincoln-esque Biden, "The point of America should be that everybody should have a fair shot, what Lincoln called an open field and a fair chance for it to work out for everybody. And Joe Biden represents our best hope for restoring that possibility... And what I've seen is that we have an incumbent president who needs to lose. And Joe Biden needs to win. And so I said it. "
This segment was sponsored by Applebee's.
Here is a transcript for Meacham's August 21 interview:
MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:33 PM ET
JON MEACHAM: Well Andrea, we've known each other a long time. I don't know your politics. I don't think you know mine. But every once in a while, a choice presents itself where I believe, for me, ambivalence or neutrality is not an option. And we are facing a grave crisis, a crisis, remember, the word is Greek, it comes from Hippocrates, meaning a moment of decision in an illness where a patient lives or dies. We are facing a democratic, lower case "D," crisis in the country. It's not a partisan point. I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican. I have voted for both parties. I cast my first vote as a freshman in college in the Tennessee Republican primary for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1988. And so it's just -- this is not some sort of radical left, historian media figure representing the deep state. What it is, is a citizen who was very fortunate to have benefited as much as I have from this country and my background, and I'm aware that I'm a product of privilege, you know? If you look like me, the country has tended to work out for you. The point of America should be that everybody should have a fair shot, what Lincoln called an open field and a fair chance for it to work out for everybody. And Joe Biden represents our best hope for restoring that possibility. And I want to say quickly, because you and I have now done this longer than either of us probably want to think about, when you talk about restoration, this is not about going back to something. This is about looking back, trying to see where we have come through crises before, and what can we learn about that as we address the crises of our own time. And I believe, as John Lewis said, if you see something, say something. And what I've seen is that we have an incumbent president who needs to lose. And Joe Biden needs to win. And so I said it.