Joe Biden says he’s not naive. After these election results, we’ll see about that

If Biden wins, which currently looks likely, he won’t take office with the political capital to force Senate Republicans to help him pass sweeping bills

Joe Biden has called on Americans to put the ‘harsh rhetoric’ of the campaign behind them (Getty)

“I am not naive.” We’ll see about that, Mr Almost-President-Elect.

That was Joe Biden on Wednesday, as he claimed to have the votes to defeat Donald Trump. Time will tell whether he is gullible or not.

The former vice president and long-time Delaware senator knows he is inheriting a country deeply divided along lines of political affiliation and ideology. He took a first step, however brief and small, at reaching out to Republicans on Wednesday. 

“Once this election is finalized and behind us, it will be time for us to do what we've always done as Americans, to put the harsh rhetoric of the campaign behind us, to lower the temperature, to see each other again, to listen to one another, to hear each other again and respect and care for one another,” Biden said.

“So let me be clear: we are campaigning as Democrats,” he continued, referring to himself and running mate Kamala Harris, “but I will govern as an American president. The presidency itself is not a partisan institution. It's the one office in this nation that represents everyone and it demands a duty of care for all Americans. And that is precisely what I will do. I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me as I will for those who did vote for me.”

To be sure, after the last four years, those words had to be spoken by that man on that afternoon, since even Fox News has concluded he is six electoral votes from becoming the 46th president of these Not Very United States. Trump never tried to be the country’s uniter-in-chief or its healer-in-chief – and certainly not its legislative compromiser-in-chief.

The spirit of Biden’s remarks appeared, at least in part, geared toward trying to actually pass some major legislation for a change. It’s definitely a worthy goal.

But one that is undermined by numbers and realities.

Biden won’t take office with the political capital to force Senate Republicans in a GOP-majority chamber to help him pass sweeping bills. At the time of writing, Biden had only a 3.5 million-vote lead nationally – in a country of 328 million people. That margin does not a mandate make.

In fact, neither congressional leader will have a mandate when the new Congress is seated in January.

Nor will – sorry, “Squad” fans – any Capitol Hill faction, no matter how many Instagram followers they boast or dollars they raised during this unpredictable cycle and this unprecedented year.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic leadership team managed to, somehow, lose seats in the House even though Biden is very likely headed to the Oval Office. Pelosi had a firm grip on both her gavel and her caucus two days ago. Now, there are rumblings of a challenge from within her ranks.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell: he could, defying almost all predictions, retain his gavel – but with a smaller majority. The king of Senate combat tactics would shift to a defensive crouch, mostly stifling legislation passed by Pelosi’s shrunken Democratic majority.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer: what a defeat! His talk of punishing Republicans for pushing through the nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett by terminating the filibuster and passing all kinds of Democratic wish list items was the talk of Washington just two (very long) days ago. Now? No mandate. No power. No gavel. No chance congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t thinking of a primary challenge in 2022?

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy: the lowest-profile of the “Big Four” bet big on Trump’s coattails. Even if the president lost, McCarthy won. He likely went a long way towards helping his case to potentially become speaker if the GOP wins back the lower chamber in two years. But his seat gains were not quite sizeable enough to force Pelosi’s or Biden’s hands very often. Still, he came out the best of this bunch.

Americans complain about gridlock in Washington. Yet, that’s exactly what they appear to have ensured. No one liked the Barack Obama-era government shutdown threats or fiscal cliff showdowns. Yet, all are back on the table.

One step forward. But how many back?