Fourth of July sparklers

Sparklers are shown being lit on the Fourth of July, 2019. 

The Democratic presidential candidates - and scores of congressmen and other elected officials — fanned out around the country on Thursday. They marched in parades (Sen. Cory Booker in Nevada, former Vice President Joe Biden in Iowa, Sen. Amy Klobuchar in New Hampshire, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa, as well) and mixed with ordinary Americans on a sun-drenched day.

Unlike President Donald Trump — who gave a stilted reading of a cliché-clogged speech marching us through American history (think of a junior high school assembly) from behind a rain-streaked Plexiglas barrier - the candidates did not make the taxpayers foot the bill for their politicking. Trump managed to get in a couple personal/partisan lines on government property - boasting about his promised Space Force, for instance — but mostly it was a cringeworthy attempt to surround himself with the military that he declined to join during Vietnam.

Unlike the draft-avoider Trump, who had the nerve on Thursday to urge Americans to join the armed forces (I kid you not), the presidential candidates did not militarize the holiday. They understood that Independence Day is not about military hardware but about the promise of America and the elevation of democracy over despots.

Unlike Trump, who dragooned the acting secretary of defense and military leaders onto the stage as part of his over-produced air show, the Democrats went to where Americans live and joined them in their hometown, charming celebrations.

Out on the stump, Biden and Sen. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., continued their debate face-off over busing and desegregation. Biden declared, "She's a good person, she is smart as can be, and she feels strongly." However, he reaffirmed he was proud of his civil rights record and had no reason to "atone" for his record. Acknowledging that he was surprised by her attack, he told reporters, "I think at the end of the day . . . we need to be talking about the future." He added, "I mean, busing is something that 99 percent of the American people don't even know what we're talking about here, but I've always supported voluntary busing which she was part of."

As for Harris, over the past couple of days, it became evident she currently doesn't favor mandatory busing. "If we got back to the point where governments were actively opposing integration, yes," Harris said, "I could imagine that would be when the courts would have to step in. . . . I could imagine that, but thankfully that's not where we are today." She clarified that when she previously said busing was one item in the "tool kit," she was referring to its use now by local school districts. Democrats can breathe a sigh of relief they're not going to have to defend mandatory busing in 2020.

She did, however, explain that during the 1970′s, when court-ordered and mandatory busing was "necessary," Biden was working with segregationists to block it. Put differently, when the chips were down and the struggle was to overcome localities fighting Brown v. Board of Education, Harris would have been on the side of mandatory busing while Biden was not.

That's a quite nuanced but, nevertheless, logical explanation. The episode (which just reminds voters of her triumphant performance) also points to Biden's penchant of needlessly setting himself up for trouble when he refuses to apologize or acknowledge errors in positions he took decades ago (e.g., busing, crime legislation). It would be so much easier, and he'd come across infinitely more sympathetic, if he would say something such as: "Based on what we knew then, I and a lot of good Democrats, including African Americans, supported X. But times change and we can recognize unintended consequences of some of those positions. We learn and it makes us better prepared to lead the country forward."

Watching politics play out in the heartland reminds us of the best of a diverse democracy. Ordinary Americans of all backgrounds lined up along parade routes, gathered for a community picnics or at a baseball game. It was all so normal. It was so unlike Trump. Don't underestimate the attraction of normal.

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Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post.

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