"I’m surprised by his announcement video. It’s negative and depressing, mentioning racism and anti-Semitism and a woman who died at a white supremacist rally..."

"... even as it tries to be inspiring (showing Martin Luther King, Jr. right before cutting to Biden announcing his candidacy). He’s focused on what’s wrong with the incumbent president, but says nothing distinctive about himself in over 3 minutes. The subtext is: Unlike the many candidates who’ve only come to your attention this year, I don’t need to introduce myself. I need no introduction. You don't need to be reminded of my time as Vice President, and I don't need to tell you where I stand on the issues. Instead of talking about himself, he talks about us. He ends by saying dramatically: "We have to remember who we are! This is America."

Writes John Althouse Cohen on his blog. I put up the new Biden video 2 posts down, so please limit comments here to responding to John. John also criticizes the video for showing the elderly Biden just sitting statically — not out and about, rubbing body parts with the people (I'm paraphrasing!). And John notes Biden's use of the old phrase 'all men are created equal'  — "an odd choice for a candidate who’s going to be criticized for being an old, white man who’s intruded into women's personal space."  Biden not only uses that "created equal" but also 'endowed by our Creator,' so it seems as though he wanted to infuse some acceptable religion into his "America is an idea" pitch.

ADDED: I think it may be a great strategy for Biden to offer to be a neutral entity embodying the American civil religion and to portray Trump as the great apostate.

UPDATE: I have now watched the Biden video (halfway) and condemn it. Read my new post.