Damaged liberal hearts may briefly be lifted by the fact that Joe Biden received more votes than anyone in US presidential history — until they find out Donald Trump came in a historic second. He even exceeded Barack Obama’s peak 2008 tally. The real lesson from Tuesday’s record turnout is that America is bitterly, energetically and almost evenly divided. That is the salient background to Mr Biden’s equivocal mandate.
The question is what a President Biden could do with it. The answer is much less than even he — the most moderate of Democratic contenders — would have hoped. Barring a serious upset, Republicans will retain control of the US Senate. Mr Biden would be lucky to push through even the incremental parts of his agenda, such as a public option for US healthcare insurance, big investments in green technology and free tuition for middle-class college students.
Tuesday night left the epoch-changing hopes of American progressives in tatters. There is no chance Mr Biden will be able to abolish the Senate filibuster, add new states to the US, such as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, or expand the size of the Supreme Court. Should a vacancy come due in the 6-3 conservative-majority court, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, can simply block Mr Biden’s nominee. The best for which Mr Biden can hope is a modest stimulus package.