Editor's Note: (Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College in Vermont. His newest book is "Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal," which comes out in October. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.)
(CNN) What the American public craves is authenticity: a sense that the men and women we elect are, like us, flesh-and-blood creatures who celebrate and grieve, who dance and despair. But it's rare to see politician reveal his or her vulnerability before a mass television audience.
And that is why Vice President Joe Biden's appearance on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night was so uncommonly moving. In the face of Biden's offhand honesty, passion and wrenching humanity as he discussed his beloved son Beau's death from brain cancer earlier this summer, it is almost embarrassing to acknowledge that it made for "good television."
It was life happening before our eyes, the kind of life we find in our own living rooms and kitchens.
Real conversation about the human experience is something we don't expect on late night -- from arch hosts, and particularly from politicians, who often seem like pieces of Styrofoam.
The Biden appearance slapped the nation awake, reminding us that we've become almost numb as we listen to the excuses, the prevarications, the bragging, the naked vanity that seems to dominate both major parties in this election season.
Funnyman Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert talks with George Clooney during the premiere episode of "The Late Show," which he
took over on Tuesday, September 8. Colbert's rise includes a number of notable moments.
Colbert, left, was originally one of "The Daily Show's" correspondents. He began with the show during its Craig Kilborn era and stayed when Jon Stewart, center, came to host in 1999. Others on the show included, from left, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry and Samantha Bee.
While appearing on "The Daily Show," Colbert was also part of the cast of "Strangers with Candy," a comedy series with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. He met the pair while he was a member of the Second City comedy troupe in the early '90s.
As a "correspondent" and later an anchor, Colbert developed a character that has been, at turns, pompous, pious and egocentric -- basing the persona on many others in television.
As correspondent, Colbert was key to "The Daily Show's" election coverage. Here he takes part in Election Night 2004.
Colbert's work on "The Daily Show" contributed to a number of awards -- including several Emmys. He poses here with, left to right, Rob Corddry, host Jon Stewart, Ed Helms and Samantha Bee.
On "The Colbert Report" -- and that's pronounced "Col-bear Rap-pour" -- Colbert highlights the foibles of politicians with such segments as "Better Know a District," a proposed 435-part series in which he offers a take on every House District. The representatives he interviewed sometimes haven't been aware of the joke.
Very quickly, Colbert's influence rose so high that he got his own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor: AmeriCone Dream. Here he poses with Ben Cohen, left, and Jerry Greenfield at the flavor's launch party.
The White House hasn't been immune to Colbert's charms. He showed up for a mock press conference in 2007.
"The Daily Show" may have won a bunch of Emmy awards, but in 2013 "The Colbert Report" broke its streak of 10 straight awards for outstanding variety series. It's also won two Emmys for writing, as well as two Peabodys.
Colbert hosted a roast for then congressman -- and later Chicago mayor -- Rahm Emanuel in 2008. Colbert, a South Carolina native, has ties with Chicago, having gone to college at Northwestern, in nearby Evanston, and worked in the city's comedy scene.
Colbert's awards haul isn't limited to Emmys and Peabodys. In 2010 he won a Grammy for his Christmas album and four years later won another for best spoken-word album.
In September 2010, Colbert testified at a hearing on immigration. He took time to chat with Phil Glaize, chairman of the U.S. Apple Association, left, and Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers. Again,
some representatives didn't get Colbert.
In October 2010 Colbert teamed up with Stewart for a Washington rally, "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear." Stewart handled the sanity; Colbert took care of the fear. The rally was a response, sort of, to rallies led by Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton.
Colbert's character definitely loves himself. He went so far as to lick himself during the unveiling of his wax figure at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington in 2012.
Colbert may be responsible for Bill Clinton being on Twitter. When the former president appeared on his show in 2013, Colbert set up an account, @PrezBillyJeff. Clinton later set up his real account, @billclinton.
Colbert, a devout Catholic, has taught Sunday school and talked about social justice. He spoke at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights 2013 Ripple of Hope Awards dinner.
Colbert faces a changed talk-show landscape. Jimmy Fallon, left, has gotten off to a fast start as new "Tonight Show" host on NBC, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel also has a strong fan base.
Colbert
takes a selfie with Letterman on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in April 2014. CBS began to introduce the next host of the "Late Show" by having its current host interview him.
Is it just me, or has it gotten horribly worse Isn't this why we crave somebody like Joe Biden, somebody willing to reveal his pain, his fear, his frailty and nobility?
It seems unlikely now that Biden will run, not after this interview, where Stephen Colbert — the most gifted interviewer in America today -- brought up "the elephant in the room," which he cleverly suggested was really a donkey. He referred to the pressing political question of the moment: Will Joe Biden challenge Hillary Clinton and others in the ongoing Democratic primary?
A lot hung on his answer, and the whole nation leaned forward to listen.
Biden was shockingly frank for a man under the klieg lights. His face was extremely mobile, with a range of emotion flickering as he dipped his eyes to the floor and seemed to wince. A vast audience saw the obvious truth: Here is father grieving for beloved son, Beau, who died of brain cancer only a few months ago. The rawness of his feelings were vividly on display.
Biden was frank, saying: "I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, number two, they can look at folks out there and say, 'I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this." One could hear a pin drop in the audience, which held its breath. "And I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there," Biden added, more or less putting the kibosh on a presidential bid.
Photos: Vice President Joe Biden
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden began his career in politics in 1972, winning election to the Senate at the age of 29 (he was 30 when he took office). The Delaware Democrat was reelected to the Senate six times, including 2008, before becoming the 47th vice president of the United States.
Biden is sworn in for his second term as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with his wife, Jill, and son, Beau, by his side, on January 21, 2013, in Washington.
Biden presides over a ceremony in Baghdad to formally mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq on September 1, 2010.
Biden and President-elect Barack Obama wave to the crowd at their election night party at Grant Park in Chicago on November 4, 2008.
Biden speaks after being introduced as Obama's running mate while campaigning together after the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
From left, former Sen. John Edwards, Biden, Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton at a debate of Democratic presidential candidates on April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Biden releases his memoir, "Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics," in 2007.
As a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden is interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press," concerning the war in Iraq on August 14, 2005.
While chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden meets Afghan students during a visit to Kabul in 2002.
Biden is welcomed back after undergoing surgery for an aneurysm in 1988.
Biden announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. After three months he drops out, following reports of plagiarism and false claims about his academic record.
While on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden meets with Sen. Frank Church, center, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat after the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979.
President Jimmy Carter and Biden attend a reception for the Delaware Democratic Party in 1978. Biden was the first senator to endorse Carter's presidential candidacy two years earlier.
At a convention in 1972, Biden and his first wife, Neilia, and his two sons take a photo with Delaware Gov.-elect Sherman W. Tribbitt and his wife Jeanne. Neilia Biden died in a car accident a few months later, after his first election to the Senate, along with their infant daughter, Naomi.
He could backtrack, of course, claiming that suddenly a voice had come to him from heaven, saying "Run, Joe, Run!" But that seems highly unlikely now. Voters would genuinely have to wonder if Biden really had the heart, the energy and the passion to give to this difficult and demanding job. Running for high public office can't be easy. And it's clear that even Joe doesn't think he can manage it in the wake of his son's death.
It's easy to say why so many like Joe Biden a great deal. I'm among them. He's a compassionate human being, and he's real.
Born in 1942, he grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania -- the lunch-pail capital of the western world, in my view. I grew up only a mile or so from Biden, whose father scraped to find work during some hard economic times in this era, when anthracite mining had died out and left many in northeastern Pennsylvania without other options for making a living. My mother, who died at 97 only last year, was a friend of Biden's aunt and mother, and she recalled that they moved to Delaware in search of better work.
Like so many baby boomers, Joe was among the first in his family to have a college education, which he managed to get with the aid of scholarships, attending the University of Delaware and law school at Syracuse.
Ordinary Americans identify with Biden. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth -- like Jeb Bush or Donald Trump. He made his way -- slowly but surely -- in the often clamorous world of American politics. And he has risen to a height his family could scarcely have imagined in those hardscrabble years after the war in Scranton.
Joe is the real deal. He would have made a great president, perhaps: a man of the people, who understands their needs, their fondest wishes, their fears. But that probably isn't going to happen.
Nonetheless, Joe Biden has -- unexpectedly -- wakened a nation to what it craves: a vulnerable but fully committed person who can say what he or she means, without bombast or equivocation, and lead us forward.
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