Michael Goodwin: Biden the divider – what happened to all the unity talk in his inaugural address?

Joe Biden’s inaugural speech was pedestrian at best, but its enduring virtue is that the new president left little doubt about his main focus: healing a fractured nation.

In a party bursting with flamethrowers, the president stands out for the harshness of his rhetoric.  Speaking while the pandemic still raged and two weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, he used variations of the words "unity" and "together" more than a dozen times, as when he declared: "Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together. Uniting our people. And uniting our nation."  After citing earlier national crises, from the Civil War to 9/11, Biden described how he would lead the nation to a better place.