Despite his faults and flaws, of which he and the rest of us have in no short supply, I happen to believe that Joe Biden is a competent and effective President of these United States.
His life reflects the lives of so many Americans, its components including tragedy, failure, intellectual mediocrity. He grew up like much of the middle class that has slowly withered. His father had trouble holding down a job, finally enjoying financial success as a used car salesman.
Biden grew up in household where the most important family decisions and discussions were held sitting at the kitchen table, no doubt a laminate with a pattern of what appear to be boomerangs. It was held up by four straight aluminum legs, its edges adorned with a Chrysler-inspired bumper that wrapped around the table.
This was in the years following World War II and most Baby Boomers can remember, or least identify, with poorly designed kitchens that would accommodate a table.
A young Joe Biden learned of his father’s desires and failures at a kitchen table, a place where major decisions were made. It was also where the kids would speak of their days and express their concerns.
President Biden has used the imagery of the kitchen table throughout his political career. He referenced it in his first presidential run in 1988 and in subsequent campaigns. A champion of the working class, Biden sensed that his supporters were average.
Americans seeking the advice of each other and making plans together talked over casseroles and pot roasts. He also spoke of the kitchen table during his State of the Union address in March.
To me, the kitchen table evokes multiple memories, including playing cards with my paternal grandparents as they squabbled in languages I couldn’t understand. The kitchen table must have fallen out of favor at some point, being replaced by bar-like counters providing a view of kitchens designed first and foremost with efficiency in mind. There’s no room for a kitchen table, unless a breakfast nook is designed.
If I had my druthers I would design and build a small house with room for a table smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. There I could sit with the morning’s paper, awaiting the family to gather noisily as they gobble down their muffins and breakfast burritos, stopping just long enough to mention what the new day might present.
The cacophony ends after twenty minutes or so. Back to the newspaper, some juice, and another coffee—a dark espresso with just enough sugar to sweeten the bitterness of the bean.
Growing up on Chicago’s West Side, the house I best remember was a small, split-level bungalow. The largest room was the kitchen. As I think back to that time, I can only imagine how terribly difficult it must have been to cook in it. It was a horseshoe shape. There was a mudroom next to the side door (the front door was reserved for company). The stairs to the basement were right there. The kitchen table, as described above, was in the middle. My sister and I would come from school and throw whatever it was we were carrying onto the table. We’d scrounge for a snack and return to the table to do our homework, cookie crumbs falling into a book’s seam.
When our mother started dinner, we’d banter about, telling stories and speaking of some teacher’s harshness in her demands. When my father got home from work, we’d clear the table of books and papers and help set the table for dinner. Over dinner would be more conversations about the day’s events. Despite my mother’s limited abilities in the kitchen, it was the highlight of every day.
In his book, The Table Comes First, Adam Gopnik quotes the British chef Fergus Henderson: “I don’t understand how a young couple can begin life by buying a sofa or television. Don’t they know the table comes first?”
“The table also comes first in the sense that its drama—the people who gather at it, the conversations that flows across it, and the pain and romance that happen around it—is…essential to our real lives,” Gopnik writes.
Since reading the book several years ago, I’ve asked straw poll questions of my friends’ first furniture purchase. Beds hold the number one position, followed closely by sofas. Televisions seem to be a given, perhaps brought into the relationship from an earlier time.
The relationship between the television and the couch seems anathema. Eating on a couch while scarfing down dinner precludes conversation as one’s attention is focused on the spin of the Wheel of Fortune. Questions are acknowledged with inattentive answers, frequently delivered in monosyllabic grunts and groans.
Joe Biden understands the role of the kitchen table as a place where families gather to discuss the days and offer solutions to the problems of the family. Decisions are made there as the mere presence of the table is an invitation to conversation.
If I ever had the opportunity to speak with President Biden, I would ask that we sit at a kitchen table somewhere in the heartland of this country. I have some questions and a couple of suggestions.
Photography by Courtney A. Liska
Provençal Vegetable Gratin (Tian)
6 Tbs.. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more
2 large white or yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. chopped thyme
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1-1/2 lbs. small eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1-1/2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Basil leaves
Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Cook 2 minutes more.
Heat oven to 400°.
Spread the cooked onion mixture in the bottom of a large earthenware baking dish, about 9 by 13 inches. Arrange the zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes in alternating rows: Start by making a row of overlapping zucchini slices, standing them vertically on edge. Follow with a row of eggplant, then a row of tomatoes in the same manner, packing the rows tightly together. Continue until the baking dish is filled. Sprinkle the surface of the vegetables generously with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and continue baking for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the vegetables are quite tender. Let cool to room temperature to allow flavors to meld. Serve, garnished with torn basil leaves