"You don't mess with Joe" Biden was wearing ashes today. I guess that settles it. Margaret O’Brien Steinfels is a former editor of Commonweal. Also by this author Francis Goes to Congress Get Commonweal's latest, delivered twice weekly. Email address Most Recent Tense Necessities By Mary Gordon October 29, 2024 How We Got Here By John T. McGreevy October 28, 2024 Discommoding a Sidewalk By Peter Steinfels October 28, 2024