Why congressman James Clyburn was the most important politician of 2020

Vote of confidence for Joe Biden during the Democratic primary set the stage for a comeback worthy of Lazarus

Juan Williams, an author and analyst, calls James Clyburn the politician of the year. Jon Meacham, a presidential historian, says he was the most important person of 2020. Without Jim Clyburn endorsing Joe Biden, Donald Trump would be president for real - not just in his own mind," Meacham told Real Time with Bill Maher on the HBO channel.

The Black congressman's vote of confidence for Biden during the Democratic primary set the stage for a comeback worthy of Lazarus. It was a transformative moment in a transformative year in which the flame of American democracy looked as fragile as a candle at the altar of St John Baptist Church in Hopkins, South Carolina, which is where the story begins.