WASHINGTON — The president just had a rise over congressional Republicans in the debt ceiling crisis and a fall at the Air Force Academy — one big deal and a small one.

The fall: much ado about nothing. The fault was not his. Blame it on military efficiency, as President John F. Kennedy did after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

But because Joe Biden is 80 years old, the press and the public focused on the fall. Let me say a few words in his defense.

Biden gave a good speech at the commencement in Colorado Springs and shook more than 900 cadet hands for hours up in the mountain air. What matters most was his heartfelt message to future military commanders about their role in defending our democracy.

Did you read about that? Meaning, the substance of his speech:

“I told him (President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) that we’d work with our partners to begin training Ukrainian pilots in Europe on fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-16, so Ukraine can defend itself today and in the future.

The Ukrainian people’s iron resolve to live in freedom will never be broken…

And the American people’s support for Ukraine will not waver. We always stand up for democracies — always.” (Applause.)

The truth is, 80 is not as old these days, not if you have a private plane and a great job, inhale a rose garden every day, love your family and stay in good shape.

Former President Donald Trump will turn 77 next week, by the way, huffing and puffing after playing golf or meeting with lawyers.

Taller and slimmer than he appears on screen, Biden still walks the halls in his beloved Capitol with a beam on his face. To me, that is the signal part of his presence, the broad smile that betrays American optimism.

After all the gloating, anger and violence shoved down our throats by Trump for seven years of famine, we the people need a bit of that old-fashioned virtue, optimism.

Renewing faith in the future and each other is the essential project of the Biden presidency. He’s aged well, a wiser man than when he was in the Senate, most agree, indelibly losing control of the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Historians say the sore body politic is more inflamed than ever since before the Civil War. The House of Representatives puts that truth on display every day, in a war on civility.

Yeah, you, brassy Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Colorado Republican Boebert carelessly missed the big vote, running toward the Capitol in heels, as CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju reported.

Biden was too smart to say so and crow, but he avoided a catastrophic default by the Treasury and got the better of an agreement the White House hashed out with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

The numbers speak louder than words. More House Democrats than Republicans voted for the debt ceiling deal. A third of the majority House Republicans voted against it. That party is a divided house within a “House Divided.”

After House passage, the Senate approved it on the same June day Biden flew to the Air Force Academy.

As a former speechwriter, I found the presidential address a mix of celebration, disarming notes and national security. Just about right, the Commander-in-Chief sounding fatherly — or, I should say, grandfatherly.

(Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t make the mark at West Point. Actor Tom Hanks killed it, speaking to the Harvard class of 2023 on the way of the world.)

Biden joked the academy was “far, far above” West Point and the Naval Academy — figuring his Air Force One pilots, fellow Falcons, would be willing to take him home.

The Air Force is considered the most Christian and conservative culture of the service academies.

Now a word on why Biden tripped, over a sandbag in his path. Hello? That’s inexcusable, Air Force, for any visitor, let alone a president. Trump, to his credit, said, “I hope he wasn’t hurt.”

Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed regret for walking with Trump to clear a peaceful march in Washington.

Biden was a good sport about it, saying, “I got sandbagged!” upon his return to Washington.

And he did.

Jamie Stiehm may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieStiehm.

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