Joe Biden’s announcement of his candidacy for 2024 should command immediate–though not irrevocable—support.
Support for Biden is justified by his record of solid accomplishments. And those accomplishments are particularly impressive because they were achieved with little cooperation from Republicans in Congress, and in a country that is bitterly and closely divided. Indeed, Biden has suffered the unique handicap of governing a country in which a sizable minority still clings to his predecessor’s Big Lie: that Biden was not lawfully elected president. Undaunted, Biden has led the country through the pandemic to a point where optimism is at least plausible: inflation is receding and we have thus far avoided a recession.
In a positive assessment of the Biden presidency, Time invoked the “Happy Days Are Here Again” theme of FDR’s presidency:
Instead of the nostalgic condemnation of “Make America Great Again,” happy days have truly returned under President Joe Biden remarkably quickly, with a return to normalcy in the executive function of government. Remarkably, the statistics show that over the last two and a half years the U.S. has enjoyed a resurgent economy, flying in the face of cynical expectations of pundits, pollsters, and media commentators whose forecasts of crises and decline have not come to pass, yet continue with doom-and-gloom prognostications of impending recession and malaise.
In foreign affairs, Biden has assembled and led an effective coalition to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s unprincipled attack. He is also working with allies to contain aggressive Chinese moves not only with respect to Taiwan, but across the Pacific region. The shame of our exit from from Afghanistan still resonates with some of us, but has been largely forgotten.
To be sure, Biden comes with significant baggage. His spending has contributed to inflation, and he has more grandiose schemes in mind (e.g. cancellation of student debt). The situation at the border is as much of a mess as it has ever been and a solution does not appear to be in sight. Biden is not responsible for the ongoing culture wars, but he has been unable to mitigate their toxic effect.
Then, of course, there is the matter of age. At eighty-eight, I could not help being struck by the last paragraph in the Sunday editorial in the New York Times:
If he runs again, Mr. Biden will need to provide explicit reassurance to voters; many of them have seen family members decline rapidly in their 80s. Americans are watching what Mr. Biden says and does, just as he has asked them to do.
Although my wife has given me some reassurance on the pace of my own decline, the challenges of the presidency are nothing that I would have been fit to grapple with in my 80s (setting aside the point that I can’t really imagine having grappled with them at any age).
Going forward, continued support for Biden will depend principally on two factors. The first will be the extent of his ability to continue to fend off the inroads of old age. The second will be the identity and quality of his opposition. I am among the majority who, polls indicate, would prefer that neither Trump nor Biden be their party’s nominee in 2024. But if Donald Trump is the Republican candidate (notwithstanding indictments and perhaps convictions), I would emphatically favor even a perceptibly diminished Biden. And I would likely reach the same conclusion, though less emphatically, if the Republicans should nominate Trump’s current runner-up, Ron DeSantis. The possibility of Republicans nominating someone more attractive than Trump or DeSantis cannot be ruled out, but at this point does not seem worthy of speculation.
I appreciate your point of view but it also fails to critique or address major short comings. The boarder is a serious problem, drugs and undesirables entering the country unchecked. Many examples of enemies of the state and the current government only sweeps it under the rug. The president swears an oath to protect the country from all threats, and has actively chosen to IGNORE this serious issue. Strike 1. Preferring to spend tax payer dollars to protect foreign people of Ukraine, but will not protect the borders and sanctity of our own country makes zero sense. Treating parents in schools, and classifying them as “domestic terrorists” and prohibiting parental rights to view and have input on their children’s school curriculum. Strike 2.
Inflation has absolutely the result of reckless money creation under president Biden’s term. Just view this graph of M1 money supply. This is from the St. Louis Federal reserve bank. Look at the graph, and you can clearly see the dates.
Strike 3.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL
There’s little doubt, as Doug suggests, that the re-election of President Biden is far preferable to any of the likely Republican nominees that are currently contending, and it’s very positive that he has returned relative normality to the Administrative branch. The fact remans, in my mind, that the nation, and the Democratic Party, really need more effective, energetic, forward-thinking leadership to deal with the major domestic problems that are confounding our ability to move forward with any confidence towards their resolution. Biden is basically an old-school politician, respected as a person, but failing to command respect in his leadership ability. It will be interesting to see whether any reasonable Democratic rivals will step forward to challenge a sitting president. None was willing to announce before he made his decision public, and may be even more unlikely to now. I, for one, hope someone does. The stakes for our nation’s progress are high!
I’m not sure why Biden’s age is such a big deal when Trump’s isn’t? Don’s only @ 3-1/2 years younger than Joe; in other words, they were in HS at the same time…when I was a freshman in HS, I thought the seniors were the “big kids,” but 50+ years later we’re the “same age.”
Don’t get me wrong,..I’m younger than both of them, and there are days I don’t do much more than the laundry…we can’t all age as well as our fearless leader, Doug Parker! And even he says he wdn’t have the energy to be President!
If age were the only issue, neither Trump nor Biden shd be running for President. But it’s not the only issue…so if that’s the choice, I don’t think it’s tough. Trump spent much of his Presidency watching TV & spewing bile on Twitter; Biden at least shows-up at the office. If we want to save our country, we gotta vote for Biden.
Thanks, Doug. I’m hard pressed to come up with a single R I could vote for today for POTUS. On social issues and civil rights, including voting rights, all seem tied to the most reactionary in the base. Not a one could be trusted with judicial appointments. It’s also difficult to find one who could realistically address the deficit and debt, when tax increases are off their table. Defense? Foreign relations? Those are areas where it’s at least imaginable a R could be satisfactory. But, as you know, the brash, hyper nationalism of too many is simply disqualifying. Maybe by 2028 there will be some younger candidates capable of the job. I’m watching PA Gov. Shapiro closely.
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