I hear so much criticism of Joe Biden. He’s blamed for everything, when in reality a president—no president—has the power to magically change things. He’s most often blamed for inflation, yet economy expert Robert Reich says:
“Regardless of what the corporate media says, inflation isn’t being driven by wage increases. It’s not being driven by Biden. Pandemic aid did not overheat the economy. And the Fed won’t fix things by continuing to raise interest rates.
“These are all myths being spewed by the American oligarchy to cover up this truth: One of the main drivers of inflation is corporate profits. . . over half the increase in prices we’ve been experiencing can be attributed to fatter corporate profits. . . . Corporations get away with price gouging because they face little to no competition. They use the specter of inflation as cover to jack up prices and maximize profits—ripping us all off in the process. Enough BS.”
The Republicans are constantly spinning Biden as a weak president who can’t get anything done. That’s because—and this needs to be said—Biden suddenly stands in the way of their plans to destroy our democracy and control America and the lives of the American people into the foreseeable future, despite those Republicans being in the minority.
Despite their red MAGA hats, Republicans haven’t come up with some great ideas for how to make America better for its people. They don’t even have one great idea. Not one. So they’ve turned to trying to fix the race: take control of voting, take control of elections, take control of who pays taxes and who gets tax breaks, take control of people’s lives and turn them into chaos (opposing abortion rights, gay rights, promoting violence against women and people of color, threatening those who are ‘other’ than white Christians, refusing to curb gun violence, refusing to stop imprisoning people who really don’t belong in prison, gutting the middle class, gutting public schools, sitting on their hands when it comes to bad mortgage loans and exorbitant student debt and the financial ruin of getting really sick in America, etc. etc., ad nauseum) so the people are distracted from paying attention to just what the Republicans are trying to pull off under their noses when it comes to destroying their American democracy.
Thomas Jefferson said, ‘The price of freedom is constant vigilance.’ Hard to remain vigilant when every waking moment is consumed by worry about trying to survive.
I’m tired of the news—even the PBS NewsHour—only talking about Biden’s poll numbers, and never looking beyond the polls. Polls are not the only way to evaluate a presidency. Journalism shouldn’t be just about regurgitating something: it should follow the trail, connect the dots, examine more closely the contradictions, and state the actual reality and facts. Couldn’t just one commentator say, “Well, polls aren’t everything. After all, Biden has pulled us back from the authoritarianism cliff toward democracy. That’s a huge accomplishment.”
Then there is the speculation about Biden by even the well-meaning. Oh, won’t he be too old this time around? What if his health isn’t good? Can he really keep up with what the job demands? Eighty is too old for a president (never mind Queen Elizabeth is in her nineties.) These speculations are not grounded in fact, but are more like Chicken Little running around crying “The sky is going to fall sometime! The sky is going to fall sometime!”
You know why? Because Biden is doing a darn good job. Let me just point out the highlights.
First and foremost, Joseph R. Biden has brought us back from the brink of authoritarianism and strengthened our democracy once more. We were so close to the edge, people. So close. It took a man of deep integrity to do this.
Trump sure seems to have confused some of us as to what qualities we we want in a president. A bully? A gangster? A lier? A selfish, power-grabbing narcissist who has no respect for our democracy? A rude, arrogant man who mocks and puts others down, including other world leaders and nations, and including everyday people with physical challenges? A person who cannot work with others, including our ally countries? Really? Really, people? Do you really want someone who has no more maturity than a fifth grader?
In 2019, Brian Eastwood described the qualities all effective leaders have in common for a Northeastern University publication: they are good at developing others, they have effective cross-cultural communication, they are self-aware, ethical and civic-minded, they encourage innovative and strategic thinking.
Biden has those qualities. He is a practiced leader, legislator, and statesman with a mature personality that includes self-restraint and the ability to cooperate—and who happens to also be what is called in German a ‘mensch.’ A person of integrity and honor.’ As Leo Rosten says, ‘someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character.’ Because of this characteristic, Biden is a true world leader, inspiring working together for the good of all peoples.
Biden respects us. You. Me. Our moms. Our neighbors. The child who stutters. The teachers, nurses, doctors, and other professionals who are doing their best. The small business owners trying to survive. The parents whose children died in school shootings. Biden truly wants better lives for us. He will not lie to us or spin us or mock us.
Biden is a man who can feel empathy. This is so important. Trump is devoid of empathy. He cannot truly care about you or me. But Biden can. And isn’t that what we want in our leader?
Joe Biden led us through a terrible pandemic by respecting the science, telling the truth, and encouraging the people. He has truly grieved with us over the killing of our children in senseless school shootings.
Joe Biden’s policies on helping hurting Americans, keeping elections free and fair, repairing our infrastructure, reducing our effects on the climate of our home planet and so much more are good policies. They are Just policies. They are Far-sighted policies that will be helpful to our grandchildren and great grandchildren. He can’t help it if the Republicans and even a couple of the Democrats in Congress oppose, block, spin and lie about these policies. Remember, they have their own agendas, and their biggest agenda is to not let him succeed. At anything. Period. Never mind how it might benefit each of us average Americans in our daily lives. I mean, that’s the really pathetic thing. When you hear most Republicans interviewed, you have to keep this in mind. Always.
Biden is sharp. He can size up a situation almost immediately. And he also listens to his expert advisors and learns from them. He took a stand right away when Putin invaded Ukraine, and he called it for what it was without mincing or spinning or twisting words. He took a stand against Putin on this issue, and he has not backed down. Biden also empowers his experts to be change agents and effective leaders in their own right. He’s not jealous of sharing power with other good people. He’s humble enough to know he alone can’t be the expert on everything, and he’s smart enough to give the people who are experts the power to do their work.
Joe Biden is in good health as far as anyone—including his doctors—can tell. And not just for his age. Yes, he stumbles over his words sometimes. That happens with lifelong stutterers. So get over it.
I hope Joseph R. Biden is re-elected two years from now. Regaining our balance as a people, and repairing our democracy, are gradual processes. I believe we need Joe Biden to keep us on that path.