To borrow a line from an old Carly Simon song, the right hates Biden for what he is, but the left hates him for what he’s not. It seems to be universally held among activists that he just isn’t up to the job, because he can’t force Manchin and Sinema to stay on the reservation. But is this a fair analysis? Let’s give the record a fair and balanced review:
- FOREIGN POLICY: Afghanistan was a debacle, albeit a principled and arguably necessary one. There has been no meaningful progress with Iran. However, we have taken important steps in Asia to maintain a stronger counterbalance to China, and our relations with our allies, while not perfect, have improved.
- NATIONAL UNITY: With the recent exception of some statements about the GOP and voting rights, Biden has avoided demonizing the right, as he promised. The GOP has responded by embracing the rioters, stoking the culture wars, and maintaining a warm relationship with Trump. In short, things are worse than ever, but it isn’t Biden’s fault.
- ECONOMY: Unemployment and poverty are way down, while the markets and wages are up. Sounds great, right? The public doesn’t see it that way, for the reasons I listed in my last post, although they might if you ask the right questions.
- VIRUS: Biden did a good job of making vaccines available to everyone. He only imposed mandates as a last resort. It’s hard to see what more he can do.
- LEGISLATIVE RECORD: The pandemic relief bill probably added a bit to the inflation rate, but it did far more good than harm. The infrastructure bill was a genuine bipartisan product. The third part of the program, the BBB, has stalled. A smaller version of it, focusing on climate, may pass. Considering the size of the Democrats’ majorities and Trump’s inability to get anything except a tax cut through the system, it isn’t a bad record, unless your expectations were unrealistic from the start.
It’s a mixed record, to be sure, but whose isn’t?