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It’s been an easy idea to hold over the years, a tempting one at times, really: Joe Biden is dunzo and isn’t coming back from this setback. Before he was sworn in, the 1972 deaths of his daughter and wife. His 1988 election victory was marred by the plagiarism scandal. The less-than-1%Twenty years later, the Iowans are still showing their support. 20 years later, the DeathOf Beau Biden. A “gut punch” of a fourth-placeIn 2020, finish in Iowa. Biden remained on the mat each time. Joe Biden doesn’t always win, but he certainly doesn’t quit.
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That’s why, as Biden ends 2021 and noodles the lessons learned from his first year in the Oval Office, it’s tempting to write him off as irrelevant, a has-been placeholder. Biden’s stance on adversity means that he will never allow it to be the last word. Biden is a talkative president who rarely allows adversity to have its say. AnybodyYou have the final say.
Every President puts his—and, yes, to this point it remains an all-boys club—mark on Washington, and Biden is no exception. Biden has restored a sense of civility, compromise and cooperation that was lost during his four previous years. He’s as buttoned-down a President as has walked the West Wing since George H.W. Bush. Unlike his immediate predecessor, errant, middle-of-the-night tweets aren’t a problem. And, with some trepidation, America’s allies are starting to recognize the Washington they’ve known in the post-World War II era.
But there’s still a sense of disappointment, even among Biden’s allies. Restoring America’s place in the world is great and all, but the big campaign-era promises of eliminating some student debtAmbitious overhauls are possible ImmigrationAnd policingThis is a total and complete defeat of the a pandemicAnd Climate changeThis seems a bit absurd, considering the way that this president is being governed by his political system.
Biden’s 2021 term ends in the most positive way. It is best to see his first year of presidency as a lot of potential unfulfilled. The impact of his social spending bill and the climate change bill on society was enormous ReduceIn ambition, and now parked on a shelf, thanks in no small part to fellow Democrat Joe Manchin. Politically popular programs like a child tax credit—paid in the form of a monthly Please check—expired without much fanfare because Manchin didn’t want to create a permanent entitlement. The voting rights, police and immigration reform were all addressed by Manchin. PacketThey all suffered a similar fate. Biden may be his party’s leader but he’s not much of an enforcer.
Biden’s polling, as a result, has MovedFrom hey-he’s-not-Donald-TrumpYou can feel giddy relief at certain levels but-what’s-actually-getting-done? incredulity. He was a pioneer in pandemic relief. PlanAnd a bipartisan infrastructure BillThese were huge legislative wins, but they have been largely overlooked. Democrats’ MessagesBoth seemed scattered. And while it’s easy to blame almost anything on a failure to communicate—it was a Favorite of the Obama era, for sure—there is an unmistakable sense that the country perhaps over-corrected for the Trump-era raft of retail.
As a result, Biden heads into the new year — and, importantly, the midterms year—with a lot of unfinished business. Even Biden’s allies are Be concerned about how he’s positioned Democrats heading into the midterms, especially in places where he narrowly scraped by in 2020 like Pennsylvania. While the bipartisan bill for infrastructure has some good points, voters are unlikely to be convinced that Democrats have the right to keep the House and Senate with the same blue jerseys.
The economy continues to be fundamentally strong with low unemployment Record lowsA job MarketThat is now adjusting its salary to reflect this fact. MatchThe true worth of work. You are the true value of work. dangerAlthough inflation is looming, it appears that the Federal Reserve may be questioning its pre-pandemic assumptions about low unemployment and high inflation.
However, many of the implications for the economy’s political future are psychological. In November, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was -. 4.2%. Since World War II, voters have witnessed a decrease in unemployment during presidential elections. However, they removed the party from power three times. All three times were Republicans. This is what voters do; they trust their instincts. Keep humming alongAt 4.9% unemployment rate, October 2016 when voters turned the White House green. But it kept it blue in 2012 as the 8.8% rate of joblessness was painfully high. In other words, the economy alone isn’t predictive.
That’s exactly why Biden needs to take a moment with his advisers and reassess what they’re selling. The product itself has proven solid: some big legislative wins and an economy that most of Biden’s predecessors would covet. The problem is that Biden has also had some bigger setbacks, made all the more stinging when dealt by fellow Democrats’ stubbornness.
Biden heads a party that is only limited in its power by its ambition. Filibuster is a myth. becauseDemocrats let the ruling stand. It was modified in 2013 and 2017, for nominations. The 6-3 Supreme Court stands ready to gut a half-century of progressive wins because Democrats aren’t ready to Pack the courtFear of escalation. Even procedures can be escalated. Losses Includes a minimum-wage increase and immigration overhaul fell because Democrats wouldn’t fire the arbiter in the Senate. (In 2001 Majority Leader Trent Lott was not happy with too many negative rulings by the parliamentarian. Can be canned him.)
This is all to say that Joe Biden has served almost one year on the job. Barring any defections or deaths on the Hill, Joe Biden still has a majority in the government for at most another year. This is The Time is short—but powerful. Biden is hardly riding high, but he’s still on the horse, and it takes more than a year of bad headlines to keep him down.
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