In simpler times, a younger, more photogenic Biden would be considered a great President. Bless the man for not burdening the nation with an insufferable ego. In time, he will receive his due.
I had my own theories about what #UncleJoe was really up to in all of this, and I never believed we would actually default, at least not right away, and if we did it would be by an order of the least trusted SCOTUS in history who are already baked into the public cake as overt right wing partisans due to the Dobbs decision and Trump’s loud victory laps for having appointed 3 of them. So, I rested pretty well with the confidence that default was extremely unlikely and that if it came down the road, we would win the politics of it nearly universally, which is important only because it would help ensure that MAGA was further marginalized from power in next year’s election.
However, the following article gives a little more insight on what appears to have been going on, and I have to tell you.....this Biden team is shrewd as hell at politics.
As a student of history, I disagree with the attempts to compare him to FDR.....Roosevelt was a brilliant politician but his challenges were very different and he had big muscular majorities in both congressional chambers, a much more centralized information system to communicate his message to the public with, and landslide margin electoral victories providing him with clear public mandates for bold action. He faced immense challenges that required his full political acumen to be sure, but Joe’s situation reminds me much more of another of the #GOAT presidents....Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln faced a violent anti-democratic movement rooted in white supremacy willing to destroy the system created by the founding fathers if they couldn’t have their way (flawed as the constitution was in its original form with its despicable classification of black people as “partial” human beings for census purposes and without any rights, they did at least leave us an amendment process we could use in the future to change those atrocities), and a sharply divided public who’s support for him at the time was shaky and volatile at best and who were at odds with each other about how much and how quickly to change the status quo. Add to that a highly fragmented and extremely partisan media ecosystem based on ideologically slanted newspapers around the country, and the story sounds pretty familiar.
In both cases, the POTUS required (or requires) unbelievable political acumen and precision due to the consequences of failure, and an astounding lack of ego compared to other politicians because they presided over times when they were very unlikely to receive a lot of good will and credit for their efforts. Only the long view of history would do that for them, many years after they had transitioned to the great beyond. They both required the shrewdest combination of magnanimity and backbone, and an unfaltering instinct of when and where to deploy each. And above all else, they HAD to be the one person in the country with the patience everyone else lacked to find exactly the right time to seize on an opportunity...too early and the support necessary won’t have built yet and it will fail....too late and the moment passes and second guessing fractures the coalition causing failure.
In short, I’m utterly astonished by what I’m seeing from this man every day, and it’s my firm belief that when the dust of history settles, he will be regarded as on of the five best to ever occupy the office snd credited with holding our constitutional system together during the most dangerous moments of one of the two most dangerous internal threats to our democracy in our history. We’re living his story in prose and therefore not always feeling the poetry that it truly is and that it will be remembered as by future historians and generations.
Happy Memorial Day friends....today I’m grateful to all the shoulders we stand on who have helped preserve and protect our democratic republic for over 2 centuries, for you my compatriots who are in the game doing the same right now, and for Joe Biden, the man America needs in this moment in time even as it often forgets to appreciate him for his good deeds while he is actually doing them.
The unconditional love he has for his country and countrymen, and the irreplaceable wisdom and perspective only available to one of advanced years with the experience of repeatedly finding love and purpose in the face of heart wrenching loss is exactly what allows him the maturity to not need our immediate approval and affection for his efforts....like the loving father and grandfather that he is, our future opportunity to thrive is prize enough.
We’re living through extraordinary history my friends....don’t forget to bask in the greatness of it from time to time between doing the work to ensure it leads to a more perfect union. Love to you all ❤️.
Check out this article on Joes dazzling negotiation regarding the debt ceiling:
Oh my gosh! What an extraordinary comment. Thank you PianoManSteve. It gives me great hope that we are on the right track. We must do everything we can to elect and re-elect Democrats in all national and local offices. We should not pay attention to the naysayers in the media who are often trying to fuel drama and thereby reduce our fruitful efforts. Let’s continue to work together with Joe and Kamala to finish the job! Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts!
Best comment I've read in quite awhile. Thank you for this and the Daily Kos article. It makes sense to me. As Biden said, we are called to fight for democracy, we need to remember that “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it”
Yes!!!! Beautifully said! I would just add that he didn't do it single-handedly. Shalanda Young and Steve Ricchetti had important roles. But this highlights yet another invaluable Biden talent--getting things done with teamwork and exceptional people skills. Exactly why the "I alone can fix it!" guy ended up with little of real substance to show for four years of administrative chaos (and good thing, because if Trump had the kind of facility with teamwork that Biden has, he could have done a lot more damage).
Simon, you are such an inspiration! I couldn't agree more; it is AMAZING what Biden has achieved in spite of the the roadblocks put in his way. Makes my day! And even more importantly, keep up your good work explaining how DEMOCRATS make the economy BETTER! The myth of Republican economic efficiency is only true for the wealthy, who benefit from tax cuts. Democratic economic policy brings wealth and prosperity to a broad cross section of Americans.
And let's not forget to point out that Biden's budget proposal included revenue-producing measures such as closing corporate tax loopholes and beefing up IRS staffing, which would have reduced the deficit. McCarthy opposed both of these, showing his true colors -- not really interested in deficit reduction... only interested in cutting government spending.
In simpler times, a younger, more photogenic Biden would be considered a great President. Bless the man for not burdening the nation with an insufferable ego. In time, he will receive his due.
They keep loosing.
But they also set up deep cheating operations in vulnerable state elections departments
So do not be surprised about anything
I had my own theories about what #UncleJoe was really up to in all of this, and I never believed we would actually default, at least not right away, and if we did it would be by an order of the least trusted SCOTUS in history who are already baked into the public cake as overt right wing partisans due to the Dobbs decision and Trump’s loud victory laps for having appointed 3 of them. So, I rested pretty well with the confidence that default was extremely unlikely and that if it came down the road, we would win the politics of it nearly universally, which is important only because it would help ensure that MAGA was further marginalized from power in next year’s election.
However, the following article gives a little more insight on what appears to have been going on, and I have to tell you.....this Biden team is shrewd as hell at politics.
As a student of history, I disagree with the attempts to compare him to FDR.....Roosevelt was a brilliant politician but his challenges were very different and he had big muscular majorities in both congressional chambers, a much more centralized information system to communicate his message to the public with, and landslide margin electoral victories providing him with clear public mandates for bold action. He faced immense challenges that required his full political acumen to be sure, but Joe’s situation reminds me much more of another of the #GOAT presidents....Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln faced a violent anti-democratic movement rooted in white supremacy willing to destroy the system created by the founding fathers if they couldn’t have their way (flawed as the constitution was in its original form with its despicable classification of black people as “partial” human beings for census purposes and without any rights, they did at least leave us an amendment process we could use in the future to change those atrocities), and a sharply divided public who’s support for him at the time was shaky and volatile at best and who were at odds with each other about how much and how quickly to change the status quo. Add to that a highly fragmented and extremely partisan media ecosystem based on ideologically slanted newspapers around the country, and the story sounds pretty familiar.
In both cases, the POTUS required (or requires) unbelievable political acumen and precision due to the consequences of failure, and an astounding lack of ego compared to other politicians because they presided over times when they were very unlikely to receive a lot of good will and credit for their efforts. Only the long view of history would do that for them, many years after they had transitioned to the great beyond. They both required the shrewdest combination of magnanimity and backbone, and an unfaltering instinct of when and where to deploy each. And above all else, they HAD to be the one person in the country with the patience everyone else lacked to find exactly the right time to seize on an opportunity...too early and the support necessary won’t have built yet and it will fail....too late and the moment passes and second guessing fractures the coalition causing failure.
In short, I’m utterly astonished by what I’m seeing from this man every day, and it’s my firm belief that when the dust of history settles, he will be regarded as on of the five best to ever occupy the office snd credited with holding our constitutional system together during the most dangerous moments of one of the two most dangerous internal threats to our democracy in our history. We’re living his story in prose and therefore not always feeling the poetry that it truly is and that it will be remembered as by future historians and generations.
Happy Memorial Day friends....today I’m grateful to all the shoulders we stand on who have helped preserve and protect our democratic republic for over 2 centuries, for you my compatriots who are in the game doing the same right now, and for Joe Biden, the man America needs in this moment in time even as it often forgets to appreciate him for his good deeds while he is actually doing them.
The unconditional love he has for his country and countrymen, and the irreplaceable wisdom and perspective only available to one of advanced years with the experience of repeatedly finding love and purpose in the face of heart wrenching loss is exactly what allows him the maturity to not need our immediate approval and affection for his efforts....like the loving father and grandfather that he is, our future opportunity to thrive is prize enough.
We’re living through extraordinary history my friends....don’t forget to bask in the greatness of it from time to time between doing the work to ensure it leads to a more perfect union. Love to you all ❤️.
Check out this article on Joes dazzling negotiation regarding the debt ceiling:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/29/2172027/-The-many-levels-of-genius-in-Pres-Biden-s-negotiating-strategy
Oh my gosh! What an extraordinary comment. Thank you PianoManSteve. It gives me great hope that we are on the right track. We must do everything we can to elect and re-elect Democrats in all national and local offices. We should not pay attention to the naysayers in the media who are often trying to fuel drama and thereby reduce our fruitful efforts. Let’s continue to work together with Joe and Kamala to finish the job! Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts!
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Joe will take that comparison!
Love Steve’s EchoEchoEcho chamber
Best comment I've read in quite awhile. Thank you for this and the Daily Kos article. It makes sense to me. As Biden said, we are called to fight for democracy, we need to remember that “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it”
― Ain Eineziz
Yes!!!! Beautifully said! I would just add that he didn't do it single-handedly. Shalanda Young and Steve Ricchetti had important roles. But this highlights yet another invaluable Biden talent--getting things done with teamwork and exceptional people skills. Exactly why the "I alone can fix it!" guy ended up with little of real substance to show for four years of administrative chaos (and good thing, because if Trump had the kind of facility with teamwork that Biden has, he could have done a lot more damage).
Simon, you are such an inspiration! I couldn't agree more; it is AMAZING what Biden has achieved in spite of the the roadblocks put in his way. Makes my day! And even more importantly, keep up your good work explaining how DEMOCRATS make the economy BETTER! The myth of Republican economic efficiency is only true for the wealthy, who benefit from tax cuts. Democratic economic policy brings wealth and prosperity to a broad cross section of Americans.
And let's not forget to point out that Biden's budget proposal included revenue-producing measures such as closing corporate tax loopholes and beefing up IRS staffing, which would have reduced the deficit. McCarthy opposed both of these, showing his true colors -- not really interested in deficit reduction... only interested in cutting government spending.