Some Thoughts on Joe Biden...

Joe's malignment... deserved or undeserved?

Joe Biden presided over some pretty amazing legislative achievements coming into office during a pandemic which not only stopped America dead in its tracks during his predecessor’s term and the start of his own, but required quite a bit of careful finessing out of, over months and months.

Whether we are forgetting Biden’s beneficial impact on all of us because we just want to forget our shared pandemic nightmare or because, for too many among us, as much as Biden did, it still wasn’t enough, placing blame on Biden, the man, shouldn’t cut it. Why? The answer is simple: when Democrats have been in control, they have never given the public all it needs when enacting policy in adverse times. A prime example of that is the Great Recession and the end of unemployment benefits for millions of older workers who would never again regain equivalent pre-recession employment. That said, Democrats, led by the progressive wing, delivered more than ever before.

Red states ended pandemic unemployment sooner than the federal government did in order to force workers back to work in person by May 2021. Biden came out in favor of ending pandemic unemployment by August 2021. The last check went out that September, with Biden’s blessing, well before the economy regained full employment and well before employers were ready to force workers back into the office. It would take another two years for corporations to mandate a full return to the office. Remote or hybrid-remote work, even now, are still very much a thing.

So, why the antipathy towards Biden? Why, in the full knowledge of the nature of the alternative and after Biden was so unceremoniously pushed out, did Kamala Harris fail?

Biden has been an old man for some time now. He didn’t suddenly age, no matter what the media pushed on us between July and November 2024. In fact, if you listen to Biden today, January 1st, 2025, he walks and sounds just fine.

And, yes, he did have that terrible no good debate night. Whether it’s because he was sick, didn’t get enough rest after a whirlwind tour of the world, or the planets were aligned just so, he’s no different than the rest of us mere mortals. We ALL GET BAD DAYS. Biden has always had issues with self-expression. We used to talk about his
”gaffes.” Those gaffes most likely stem from his history of aneurysms, which, most likely affected the part of his brain that controls speech.

Besides, he has been surrounded by exceedingly competent staff, cabinet members, etc. If people want to fault anyone, they need to look to members of Congress and the Senate who didn’t always stick to the program and did their utmost to foil a party they used to belong to and weren’t ever able to lead: I am looking specifically at Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. There are others, as well. Centrists such as Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Jared Moskowitz of Florida. You can see a full list here.

Then, there are the progressives on the other end of the spectrum. Bernie Sanders supported Biden until the heat generated by the media barons just got too hot. To his credit, he remained faithful far longer than anyone else and, when Harris became the nominee, backed her without reservations sooner than most others.

Then, there is the fallout from Gaza. Without taking sides, one can honestly say that this divisive issue was mishandled by all, if anything, just to present positions in a way that acknowledges both sides and takes a stand somewhere in the middle. The media also played a huge part in this with the two leading newspapers doing an egregious disservice to the nation by reporting in a spotty manner, intentionally, and keeping the public unaware of key bits of information. This selective reporting, for the longest time, is what cemented a negative view of Israel on one hand, and helped turn Hamas into a sympathetic organization among our young, on the other. News media also contributed, in very great part, to turning the public against Joe Biden and transfer that antipathy onto Kamala Harris.

However one feels about the State of Israel, the events of October 7th, the uncontroverted facts remain that this was a terrorist attack by Hamas, then a state actor, resulting in the deaths of 1200 men, women, children, systematic rape, and the taking of hundreds of hostages into Gaza, some of whom are still being held and some of whom have been executed (videos of executions having been published by Hamas).

Joe Biden was explicit and active in his support of Israel’s need for self-defense in the face of the Hamas attack, efforts to negotiate for the release of hostages, and its mission to destroy Hamas. When the destruction of Hamas went way too far, Biden, and later Harris, were too slow to express the administration’s displeasure with the way the war was being indiscriminately conducted. This is unquestionably true.

That said, one must factor in the fact that these events all took place during an election cycle. Where Biden and Harris went terribly wrong was in not opening a dialogue with voters as issues came up. As students began to protest on campuses all over the nation, no one bothered to show up and talk to them. As anti-Zionists openly expressed their view of Israel as an illegitimate nation and that Zionism, the return of Jews to the land of Israel, are tantamount to racism, very little was done to push back. This is not the place to either explain Zionism or go over its history, but clearly, what went on in the campuses was way off-kilter. Then in that same anti-Zionist spirit (if not open Hamas support), for weeks, prominent progressives went on TV early on and even openly denied that rapes and killings had even occurred on October 7th. Here is Pramila Jayapal effectively denying that rapes were perpetrated by Hamas:

Jayapal’s denialism got her into so much hot water that she had to go on an apology tour soon after this interview.

Mass media - from the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC to CNN - all abetted by not showing any of the horrific footage that Hamas, itself, had released, further ingraining the notion that Israel and its government were a bad actor. By the time some outlets started showing the horrors that had occurred and the videos of hostages that were being released all along, it was too late. By then, public opinion had been fully formed and alternate facts had long been digested by large swaths of the liberal public.

The fact that one can be a Zionist, or in favor of the existence of Israel as a nation, and be against its right wing government wasn’t spoken much throughout the year. Biden, as is his habit, was way late to the table in condemning Israel’s relentless pursuit of revenge and, when he finally did, wasn’t very eloquent. This isn’t the place to explain what Zionism is or recount its history, but Biden had the megaphone with which to correct some of the things that were being said. He didn’t use it. He simply kept reiterating that he has always been a Zionist and didn’t explain why or what that means. His tack only further inflamed the situation, making it even harder for Harris to campaign on all of the issues she needed to campaign on. When there were opportunities to bring some measure of balance to the arguments on either side, they were completely missed, even as the sides were hardening their positions. That Gaza had a central role in Kamala Harris’ loss is undeniable. It is also undeniable that the whole issue was completely mishandled, in great part because neither Biden nor Harris have the language with which to talk about the Middle East in a way that teaches, rather than preaches.

October 7, without question, is mostly what has tarnished Joe Biden’s legacy in the short term. It also goes without question that not finding the language with which to tackle the Gaza issue during the presidential campaign is what cost Democrats the election. The other big issue that has tarnished Biden is the denialism when it came to inflation and price gouging as we were coming off of the pandemic. By the time Harris highlighted the price gouging, it was already too late. Biden and Janet Yellen had already done the damage by repeating, over and over again, that there was no inflation.

Now that Trump and his GOP are about to take over all three branches of government and, depending on how much of Biden’s legislative achievements are rolled back, Biden’s legacy will likely be further tarnished over the next four years, especially if Democrats don’t find the spine to at the very least stand by Biden’s legacy. While Democrats will have little sway in the U.S. Senate, they will have quite a bit of sway in the House of Representatives. Hakeem Jeffries will play a central role in forcing whomever becomes House Speaker to temper policies the hard right wing will want to legislate into law while holding the slimmest of slim majorities. I expect the next two years in Congress to be very chaotic.

Voters who sat out the election did so without any regard for the consequences we are about to live through.

As someone who didn’t support Biden’s candidacy in 2020, it feels very odd to write a piece that tries to put back some balance to his four years as president. It also feels very odd for me to look back at the progressive movement and have to say out loud that the spawns of Bernie Sanders have disappointed in many ways, especially when it comes to recognizing right and wrong at the most basic of levels.

As difficult as this piece has been for me to write, it is something I feel needs to be put out there.

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Addendum, April 15, 2025

President Biden’s first public appearance since leaving office

Addendum, January 10, 2025

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