The sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, is usually not ranked very high on lists of favorites, the highly accomplished or greatest among the 46 men who have served in the office. He only served one term, the only President to be elected by the House of Representatives in a "contingent" ballot where none of the candidates got a majority of the electoral vote. When he ran for re-election, he was soundly defeated by Andrew Jackson, a regressive populist with far less government and political experience, and even less common sense, sound judgement, intelligence and moral character.
And yet the son of America's second President, John Adams, and first lady Abigail, was perhaps the most experienced and most qualified man ever to run for the American Presidency. He was a man of outstanding intelligence and education, prior to being elected President served in the Senate, represented the United States in Britain, Russia, Prussia and as ambassador to the Netherlands, and in the Massachusetts state house as a senator. He was a visionary progressive, with his observations and studies in foreign lands, saw how America had the potential and resources to take its place as a world power. His Presidency promoted opportunities for economic and social development ahead of its time.
But his visionary leadership and progressive ambitions came along just a little bit too soon. The limits of government were still being tested, fears of too much of it were still strong and America was still, for the most part, a backward, provincial place. Adams was the first American President to publicly oppose slavery, prompting accusations that he was a "closet abolitionist" which was not a good thing in the early 19th century. The loss to someone like Jackson is quite telling about just how backward the United States was at that time.
He was just about a generation behind his time. I believe that if Adams had become President in 1848, the year that he passed away, he would have prevented the greatest tragedy in American history up to that point, the Civil War. Instead, in 1852, the country was subjected to a lack of leadership ability and the gross incompetence of Franklin Pierce, whose efforts to move the country backward on the issue of slavery led to violence and hostility. It cost Pierce the Democratic nomination in 1856, but subjected the country to even more incompetence and failed leadership under James Buchanan, who failed to heal the wounds and was too weak and inept to stop the fracturing of the country. Had Adams been around and in office at the time, he would now be what Lincoln eventually became.
For Us, The Time Was Just Right
Joe Biden's age is not a problem as far as I am concerned. We're fortunate that we have his energy, expertise and commitment. He's the most effective United States Senator of our generation, and picking him as Vice-President was one of the best moves President Obama could have made. His Presidency has been absolutely nothing like the propagandists and clowns in the extremist right wing media predicted. The piece I linked below from the Chicago Tribune explains the right wing media frustration over Biden's clear, articulate news conferences and speeches, the fact that their childish labelling of his administration as socialist, far-left progressive and Marxist isn't sticking anywhere, and they're especially fuming about the fact that he put competent people in his cabinet and in the federal agencies, and that his administration has had more success in its first six months in office than Trump had in his lifetime.
And I don't care if they don't ever get over it.
Even what the media has attempted to label a "debacle" in Afghanistan bears little resemblance to the term itself. We weren't in Afghanistan because of a decision Biden made. This is a can that has been kicked down the line to him, the fourth President who has had to deal with what has never been a good situation. So he is dealing with it, in exactly the way he said he would deal with it. It's not his fault, and shouldn't really be his problem, that some Americans put themselves in places in an unstable, fundamentalist Muslim country in a place where it might be hard for them to get out when the time came.
And with Trump's record of getting things done, I can't even begin to imagine what a botched up mess the evacuation would have become, if, indeed, there would have even been an evacuation. He had his chance, claimed it was what he wanted, but wasn't willing to take the political risk to get it done. Biden has done it, and I honestly don't think he's lost any sleep over the political punditry that throws around words like "debacle" and claims he's had a "bad week" like they really know what that looks like. And that's what makes him a leader. In the long run, this isn't going to be seen as a political liability, it's going to be seen as a promise kept by a President who knows what he's doing. And you can take that to the bank.
Biden would have been a good President if he'd been elected the first time he ran. But I think he's a better President now, simply because he's gained even more experience since then, including eight years as Vice-President and chief advisor to President Obama. Big egos die hard in politics, thankfully, neither men had one and their relationship worked well. Choosing Joe Biden as his running mate and VP was an indication of Obama's desire for success. It worked the way it was supposed to work. And those eight years are working on behalf of all Americans now. We couldn't have done any better.
We Have a Real President
Afghanistan is a routine foreign relations issue compared to other items on President Biden's agenda. For those who are unhappy about what is going on, and want someone to blame, start with Dick Cheney. Honestly, it was an American occupation of a foreign country and it never should have happened. We're getting out, as we should have done two decades ago. End of story. There are more pressing matters.
Handling the effects on this country that have come about as a result of COVID-19 is the crisis of the century. We've gone from President Hoax to an action plan that has delivered millions of vaccines efficiently and effectively across the country, to the point where ignorance and stupidity are the only reasons everyone is not vaccinated. Competent people who know what they are doing are in positions where they can do their job of protecting people.
That the Biden administration has overseen the most rapid private sector job growth in history is not an accident, either. Giving the tax dollars of the people to millionaires and billionaires has never been a successful job creation program or an economic stimulus as we saw during Reagan, both Bushes and Trump. Fixing the economy depended on fixing the pandemic and Trump's solutions for fixing the pandemic can be compared, legitimately, to taking deworming medicine to prevent getting sick from COVID. Sorry, it's a good analogy. Well, I'm not sorry.
It seems that when it comes to every issue, the approach of this administration is based on what can be done for the people involved. It's not like they're lobbing political grenades at the other side or sticking them with the bad side of an issue. Somehow, the Biden administration has a grasp of humanitarianism that the other side just doesn't seem to comprehend and they can't seem to avoid looking bad in comparison. In spite of all of the right wing media rhetoric, the Republicans are taking a beating from the Biden administration on immigration.
Even the news conferences and press briefings are a contrast to those of the previous occupant of the White House. Biden has a real, competent, sharp, quick-on-the-feet press secretary. Trump had Sean Spicer and Sarah Pinocchio, eh, ah, Huckabee. It went downhill from there. Apparently, among the press corp in Washington, the Fox News reporters are afraid of Jen Psaki because she already has a reputation for beating them up with facts. Facts and Fox News is an oxymoron.
The Measure of Real Patriotism and Statesmanship
To be honest, I am frustrated with the approach the Biden Administration is taking to the political situation in Washington. What I want them to do is fight fire with fire. I want them to break the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, pass voter reforms till the cows come home to protect voting rights and keep Republicans in red states from deciding that every vote for a Republican candidate counts twice. I want the justice department to go after Trump and anyone else in Congress who helped with the insurrection on January 6, invoking section 3 of the 14th amendment.
But Biden, and most of the Democrats for that matter, are old-line politicians who believe in the Constitution, in good-faith negotiation, in the give-and-take of politics and who place their trust in the way the system used to work, when doing what was best for the American people was the priority in political negotiations and when Senators and Representatives represented their constituents, not an agenda driven party platform. Biden still has friends on the other side of the aisle, for goodness sake! He doesn't lash out with blistering attacks against those who publicly disagree with him. He still thinks that a bi-partisan approach is a win-win situation. He has integrity and he tells the truth, even when it is inconvenient.
And more than anything else, in spite of all the media hype and the fact that many of those in the media don't remember what it was like when things got done that way, it's that approach that convinces me he is going to be successful. People are seeing and experience the results of this success. We're emerging from a period of sensationalism, social media hype and constant bombardment with inaccuracies, misrepresentations and lies used to apply political pressure to achieve an agenda. We had a tabloid presidency, it will take time to get used to a government with integrity again. But voters respond to this kind of approach. And as I said before, you can take that to the bank. Keep an eye on November 2022 and don't be a pessimist. There's another blue wave coming.
Here's the editorial I linked from the Trib by Rex Huppke. Enjoy the laugh.
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