The economy is moving along well. Inflation, which is the sign of a strong economy and a good job market, is under control. That's not something heard in the media now, as the focus on the 2024 election coverage ramps up, but that's a fact. Gasoline prices are stable. The unemployment rate is at a historic low. Lots of people love to complain that they don't have it as well off as they should have, but the fact of the matter is that, two years into the Biden Presidency, the contrast between his success and the failures, inept mistakes and corruption of his predecessor, are as stark and realistic as any in history.
So, with nothing else from which to manufacture news, the media is focusing on Joe Biden's age. O.K. Well, that's a factor. He's the oldest President we've ever had. So what? It opens him up to criticism from enemies and political opponents who throw around terms like "dementia" and slow mindedness. There's been no evidence of that. He grew up with a stutter, which still affects his speech, his voice, because he uses it so much, does get raspy on occasion. But it is clear to anyone who knows and is objective about it, that his age is not a disability, and hasn't been one up to this point.
And as far as Nikki Haley's remark is concerned, that electing Joe Biden is just setting things in place for a Harris presidency, well, if that turns out to be the case, a Harris presidency would be a considerably better prospect than a Haley presidency, especially if the latter follows the pattern of mediocrity and absence of service to the people that her governorship of South Carolina did. Having Kamala Harris as Vice President is an additional reason to vote for Biden.
However, the most practical reasons we have for endorsing the President and supporting his re-election come from the success he has enjoyed during the first half of his first term in office. In every way, from foreign policy success to job creation and the economy, to caring about American senior adults, veterans and the working class, President Biden's first term in office is worth repeating. People love to complain about the economy, but it's hard to be critical of a Presidency during which unemployment has reached historic low points, the stock market has reached historic high points, personal income growth is setting records, and a post-COVID recession has consistently been avoided. Inflation is a problem, but it's also the sign of prosperity, even though, of course, no one likes it. But even that is responding to the economic policies of the Biden administration.
The Republicans who are running are offering nothing. Trump's term in office was a disastrous failure in every way, and his ongoing campaign theme of "the election was rigged and I was cheated" offers nothing to the American people, because it is all about him. Desantis, in his culture war, "anti-woke," approach is seeing his support and favorability among Floridians drop like a stone in a well, and in just a few short months, even before announcing a candidacy, his support among the GOP has evaporated. Haley was a mediocrity as governor of South Carolina, Pence, a pitiful figure left over from the failed Trump administration, lost what little integrity he had by agreeing to crawl on to that ticket with Trump and shares responsibility for the corruption and incompetence of the administration.
We've seen all the headlines and read many of the follow up stories this week to President Biden's announcement. Earlier in the week, a Rasmussen poll, which is a polling service that generally isn't known for a high level of accuracy, but has a conservative bias, came out with a 49% figure for job approval of the President. On occasion, other polls, in a two or three day survey period, report similar numbers. Personally, I'm not in a location where I have observed anything but wholehearted support, but it seems a bit incongruous, with the results of the mid-term elections in 2022, that the President's job approval ratings were ever as low as they were reported. As far as 2024 goes, as the Democratic nominee, he's the odds on favorite to win.
And I'd bet on those odds.
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