Joe Biden
President Joe Biden is the American politician of the moment. It shows. He appears to always pull the right levers, and make the right moves, and in turn, he is dominating American politics right now. On some level, it is crazy.
He is not popular (that is something different anyway). He also has negatives to contend with — his age, his gaffes, and his tendency to react recklessly on the stump. But he is winning the political fights in our one-party/two-cartel political ecosystem.
He is getting legislation passed. He is implementing his policies. He is being patient and avoids dead-end political fights. It is as if he is highly experienced.
. . .
Okay, I am not trying to be funny but it is true. Joe Biden is a vet. Joe has been in Washington D.C. since 1973. He is like a throwback on some level. He has bided his time. He has tried and failed. He has succeeded.
He has embarrassed himself. He has acted and talked like a racist, a sexist, and a warmonger. But all along, he was learning the tools of the trade.
He is the original triangulator. This most of all has defined the Democratic Party in the last 30 years. It is not always the preferred political strategy for many of us but it is a reality.
This is not an attempt at repair either or a statement of agreement with President Biden. Joe Biden is a typical politician. He is also untypically succeeding a lot in the system that is the American system.
Joe as VP
It actually is to his benefit that Barack Obama pulled him out of the Washington legislative beat in 2008. He was able to sit and watch a young, inexperienced but super-talented young politician, make major mistake after major mistake. He wouldn’t make those mistakes.
He took all that in too. Joe Biden had 43 years of experience in the game of American politics. He is not from the upper class either. He is from the blue-collar town of Scranton, PA. He could not be easily labeled white or blue collar. Joe has his bonafides.
He was a segregationist once and opposed busing in the ethnic neighborhoods he knew well. He has said things that were intentionally cruel. But he is a pro now.
Joe is experienced
In fact, never in the history of the United States has a President been this experienced. In the modern era, only two come close. First, Lyndon Johnson. Johnson served in Congress for 33 years and then became Vice President under John F. Kennedy, only to become President in 1963 when Kennedy was killed.
In addition, George H.W. Bush was a professional politician as well. He was a Congressman, diplomat, political executive, and bureaucrat for 10 years, before he served for eight years as Vice President, and then four years as President.
All of the other Americans in the modern era who rose to the office of President have nowhere close to the experience of Joe Biden. Newt Gingrich knows. This past week, Newt said that his party had underestimated Biden. This is perhaps true but there are very few GOP players right now who have Biden’s experience anyway.
Biden understands the process, the power he has, and how the three branches of government work in tandem. He rarely overplays his hand. But when he has the cards he pushes for a win. And over and over, he has won.
I am not saying that his agenda has been radical or amazing but he has gotten deals and he has also achieved victories. If the economy improves and stabilizes, Biden is likely to run for re-election in 2024 when he will be 82 years old. But, 2024 is a long time away.
The future?
There is little that can be done to stop Biden either other than health problems or some damning revelation. Biden, who is the son of an Irish immigrant, Catherine Finnegan, seems to be enjoying the luck of the Irish right now politically.
His mother, who died when she was 92, told her son to “never be intimidated by power, wealth or station; that we did not have to accept social convention.” I think Joe Biden has taken her words to heart despite all of his flaws, trickery, and struggles to create enthusiasm.
Joe Biden is enjoying his historical moment. If it keeps going like this, they will have to name an airport and some other things after him 30 years from now. In the meantime, don’t underestimate Joe, GOP.
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This post was previously published on Bumpyjonas – he/him.
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