The Vindication of Joe Biden - TNR

[mzmolly]

It was all teed up to be an unmitigated disaster. The coming red wave in the 2022 midterms was going to bring 30, 40, maybe even 50 new Republicans to the House of Representatives—and an extra two or three seats for the party in the Senate. A sizable chunk of the new GOP class was poised to be raging MAGA-heads and Marjorie Taylor Greene wannabes. Joe Biden’s presidency was going to be effectively over.

The right would have had a field day, casting Biden as a senile old fool and failed president. The centrist pundits and Blue Dog Democrats would have wagged their collective finger at Biden for having gone “too far left” on economics and brayed that wokery had consumed the Democratic Party. The left would have been on the defensive, trying to prove to anyone who’d listen—which, in Washington, wouldn’t have been many people—that they weren’t the ones who cost their party the election.

None of it happened. To everyone’s astonishment, it’s now #repsindisarray as Republicans scramble to figure out how everything went so spectacularly wrong. And lo and behold, something else happened: Joe Biden’s political judgment—not accorded much respect before the election, given his underwater approval numbers—was vindicated.

Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, put it this way to me: “Joe Biden has been consistently underestimated because the political commentary culture highly values qualities that make someone a talented pundit on TV but undervalues the qualities that make someone a great national leader: wisdom, decency, and determination."

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[NNadir]

1. So called "polical commentary" gave us Donald Trump...

...whose magic is to destroy everything he touches.

It's not "commentary;" it's propaganda.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Watershed elections - waves as they seem to prefer - are built on totally widespread

fear or anger. Republicans thought their 39% MAGA polls represented America as a whole. This entire story from the start was BS.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. The contrast could not be more CLEAR after 4 years of TOTAL CHAOS.

Who knew that the decency of Joe Biden have an effect on Democrats running for office?

Unlike 2010 when Democrats took a beating because they did not campaign on what they did during Pres. Obama's first 2 years, Democrats FINALLY got the memo that they can indeed campaign on the accomplishments and feel good about what they did.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June helped them a lot in messaging as well.

[Johnny2X2X]

4. They're going to continue to underestimate him

They want to paint him as incompetent, be my guest, it's not going to work.

He'll make some big deals the next 2 years with the MAGAts. And he'll be a huge favorite to win a 2nd term in 2024.

[Iris]

19. "wisdom, decency, and determination" - the first comes with age

I'm sick of the blatant ageism displayed daily. Yes, they will continue to underestimate him and perpetuate the myth that people over a certain age should fade out of view.

[Demsrule86]

5. And these 'underwater numbers' come from the same source as the polling before the election

They were wrong then and are wrong on the Biden numbers to IMHO.

[Spazito]

7. I agree...

one needs to take any poll numbers with a truckload of salt.

[Demsrule86]

9. Absolutely.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. It would be nice to get real numbers. I suspect Joe is popular.

[Butterflylady]

16. You are totally right.

Can not take these numbers seriously anymore.

[uponit7771]

17. +1,

[GoCubsGo]

6. I suspect that all the current approval polls are underestimates, as well.

A lot of them were taken alongside those election polls that proved inaccurate, or are skewed by the same methods and reasons the election polls were skewed. I'm betting Joe has higher approval than the polls indicate.

[mzmolly]

8. I agree.

Good point!

[malaise]

11. He gave them a shellacking

That is all

[MontanaMama]

12. Gawd forbid anybody reporting

that things are going pretty darned well. The MSM loves to peddle manufactured drama.

[calimary]

15. Manufactured drama. Yep. That says it all in two words.

Remember, they’ve gotta have eyeballs on the TV and gossipy, eye-grabbing, rumor-roiling column inches in the papers, so let’s turn it into “Wrestlemania on the Potomac”. Even when there’s no “there” there.

All they needed was to find one or two grumblers and that allowed everything to be blown out of proportion and chaos was more easily created, and then shaken AND stirred.

It’s becoming absolutely infuriating how the media refuses to give President Biden a break, or credit for all he’s accomplished in his first two years in the White House! It makes me wonder if only Republicans and Democratic contrarians are being not only listened to, but hired across all media outlets, tasked mainly with dumping on Biden. Pisses me off to NO end.

If anybody’s in a mood to correct the record, this would be a GREAT time to get busy on letters to the editor or calls to local talk shows, to start spreading THAT message instead. When the public hears or reads only the bad stuff with no rebuttals, active fact-checking, or equal time for correcting the record, the only conclusion they’re led to is “Biden = bad!”

I find it INFURIATING!!!!!

[marieo1]

13. Right On

President Biden and Ron Klain are both wonderful leaders.........I have respected both for years. They both are great men!!

[sop]

14. Ron Klain is so right about the qualities that make someone a great national leader: "wisdom,

decency and determination." Joe Biden embodies all those qualities.

[mzmolly]

18. Indeed.

I'm glad voters saw beyond the rhetoric.

[republianmushroom]

20. LIKE