Looking back at Biden’s 10 months in office, probably the biggest mistake in narrow 2022 political terms was to foster unrealistic expectations among Democratic activists over what is legislatively possible through budget reconciliation in a 50-50 Senate.
For months, the president allowed left-wing Democrats to dream of a $3.5 trillion social spending bill, even though there was no plausible route through the Senate. Now that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are still dragging their heels over a downsized $1.75 trillion package, there is a self-destructive sense among Democrats that Biden is a failed president.
The Washington Post-ABC News Poll found that only 44 percent of Democrats strongly approved of his performance as president. Nothing is more enraging than the failure of Democrats to remember that the alternative to Biden is not Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. It’s a second act for Donald J. Trump.
Lyndon Johnson, in the depths of Vietnam, used to remind Democratic critics, “I’m the only president you’ve got.” That sentiment is far more powerful these days when it comes to President Joseph Biden.
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