Two years into his presidency, Biden has delivered | Editorial
On the eve of the State of the Union, 62% of Americans think Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little to nothing.” The president's long list of accomplishments belies that misconception.
As President Joe Biden prepares to deliver his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, it is worth noting his many accomplishments. Particularly since they stand in stark contrast to the public perception of the first two years of his presidency.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 62% of Americans think Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little to nothing.”
However, since he took office in 2021, Biden has helped steer the country through the pandemic, added millions of jobs, and signed major legislation to address infrastructure repairs, health-care costs, climate change, gun safety, and veterans’ benefits.
Biden also defended against attacks on democracy at home, while unifying Europe to defend against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Of course, there have been missteps and setbacks, including the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the mishandling of classified government documents. At age 80, some say Biden is too old to be president, let alone serve a second term, and his low-key demeanor is far from flashy — an apparent detriment in an America grown accustomed to near-constant Washington drama during the Trump years.
Yet Biden’s steady hand is a welcome relief from Donald Trump’s chaotic, corrupt, and incompetent turn at the wheel. Even in his most problematic moments, Biden has been a vast improvement over the damage caused by Trump’s lies, inane tweeting, race-baiting, and cozying up to dictators, among many other abuses of power.
However, there is no denying Biden’s many achievements.
Let’s start with the economy. The president has overseen the fastest job growth in the nation’s history, adding 12.1 million jobs in the past two years. The 3.4% unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 1969.
Presidents deserve little blame or credit over gas prices, but that didn’t stop Biden’s approval ratings from being weighed down by high fuel costs and inflation last summer. Well, gas prices have dropped 30% since June and inflation has been cooling for the past six months, but Biden has not received much of the credit.
Neither has Biden received recognition for the impressive list of legislative wins despite a divided Senate, where even some Democrats opposed his agenda and others within his own party wanted him to do more.
The Biden administration recently awarded $1.2 billion for nine mega-infrastructure projects across the country, including $78 million to upgrade Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard, as well as millions to upgrade bridges in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, and California, along with tunnels in Baltimore and New York. In all, $185 billion has gone to fund 6,900 projects in 4,000 communities, reaching all 50 states.
The projects are part of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law in November 2021. Compare that to the running joke during the Trump administration as it rolled one failed infrastructure week announcement after another.
While the country remains sharply divided along political and ideological lines, Biden deserves credit for the passage of other bipartisan measures, including the first major gun reform bill to come out of Congress in nearly 30 years and a $280 billion bill to bolster domestic manufacturing of semiconductor computer chips and counter China.
Biden also signed into law a $375 billion landmark climate change and health-care bill that — among other things — will bolster solar panel technology, increase air pollution controls, and lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients.
He also signed legislation to expand health-care services for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, while working to ease the burden of student loans and nominating the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Over the next two years, Biden will likely have a harder time moving the country forward now that Republicans have taken control of the House. The GOP’s struggle to elect a House speaker last month is just one example of the party’s dysfunction.
As House Republicans clamor to investigate his son Hunter and other made-up scandals like “woke indoctrination,” Biden will do well to remain the grown-up in the room. At some point, hopefully, more Americans will realize the benefits of having a competent president again.