I’ve been perfectly upfront that I will be voting for Biden and any Democrat on my ballot. He may not be a 10 when it comes to being president, but he is definitely a 10 when compared to the alternative. Biden still has a pretty high belief in democracy and personal freedoms.
In 2020, Biden may have truly been the only candidate who could have won against the incumbent. We’ll never really know if Buttigieg, or Harris, or Warren, or Sanders, or any of the other many Democratic candidates may have also been able to win as it might have been a case where it was anyone but the incumbent. All most of us wanted was for the authoritarian to lose.
Now though, we are in 2024. Many things have changed, most for the better, several for the worse. Biden should get all of the credit and accolades he deserves for bringing us out of the pandemic, for bringing us back to being respected around the world, for keeping unemployment below four percent longer than any other president, for keeping the economy from totally collapsing, for bringing some drug prices down, manufacturing back, and the forgiveness of student debt. He also has helped bring decorum and calm back to the presidency.
On the worse side, he has been very lax, too lax, too traditionalist, too status quo in matters in which leadership was and is necessary. Biden has failed us and continues to fail us in areas of great national and global importance. Let’s walk through a few of those items.
Israel vs Hamas
What Hamas did to the Israeli people was an atrocity that warranted a military response. There needed to be a negative consequence for Hamas for killing over 1,000 people, kidnapping 100’s more, and the atrocities done to men, but especially towards women and children. I do not in any way condone what Hamas did while also being able to see how the actions of Israel towards the Gaza Strip and Palestinians could boil up to such anger, to wanting to hurt Israelis. There were many ways to have resolved the issue had Israel and Hamas been willing to compromise rather than seek to totally destroy the other.
That does not warrant what appears to be a goal now of totally destroying the homes and livelihoods of the Palestinian people. It does not warrant the withholding of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. It does not warrant the purposeful starvation of children. It does not warrant a decision to not talk about the end of this war and what happens after.
The response by Biden, to back Israel militarily and financially while Israel now carries out atrocities is a total lack of good judgement. Biden should have immediately stepped in to tell Israel enough is enough once pain shifted from Hamas to the Palestinian people. Since that did not happen, it is never too late to let the leaders of Israel know the United States will no longer provide military aid nor financial aid until they stop their current actions. Biden could do that while still supporting Israel in the arrest and capture of Hamas, and helping Israel take this action following international law and policy.
It is here where Biden is stuck in past policy, and where he needs to become unstuck soon. To not do so is causing harm in our international standing as well as in the voting electorate during a presidential election year.
Ukraine vs Putin
Yes, Russia has nuclear bombs. Yes, Putin is most likely crazy enough to use them. However, if he does, even his allies will withdraw their support of him as no country wants a nuclear war.
Biden has been afraid to call Putin’s bluff, and sometimes a president must take that risk. In not doing so, Biden has emboldened Putin to continue his war, and is also helping Putin’s long-term goal of taking back the countries that used to be part of, and those that supported, the U.S.S.R. not so long ago. Putin is not a diplomat and never has been. He is a dictator intent on expanding his resources and his power base. Right now Biden is allowing him to do so.
You might say Biden put together international support for Ukraine with countries of Europe, which has helped Ukraine. You might even throw in the mix that Biden has been working to get an aid package to pass in Congress to assist Ukraine. All of these are true, but not enough.
Biden has not been very forceful in using the presidential pulpit to push Congress to pass aid. He has not lobbied very heavily to use frozen Russian assets to pay for the support of Ukraine militarily nor in the rebuilding of key infrastructure within Ukraine. To my knowledge, Biden has not called key congressional leaders to his office to push for Ukrainian aid. To my knowledge, Biden hasn’t personally contacted any of the Republican’s whose districts Biden won in 2020 to sign onto Discharge #9. Biden may be acting like FDR in helping everyday American’s, but he also needs to act like LBJ to get things moving in Congress.
U.S Postal Service vs DeJoy
Can anyone answer the question as to why DeJoy is still the head of the U.S. Postal Service? Ever since DeJoy stepped into that job the postal service has gone downhill. Prices continue to rise and service is going down. A sent letter that used to take a couple of days to arrive now takes week. A two-day delivery package now takes three to four days to arrive while still paying a two-day price. Vast machines that helped with efficiency in sorting were taken out and destroyed. Vast amounts of mail sit for days before being processed.
So I ask again, I ask this of Biden, why is DeJoy still the head of the postal service? Does Biden not realize he is disenfranchising voters on all sides who prefer to mail in their ballots rather than stand in long lines in their underserved precincts? Does he not realize that people who have become accustomed to voting by mail will not go backwards in time in needing to step into a ballot box to cast their vote?
Garland vs Law and Order
I was one of those people who believed Garland was not given a fair chance when he was nominated for the Supreme Court by Obama. Openly I will admit now that Garland probably was not a good choice for the Court while still believing Obama should have had his nominee, whomever it may have ended up being, vetted and voted upon by the Senate.
We have come to see Garland is both a coward by his lack of action against the perpetrators of January 6 and how he does very little to prosecute states and others when they violate civil and voters rights.
Biden should have asked for his resignation a long time ago based on Garland’s lack of action on high profile, politically charged accountability lawlessness. Even now, Biden allows Garland to keep his job, when it is never too late to fire an ineffective employee. In Biden’s unwillingness to take this action, it shows he is not suited for the real task of uniting the country even when it means going through some hard times to get there.
There are many other areas in which Biden is lacking, which I believe are age and generationally related. Other areas include getting the Democrat’s accomplishments over the past four years out to the masses, allowing the erosion of voting rights, not having Congress pass more legislation to improve the lives of the 99% when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress (codifying Roe v Wade, raising the minimum wage, severely hindering gerrymandering, among others), and very importantly, that his presidential opponent has been allowed to be free after inciting an insurrection and in many ways, operate a shadow government.
As I stated above, I will still be voting for Biden. Not because he is perfect, not because he is a man for our times, but because I enjoy living in a free democracy. That is the most important single issue for me in this election.
Is it yours?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 