For nearly 50 years before reaching the Oval Office, Biden positioned himself as a moderate within the Democratic Party. Many liberals rightly looked askance at the less admirable parts of his long record in the Senate, such as his tight relationship with the credit card industry and his mishandling of Anita Hill’s testimony during Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearings. We feared that his commitment to conciliation and procedural norms was ill-suited to facing down an increasingly radical Republican Party. But again and again, Biden exceeded expectations.
The enormous American Rescue Plan helped carry the country through the terrible economic effects of the Covid pandemic. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was the first meaningful gun safety legislation in decades. The bipartisan infrastructure law — something Donald Trump never got passed in four years despite years of promises — and the CHIPS and Science Act represent extraordinary investments in American industrial capacity. And his industrial policy was a key break with the neoliberal approach of the past. Instead, the Biden administration aggressively intervened in the economy to promote new manufacturing, especially in areas that have experienced tough times in recent years.
There are nearly 16 million more jobs today than when Biden took office. Under Donald Trump, less than 7 million jobs were created before the pandemic tore through the country, during what Trump absurdly claims was the greatest economy in human history.
After four years of Trump’s praising dictators and demeaning U.S. allies, Biden restored a foreign policy consistent with both security and American values. He was the first president to join a union picket line, and his administration was consistently, strongly pro-labor. And despite unceasing Republican efforts to obscure Trump’s almost infinite corruption, his administration has been remarkably free of scandal.
Biden took governing seriously. He showed that knowledge of how Washington works does, in fact, matter a great deal. When Biden claimed that his long experience would make him better suited to handle the complexities of the legislative process and the sprawling executive branch, some scoffed. Yet he was right.
Best in Moderation
Article URL : https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-presidential-term-record-rcna163132