Is Biden the most effective president ever?
After the recent adoption of the climate change-tax-pharmaceutical pricing law representing the remnants of “Build Back Better,” one thing I never want to hear – from either a “Let’s go Brandon” type or from a so-called progressive – is any or all of “he’s senile and the Cabinet is going to use the 25th amendment to get rid of him” or “he’s done nothing” or “he’s evil and incompetent and hasn’t done anything for his constituents.”
Has Joe Biden done a perfect job and accomplished everything everyone might have hoped? Not by a long shot. But considering the catastrophes he inherited and the hand he’s had to play, has he had a remarkable string of success? Yes, for sure. In fact, with the possible exception of LBJ and FDR, there can’t be any doubt that he’s the most effective legislator who ever occupied the Oval Office. And those two had 2:1 or better majorities in Congress when they did their legislating.
What makes this especially impressive is the number of burning dumpster fires sitting there in the Oval Office for him to deal with. Shortly before he took office, I wrote:
On January 20, Joe Biden will face perhaps the most challenging environment of any new president. Presidents Lincoln (the attempted secession of 7 states and imminent civil war) and Roosevelt (the Great Depression) both faced serious problems. But they each faced a single (very large) problem and they both had strong working majorities in Congress. Joe Biden will deal with at least eight serious crises, each created or made worse by the incompetence or malevolence of the Trump administration. And he faces a deeply divided Congress and an electorate that President Trump spent four years dividing more than it was when he took office. He has already identified four of them as top priorities.
The four crises Biden had identified were
Economic and employment. Unemployment stood at 6.3% in January 2021, with 10.1m unemployed. The last employment report pegged unemployment at 3.5%, with 5.7m unemployed. Other accomplishments include the CHIPS act, which will provide jobs AND protect us from supply chain problems; rising wages; and the unprecedented investment Congress approved in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Yes, the US is suffering as part of a worldwide inflation, but even here, two of the primary drivers of inflation (petroleum and pharmaceuticals) have been addressed recently and oil prices are plunging. Grade: B+
Pandemic. The pandemic was still raging and few vaccines were available when Biden took office. Despite the fact that one political party worked hard to sabotage efforts to bring the pandemic under control, Biden created a model vaccine rollout, messaged it superbly, and restored the credibility of CDC. Subsequent variants took the administration by surprise but the response has been agile and sure footed. Grade: A-
Civil rights/racial justice. The administration fell short on its legislative agenda (George Floyd, police reform, voting rights, etc.). Countering this is the revival of the Justice Department Civil Rights division that was gutted under Trump and the most diverse appointments ever to Cabinet, sub-cabinet, and judicial positions; and implementation of minority-sensitive policies in agencies such as Interior and Transportation. (Grade C+)
Climate change. On the one hand, between his bully pulpit plus the investments in the pandemic, infrastructure, and inflation reduction legislation, he’s probably done more than all his predecessors combined. On the other hand, it’s still not enough. (Grade C; grade on a curve: A)
The other four I identified were:
Healthcare: legislation secured extension of ACA subsidies, massive increases in community mental health funding, and the long-sought approval for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, (Grade: A)
Foreign policy. He restored NATO, forged international agreements and bipartisan domestic support to arm the Ukrainians, and rebuilt difficult relations with Japan. Yes, the withdrawal from Afghanistan was disorderly, but he was playing a bad hand his predecessor dealt and he ended our “forever” involvement in Afghanistan. (Grade: A-)
Generational debt/retirement. Little progress has been made on student debt, although expanded means were developed to write off debt and the moratorium on repayments has bought some necessary breathing room. The Medicare drug price negotiation and insulin price caps are real accomplishments but the country is still facing a serious crisis as the baby boom continues to age. Probably the weakest overall performance. (Grade: C-)
Democracy. Democracy is under a greater threat than it was under President Trump. The lie that the election was stolen has continued to spread and laws that will allow political officials to disenfranchise millions of voters continue to make progress. The Justice Department has worked against the worst of this legislation and has had some success. The January 6 congressional committee and DOJ are pursuing threats to democracy from the ex-president down to the Proud Boys rank and file, but the fate of democracy still stems on election outcomes. (Grade: C).
I should have identified a ninth.
Governance. Substantially restored professionalism of Justice, the intelligence community, State, and other agencies. Despite Republican obstruction, the administration achieved substantial bipartisan victories, including infrastructure, community mental health; Chips, the most significant gun control legislation, support for Ukraine, etc. (Grade: A)
Besides legislation, Biden deserves credit for an outstanding (and diverse) set of appointments to his administration, the Cabinet, and the Courts; substantially restoring faith in fairness and professionalism of the federal government; and rebuilding foreign relations. So, is he the best president ever? No, he isn’t. Not even in that conversation. But the simple fact is, he’s had a remarkably successful first 18 months in office.
********
This series is written to promote political discussion and organizing. Permission is given to use this in fact sheets, talking points, letters to the editor, etc. We’d appreciate if you notified Gettysburg DFA (leonsreed@gmail.com) of any uses. Written by Leon Reed.
In case you missed it.
Biden has done a good job on judicial nominations
Consequences of Four Decades of Attacks on the Federal Government