A Disappointment
I don’t believe there is any other way to describe the Biden presidency, it was a disappointment. I understand there are those who might site various actions that suggest it was a positive four-year period; I believe that is a stretch. Personally, I don’t reflect on Biden’s presidency and what he did (infrastructure bill was a positive), or didn’t do, (manage economy or the border) as a marker to gauge his success; I will leave that to others to debate. What I am willing to consider is the primary promises he made and failed to deliver.
During his campaign to become the forty-sixth President he stated he wanted to unite the country; to become a unifier who could ignore the divisive noise and find common ground. He never even came close; immediately after being sworn in, he tacked left to the fringe of the Democrat party; no one will ever unite the country by serving the small extremes that prop up their respective party. It is hard to know what caused him to lean farther left than a lifetime of service supported. I think power blinds people, I think he became overwhelmed; I think it is sad.
As much as I hold him accountable for missing the mark on uniting the country, the biggest sin of his presidency was his failure to deliver on the primary commitment he made when he ran for office; he strongly inferred he would be a transition President leading to a saner, newer generation of leaders; he billed himself as a one-term candidate; leaving a strong impression he was there to beat Trump and then get out of the way. We all know he came nowhere near transitioning into the sunset. In fact, the longer he stayed in the office the more dug in he became; he wasn’t going anywhere. It was as though he came to believe he was the only person who could lead this nation; no longer was his goal to calm the seas, he wanted to be transformative. It is dangerous when a person believes they are the only answer to every question.
It is frightening to think how quickly a person can become delusional; how power can consume them and push them away from what they promise to do. Maybe you will say he lied from the beginning, never intended to deliver on what he said; I guess that might be true. If it is, shame on him for lying to the public; how are voters to ever decide on a candidate when our leaders are so readily able to lie? Regardless, of whether he lied or just lost his way, his legacy is tarnished and will forever be. He certainly wasn’t the worst president we have ever had and, I laugh when I hear people claim he was the best, he wasn’t. He was elected at a time when we needed stability, and a transition, he didn’t deliver either.
As I consider his fallibility, I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out the epic failure of those around him. Come on, was there no point in time when someone found the courage to tell him the truth; it was time to go. His family failed him, and I gather they are bitter about what happened; my only thought is, they need to get over it, the office isn’t about one person and their feelings, it is about leading this country.
I recently read about Texas Congresswoman, Kay Granger, who was noticeably absent from her job serving her district since early summer of last year. Nevertheless, she was “voting and legislating” the entire time she was no where to be found. You know where she was? She was in a memory care facility in Texas, unable to perform her duties or normal life activities; I feel bad for her, but her family and those around her should be ashamed. The fine people of Texas deserve better; we all do. Or take for example Senator Diane Feinstein, she too was suffering from dementia and at times seemed completely lost, but she remained in office for months as those around her protected her. We have an aging group of leaders and that isn’t good. At some point experience and wisdom lose their edge to the realities of getting old. What is worse is there doesn’t appear to be a commitment to honesty followed by tough calls or a willingness of those around the person to speak up; they must like being so close to power.
Could it be we reached a place where the lion share of our political leaders have crossed the Rubicon and their power is the only thing that matters? Maybe this has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t always been this way. Our first president went out of his way to step aside, not because he was tired, but because he didn’t think it good if individual power consumed the countries leaders.
The failure of Biden to do what he promised has had dire consequences; does anyone, even the biggest Trump supporter believe anyone will stand up to him, God forbid if he has mental acuity problems? He is almost eighty after all.
The people of this country deserve better. We deserve the truth, the best someone has to offer, and their follow-through; we need them to serve the country and constitution above all else. I don’t believe Biden is a bad person, I never have. I don’t even think his inability to unite the country and move aside is necessarily a reflection of the person; I do believe it is the defining takeaway for his presidency and in that regard his presidency was a major disappointment.
I wish our new President all the luck, good health, and wisdom he can muster; I also pray that somewhere buried beneath all his bravado there is a person who can put his own needs aside and put the country first. Being a leader is hard, and it isn’t always fun. Sometimes you must make decisions that aren’t in your own best interest; that is a tough thing to do. Egos are big for prominent leaders and frankly required, so is the ability to be honest with yourself and those around you.
Four years ago, Biden promised calm, centrist policies, and a transition from the octogenarian leadership we are stuck with. Those things are still needed, and I hope our new President leaves office in four years with a legacy we can all be proud of. I wish him all the best.
