Biden Announces

Today, exactly 4 years to the day he announced in 2019, President Joe Biden announced he will run for the office again. 

Biden has a long history of public service, including serving as Vice President under Barack Obama and as a Senator from Delaware for 36 years. This experience has given him perspective on the challenges facing the country and the skills to navigate the complex political landscape in Washington.

Biden has also been a strong advocate for working-class Americans throughout his career, which I find attractive.

Here are some of his achievements as president to date:

- He passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that provided direct payments, unemployment support, vaccine funding, rental assistance, and more to millions of Americans.

- He rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.

- He signed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that will improve roads, bridges, airports, public transit, broadband, water, and energy systems across the nation.

- He ended the US military involvement in Afghanistan after 20 years of war and evacuated more than 120,000 people from the country.

- He restored US leadership and diplomacy on the global stage by rejoining the World Health Organization, the Iran nuclear deal, and other international agreements and organizations.

- He expanded health care access and affordability by reopening enrollment for Obamacare, lowering prescription drug prices, and supporting Medicare expansion.

- He advanced racial justice and voting rights by creating a task force on policing reform, reversing some of the former guy's immigration policies, nominating a diverse cabinet and judiciary, and supporting legislation to protect voting access.

President Joe Biden (photo from whitehouse.gov)

Generally, Biden's platform and efforts as president reflect a commitment to economic justice. Whether or not this has been successful could be debated. I don't know how inflation is going to hurt him. As Bill Clinton said, "It's the economy," and that's always difficult to determine. People may be making more money today, but they are spending more, too, and that is the part that sticks with you. That bill at the grocery store hurts.

One of the most significant issues for me with Biden is his age. While age alone should not disqualify a candidate, it is a legitimate concern given the demands of the presidency and the need for a leader who can keep up with the pace of the job. That said, should the former guy win the Republican nomination, he won't be a spring chicken, either, as he would be 76 years old in 2024. 

I like the "Dark Brandon" side of Biden; he can be firm when he has to be. I appreciate his efforts to draw attention to the crazy MAGA people and differentiate them from those who still call themselves Republicans but no longer fit what that party has become. (I think the MAGA people call them RINOs but to me that's backwards.) The Republicans of today are not my father's party. Those people had some sense. Today, not so much.

Biden also has a folksy side that I have enjoyed watching. It may not be the most attractive thing about him, and he does make gaffes, but we all do. The only thing is everything he says and does is under a zillion microscopes, while the rest of us can slide on by. Or some of us can, anyway.

Personally, I would like to see a Democratic challenger who is younger in years. I'm afraid in the current climate, the reality is that this person would have to be a straight, white male, and while I am loathing myself for writing that, I also know that in order to keep what little freedoms we have remaining, this is not the time to push a far-left agenda. We are too far along the road to an authoritarian transition of government, and I for one do not wish to live in a regime run by police and militia vigilantes. Nor do I want a theocratic state, medical restrictions, or to lose my right to vote, all of which I think are possible if we continue to follow the path of a state like Florida, as an example.

In order to pull in the moderate vote, I think the Democrats need to find this younger person, and soon. Unfortunately, other than Gavin Newsome, the governor of California, there aren't many names that pop into my head at the moment.

I will vote for whomever the Democratic Party nominates, as I always have, but I am not convinced Biden is the person to keep the country going. A younger version of him would be ideal. I just don't know who that might be.

(This post was written with input from both chatGPT and Bing AI)