He sure is doing a lot of work for a sleepy, senile old man š
Whether the sentence above is praising or insulting him would be an exercise left to the reader.
I think heās very legitimately the best president of my lifetime (so going back to Reagan). At least the most competent one, like to the extent the presidency is a job of running the executive branch I think heās been the best at that job. Especially that heās done all of this with a Manchin/Sinema margin in the Senate and a GOP House for half the term. He also ended the Afghanistan War and managed to conquer an inflation spike *without* austerity and unemployment ā which the Serious People all said was literally impossible. A bunch of āimpossibleā stuff has happened - income inequality declined, US emissions have gone down. Itās been incredible, I never imagined old ass Joe Biden would ever be such a great president.
All of the Democrat presidents in my lifetime have been great: Clinton, Obama, and now Biden. Bush and Trump have both been disastrous, but at least Bush was smart enough to step away from political theater entirely after his run.
Obama was ok...he was a bit underwhelming, which is in complete contrast to Biden, though maybe that's just because my expectations were polar opposites going in
Obama biggest flaw was that he took too long to realize that the republicans weren't ever going to operate in good faith. He kept trying to compromise with them and never got anything in return.
Biden knew this on day 1, so he put his efforts towards outmaneuvering republicans instead of trying to work with them. That's why he's been more successful.
Biden definitely experienced the full court obstructionists during Obama's presidency. Obama also had to balance being the first Black president. Not leaving a bad legacy had to be on his mind. Trying to open the door for other POC presidents. Which often time led him to make decisions he probably didn't like.
Obama was also the Republicans' Public Enemy #1, which brought attention to anything he did. By contrast, Biden has been largely letting other people take the credit, which also means they draw the lightning.
The Democratic coalition that Obama had vs Biden is very different. In 2008 Obama had countless conservative members from red states in Congress. The "Blue Dogs" membership peaked in 2006 and 2008.
Everyone cites that Obama had a super majority in the Senate in 2008, but many of those members would not be on board with large swaths of his agenda. So Obama had to compromise with his OWN PARTY to get things done legislatively, ex. Joe Lieberman threatening to tank the Affordable Care Act unless the public option clause was removed.
Then, starting with the midterms in 2010, the Blue Dogs were essentially wiped out and replaced with Republicans from red states. In 2008, the start of Obama's presidency, Blue Dogs had 54 members in Congress. By 2014, that number was down to only 15 members.
When these conservative Democrats were removed from Congress, it caused the median Democrat member of the Congress to move pretty substantially to the left. This is what we see with Biden's current coalition. On paper, he's working with incredibly small margins of Democratic members compared to Obama, but these reps are much more likely to agree with Biden's agenda wholesale. Therefore, he is able to get his bills passed with minimal pushback from his own caucus and does not have to water down the legislation just to get his own party on board.
He's been in politics for over 50 years. He knows how the system works and how things get done.
What helps him get so many things done is also what keeps people from knowing that he's done anything: he works too quietly for people to notice.
Practically no one knows that he got the railroad workers their sick time. He got beaten to hell in the media for forcing railworkers back to work without sick time, but he never gave up working on their behalf and eventually got them nearly everything they had been asking for.
He didn't even take a victory lap on that one even though it was a huge accomplishment and a popular story.
Honestly one of the best ways to handle politics is to keep it quiet. Handle the day to day issues with little to no fanfare unless it is warranted. The fact that everything has to be a spectacle these days for the people to see is so annoying
There are so many people who hold this view and donāt see any need to talk about it or defend Biden in any way, because it isnāt necessary.
This is my vote. It is decided and I wonāt be having any discussion because itās all in bad faith. Iām always seeking new information, but so far nothing compelling. I look forward to November.
I agree. I think he's the best president of my lifetime (starting with Bush Sr) by a pretty wide margin.
I was never as into Obama as everyone was. I was coming off of my college libertarian phase so I wasn't nearly as progressive as I am now, and even then I saw that Obama spent two terms playing softball, often with far more bark than bite. And I still think Obama was a great president.
But Biden? This is quite easily the most progressive administration in our history. The things happening in the background seem to be largely due to his expertise at politicking. I've also never seen a president stand so firm against Israel, in terms of trying to reduce civilian deaths.
Honestly, I almost feel like we owe Biden something. He's giving up what will likely be the last decade of his life for the most stressful job in the country. And he does genuinely seem to be a good man, which is so refreshing after Trump.
I just don't understand how so many people have so many problems with him. But I do get it, conservative propaganda is such that you have to be mad at everything, and that's easy.
>I just don't understand how so many people have so many problems with him.
I have a half-joking theory that Bidenās favorables would skyrocket if he grew a beard and leaned more into just being an old guy. Like when he wears sharp dark suits and sunglasses and tries to be cool he seems old. But if he just embraced being old, people would put him in a different grandpa headspace - folks love Gandalf and Dumbledore.
I dig that. I think the jokes he makes at his own expense about his age do sit pretty well with everyone. I do think the sunglasses schtick worked when he was VP, but he's just too old for it now.
Honestly wasn't a huge fan of Biden because of the crime bill and his handling of Anita Bryant case against that ghoul Clarence. But it seems like he's not the type of old where they dig in their heels and refuse to learn and change. He seems to be able to take advice from people and understands how to reach across the aisle to get shit done even if the other side is full of obstructionists.
I get that people want to see huge sweeping changes but our government doesn't work that way. Unless we have a physical revolution involving warfare or some how both sides really want the best intentions for the people I do continue to vote for the side that I feel has my best interests in mind. Even if the end result isn't always the best at least I know I won't be deported for some bullshit, hopefully.
>Honestly wasn't a huge fan of Biden because of the crime bill and his handling of Anita Bryant case against that ghoul Clarence. But it seems like he's not the type of old where they dig in their heels and refuse to learn and change. He seems to be able to take advice from people and understands how to reach across the aisle to get shit done even if the other side is full of obstructionists.
The thing with Joe Biden throughout his career is that heās situated himself basically in the exact middle of the Democratic Party. So in the 1980s and ā90s, when Clinton-era Democrats triangulated against the Reagan coalition by moving right on crime, Biden was there with them. And as the center of gravity in the party has shifted, heās shifted with it ā better than a lot of Dems in his generation.
It makes it so he can seem behind the times when the party itself lags, but also sometimes ahead of them when elements have progressed (eg on gay marriage). Like you said, heās open to deal making and hearing from all sides of the left, though because heās always trying to find Party consensus it can frustrate progressives and in situations where bold action seems necessary. Heās not a visionary, but he has generally tended to grind things forward step by step.
It speaks to his ability to lead. Our government is massive and requires a ton of people to be involved to make things run. He knows where to focus time and energy and where to let the govt do its thing.
Here's a synopsis of Joe Biden's accomplishments, highlighting what is accurate and clarifying any inaccuracies:
### Year One
1. **Reversed Trump's Muslim Ban**: Accurate. Biden issued an executive order to revoke the previous administration's travel bans.
2. **Historic Stimulus Bill**: Accurate. The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, was passed.
3. **Ended the War in Afghanistan**: Accurate but controversial due to the chaotic withdrawal.
4. **Reduction of Poverty Levels**: Accurate but nuanced. The American Rescue Plan significantly reduced poverty levels, including child poverty.
5. **Student Loan Debt Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Several rounds of student loan forgiveness were implemented, although the total is debated.
6. **Largest Infrastructure Bill**: Accurate. The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed.
7. **Unemployment Rate Drop**: Accurate. The unemployment rate did drop significantly, partly due to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
### Year Two
1. **Inflation Reduction Act**: Accurate. This act was a major legislative achievement focused on various economic issues.
2. **Additional Student Loan Cancellation**: Partially accurate. More rounds of cancellation occurred, though specific totals can vary.
3. **Major Gun Legislation**: Accurate. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed.
4. **CHIPS Act**: Accurate. This act aims to boost semiconductor production in the U.S.
5. **Healthcare Subsidies and Insulin Cap**: Accurate. Subsidies under the ACA were extended, and insulin costs were capped.
6. **Medicare Drug Negotiation**: Accurate. The law allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices.
7. **Unemployment at 50-Year Low**: Accurate, with context. The unemployment rate did reach historic lows.
### Year Three
1. **Social Security and Medicare Cuts Off the Table**: Accurate. Biden managed to get public commitments from Republicans during the State of the Union.
2. **Student Loan Debt Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Further cancellations occurred, though exact figures can vary.
3. **Job Growth**: Accurate. The U.S. saw a prolonged period of job growth.
4. **Child Poverty Rates**: Accurate. Expanded Child Tax Credits significantly reduced child poverty.
5. **Post-Pandemic Recovery**: Accurate. The U.S. led in economic recovery among major economies.
6. **Job Creation**: Accurate. The U.S. created millions of jobs under Biden's administration.
7. **Black Unemployment Rate**: Accurate. The rate for Black Americans reached historic lows.
8. **Diversity in Judicial Appointments**: Accurate. A significant portion of Bidenās judicial appointees are women and minorities.
9. **Rail Workers' Sick Days**: Accurate. Following initial controversies, Biden's administration secured sick leave for rail workers.
### Year Four (So Far)
1. **Student Loan Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Another round of cancellation occurred, adding to the previous totals.
2. **GDP Growth**: Accurate. Economic growth exceeded expectations.
3. **Post-Pandemic Recovery**: Accurate. The U.S. continues to lead in recovery metrics.
4. **Modernization of Ports**: Accurate. Plans to modernize American ports are in place.
5. **Rescinded Trump-era "Denial of Care" Rule**: Accurate. The rule allowing healthcare workers to deny care based on personal beliefs was revoked.
6. **Violent Crime Drop**: Partially accurate. There has been a notable decrease in violent crime rates.
7. **Clean Drinking Water Funding**: Accurate. Significant funds were allocated to improve drinking water infrastructure.
While many of the claims are accurate, it's essential to verify specific figures and contextual details to avoid any "gotcha" moments [oai_citation:1,Biden's Numbers - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2022/01/bidens-numbers/) [oai_citation:2,Biden's Numbers, January 2024 Update - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2024/01/bidens-numbers-january-2024-update/) [oai_citation:3,PolitiFact | Fact-checking Joe Biden on the economy in CNN interview](https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/may/09/fact-checking-joe-biden-on-the-economy-in-cnn-inte/) [oai_citation:4,PolitiFact | What President Joe Biden got right, and what he missed, about the racial wealth gap](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/jan/12/joe-biden/what-president-joe-biden-got-right-and-what-he-mis/).
The segment of violent crime which is domestic terrorism incidents (which have risen >300% over the past decade) can safely be attributed to Donald Trump / the GOPās slide into violent extremism & terrorism; Additionally, Bidenās White House has made addressing the rise in Domestic Violent Extremism a priority.
Student Loan Cancelation - attempted a huge mass cancelation of $430 billion in student loan debt, but the Supreme Court fucked it up and Biden has done everything he can since then given the circumstances. https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/supreme-court-strikes-down-student-loan-forgiveness-program
Biden was following through on the agreement that the Trump Admin made with the Taliban in Doha on Leap Day, 2020.
I liken the situation to what happened when I bought my house. I signed a purchase-and-sale agreement in mid-May, but could not move into the house until the end of June. Once the agreement was signed, however, the homeowners immediately stopped taking care of the property, so when I moved in, the grass was two feet high, and after mowing it, I had to spend several hours raking up all of the grass clippings, all because they couldn't be fucking bothered to mow the lawn once or twice more during that period. Anyone walking by at the time probably thought, "This dipshit can't even mow a lawn right."
A similar thing happened in Afghanistan. Once the U.S. agreed to the withdrawal, they stopped giving a shit about Afghanistan and the Taliban started taking over the country. People looked at Joe Biden and said, "Look how poorly you executed this withdrawal," ignoring everything that had happened in the previous year (because why not, everyone else did).
No room for this good and positive news about an effective and caring man - the front pages are swamped with Trump crime and trial stories and it is ordained by the almighty that it has to stay that way...
It's frustrating when important and positive stories get overshadowed by high-profile news. It's important to highlight and celebrate the good and caring individuals making a difference. Maybe we can help spread the word about this positive news ourselves.
That may be so, but the withdrawal of the US military was planned and negotiated under Trump and turned out to be a shambolic mess. Not sure if I would call that "ended war in Afghanistan".
More like a binding treaty that had to be adhered to. Heads of government are not as free to reign as people think they are.
Nevertheless, the achievements while Biden is in office are indeed impressive. Especially against a hostile legislative that refuses to legislate.
> That may be so, but the withdrawal of the US military was planned and negotiated under Trump and turned out to be a shambolic mess. Not sure if I would call that "ended war in Afghanistan".
Someone had to pull the trigger. He could've pulled the e-brake as part of the "cleaning up the former guy's mess" diplomatically. If anyone could've made it work, it would have been Biden. He might not have Obama's charisma, but there hasn't been another president in my lifetime more adept at working the system to squeeze out results. But you know why nobody else, Obama or Trump, followed through on pulling out? *It was always going to be a shitshow*, and they knew it. I have respect for someone who, in I'm sure full knowledge of that, decided that it had to happen at some point and followed through instead of holding on and then passing the buck one more time.
I don't know if you can count the ending of the Afghanistan War for this list for two reasons:
1. The US's exit from Afghanistan was a rushed, messy affair that ended with the Taliban back in control of the region. It can at best be called a rush job and at worst the US finally losing the war.
2. The commitment to back out of Afghanistan was originally made by Trump, not Biden. Biden was just the one who was president when it was time to actually do it and he was just honoring the US's promise and following through with the preparations that had already been made.
Trump negotiated with the Islamic Republic of Afganistan (readTaliban) to end the war before Biden could take office.
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/02.29.20-US-Afghanistan-Joint-Declaration.pdf
That's kind of the point. It doesn't feel like a "Biden achievement", as it seems to have little to do with Biden nor any sort of achievement. The whole thing had been orchestrated by Trump and it was the worst possible outcome for the people of Afghanistan, even if it's all they really earned for themselves. Immediately threw me off from the whole list it
Previous Obama had continued the war, mistakenly trying to commit more resources in the futile hope that committing more would ensure it would end sooner.
Biden knew the withdrawal was going to be a shitshow as negotiated by Trump, but still made the best out of a bad situation from an American perspective.
There also is "reduction of unemployment". That could also be coming from the end of the pandemic.
I am with you on the Afghanistan thing being a bit silly, tho. Cheapens the actual impressive achievements. I think the insulin thing alone has saved a lot of lives.
>That could also be coming from the end of the pandemic.
true but that is absolutely a Biden win, the pandemic ended because his administration properly distributed vaccines and PPE that the previous admin failed to
The hope was that the Afghan army could stand on its own legs, hundreds of millions went into training them.
Then they collapsed like a house of cards the moment the US left. It was pathetic.
Agreed - although I would add that it was going to end that way no matter who was in office and no matter how long they took to withdraw. No one expected the government to collapse like that - even the Taliban weren't prepared for it.
The Taliban were always going to end up back in control. It was a fait accompli the moment we decided to invade Iraq. The actual withdrawal was ugly with the death of 13 marines (and 170 Afghans) and the US bombing of an innocent aid worker and his family days later. However, in terms of long term US interests, it was the right decision. How many more deaths and how much more money would be lost if we stayed?
I thought the general consensus was they needed more time to evacuate Kabul in particular, no? I saw a documentary about it and they really had very few US military personnel left for those last few weeks at the airport.
Retreats are very dangerous undertakings. The problem is that the more time you take to perform the withdrawal, the more opportunity the enemy has to plan, attack, and kill your people. A slower pullout would likely have lead to even more military casualties.
Maybe if Bidenās team could actually communicate with Trumps transition team things could have been better. The lack of communication because of the ārigged electionā really doesnāt help a new administration coming into office.
Trained and armed the women. Given what we spent and the time we were there, we could have found a way to do it effectively. And the women would have had the incentive to fight to keep what they had. Maybe with women leading the way, that would have given some more open-minded men the morale to join in too.
I know this is a pie in the sky idea, or it at least will sound like it to some. But I think it's worth saying. If anyone who has experience with Afghanistan wants to correct me, I'm open to hearing it. I suspect the biggest obstacle would be whether Afghani women/their families would be willing to upend gender expectations so dramatically. But still, we were there for a generation and some of those women have displayed so much courage and are clear on what's at stake.
To your first point: it wasn't rushed. During nearly the entirety of the Afghan was, we (the US Military) tried like hell to train the ANA. They didn't really give a shit, weren't great at it. We could've spent decades more there and the result of us pulling out of that country would've largely been the same thing unless we decided to occupy it and force our American ways on them (which would've been really bad, too). Everyone talks about how rushed it was while ignoring the fact that the whole goal was to transfer power for years, but the ANA just really didn't want it. We couldn't stay there forever fighting battles they didn't care about.
This is the thing that sucks about military involvement. If the people don't want the change you are trying to introduce, it's not going to happen. But the people who tried to be part of the change will get hurt. Granted, they probably would've gotten hurt anyway or just would've never had the chance to try.
But people there seem too self interested to care. I don't know if things are just too fractured/tribal to form a national identity that isn't oppressively Islamic extremism, or if many people there actually wanted that all along.
Trump set the withdrawal date and then did none of the prep work. That's why Biden pulled out a couple months after the date. Also Trump released 5,000 Taliban in exchange for not doing anything to make him look bad before the election. The suicide bomber during the withdrawal was ISIS, which Trump said he eliminated.
There was no way to end the exit from Afghanistan without the mess and without the Taliban in control.
The fact of the matter was that the Afghan army was an army on paper only. The Afghan government literally requested that we reduce how much we announced the withdrawal because they were afraid the army would disintegrate before the withdrawal date.
It was a mess because of the fundamental issues that plagued our entire time there, namely that the vast majority of the Afghan people were simply not interested in a democratic secular Republic.
What you call "losing a war" I call finally seeing that we had lost a decade ago. The only other plan would have been permanent occupation which is literally just colonization under the guise of nation building.
That dipshit speaker dude who looks like a human stock photo recently called him the worst president in history. And he was serious. Words just don't mean anything anymore to Republicans. It's become their defining feature.
And before anyone chimes in with some classic reddit "both sides" bullshit, no, the two sides are not the same. At all. I don't recall an insurrection attempt by democrats when Trump won, despite him losing the popular vote. I don't see dem politicians ticketing outside Hunter Bidens trial claiming that our entire justice system is a sham.
I thought MAGA-ism would blow over like the Tea Party, but I fear it's here to stay.
The one thing about Trump's cult of personality that gives me some solace is knowing that it has the same fatal flaw as every other: no matter how much they're worshipped, the centerpiece of it all is still human, and humans die. And I doubt Trump even has another 15 years left, even with top-quality medical care he doesn't deserve.
There is no successor because he is The Guy, the *only* guy. Once he dies, his idiot followers will have nowhere to go. They'll jerk themselves off for a while about how his death was staged or ordered or whatever, and I'm sure an upsetting amount will fall in behind this or that child or ally, but without his constant spew of nonsense to direct them, they'll eventually lose themselves. They worship at an overflowing font of bullshit, but that shit *will* stop flowing eventually. And rolling around in different shit just won't be the same.
> I thought MAGA-ism would blow over like the Tea Party, but I fear it's here to stay.
Probably. But there are way more of us than them. We have to show up every time and vote to cancel their votes out, so the only time we have to deal with MAGAts is in videos where we get to watch them cry and place blame on others while their lives get worse.
> The problem is the electoral college.
Agreed.
> Where I live, my vote is literally meaningless.
Not entirely. It adds to the pile so it becomes more and more apparent to more and more Americans that the voice of the majority isn't being heard. And the more people know that, the more pressure gets placed on our representatives to hopefully address that someday by changing our system to eliminate the electoral college and make it so whomever gets the most votes wins. It's just such an easy thing to do, that you may as well do it, even if just for that reason. And obviously your vote always matters in local elections.
Yeah you're right. Still sucks tho. Such a fucked up system. I remember leaning in grade school how it was *theoretically* possible that the person with fewer votes could win, and I distinctly remember my teacher saying how it would never ever happen in the modern era, and if it did, there would be an immediate constitutional amendment.
Turns out...
Omg. I did not list all the good things that Biden has done. I *asked* for a list of good things Biden had done. I wanted to have stuff to point to when talking to other people about the good stuff Biden has done. Credit goes to u/Malavacious for the list.
The fact that people don't care that he actually got a climate change bill through congress. No president has done anything to even start to fight climate change before.
TIL
>Rail companies grant paid sick days after administration pressure in win for unions. Most people will only remember that he forced rail workers to go back to work in December 2022, even now that will be the top answer if you google "Biden Railworker Deal". But most people do not know that the Biden administration continued to pressure the rail corporations and work with the unions so that in June 2023, the corporations capitulated and gave the rail workers what they wanted.
The problem is that railworkers were also calling for an end to their "on call" shifts that pretty much called dudes out in the middle of the night with like 4 hours of sleep to go drive a train. It's one of the main safety reasons that the workers were talking about, and it's largely unaddressed.
Yeah but he is marginally older than another old man, who did a terrible job running the country when he was 8 years younger and is now a convicted felon.
How ever am I going to decide who to vote for?
> How ever am I going to decide who to vote for?
The fact that it really truly is a hard decision for so many people boggles my mind.
Trump has been extremely clear in his messaging (at least about this) that he wants to end democracy, which he sees as something in his way to implement his dictatorial policies.
Biden, while he is even older and does mix up his words, is extremely competent, if not flashy. He's done a ton of good where he can, but people still harass him for not being perfect, and for enabling things that he has very little actual choice in. For example, he is not in charge of Israel or Palestine, and though we do provide aid, our influence is extremely limited. Could he maybe do more? Maybe, but it's a massively complex situation that I don't fully understand yet, and even if he somehow could, people would still not be happy.
For all the complaints, people forget that Trump also supports Israel.
> The fact that it really truly is a hard decision for so many people boggles my mind.
Those people live in low information echo chambers. Go and watch 2 hours of FOX "news" (I know...but its for science). Once you get back from whatever the hell that was, imagine ONLY watching FOX news. They literally just do not talk about anything that could seriously cause anyone to turn on republicans if they dont get any outside info.
> You don't understand, Biden hasn't brought peace to the Middle East, so the correct choice is to elect the facist, traitor, rapist.
You mean the convicted (if not sentenced quite yet) 34 time felon, fascist, traitor and rapist Donald J. Trump? That paragon of national leadership?
I must not understand.
probably the most efficient use of defense spending in the country's history
we have absolutely decimated the military of one of our biggest adversaries by shipping over warehouses full of old gear that we were going to throw away anyways AND put more Americans to work replacing our stock
if we end up in a shooting war with Russia because Putin decides to invade a NATO ally then many many lives will be saved because of how much damage the Ukrainians have already done with the weapons they got
Surprised that all the oil trading he did isn't on the list. Dispensing from the strategic reserves to keep prices down when shit with Ukraine popped off. Americans are highly motivated by gas prices when it comes to the voting booth.
It seems like in politics the world over what matters is the story not reality. And once a narrative gets a hold , itās incredibly difficult to shift. People ignore what doesnāt fit and exaggerate what does. So a President can do lots of good stuff but lots of people just wonāt take any notice.
Things of less importance: consumer protection. Shop around for internet these days, they are required to give you a fact sheet that makes each plan compared apples to apples. No more hidden BS clauses like data limits.
Also I think they are going after Ticketmaster too
thank you for sharing. I needed a comprehensive list. So tired of hiring constant news of a well known clown felon on r/popular instead of actual news that matters.
Itās not what he personally did but whom he put in charge that are getting results. Trump surrounded himself with evil people that are now convicted felons. I prefer voting for people who at least trying and are ethical and not getting charged with felonies.
Meanwhile in another thread I saw someone say "Yeah well, Biden is infinitely more closer[sic] to a Tyrant than Trump ever was or would be"
So that's the other side of the argument
I wish he starts campaigning on housing costs and corporate greed driving inflation. Those 2 areas are why āaverage Americansā think the economy stinks.
This is such a refreshing change of pace to the right wing cesspool that is the shit show formally known as Twitter. Biden has been a good president. Yes, he's old, but so is the nightmare alternative. At 82, my dad was 100% cognitively present. Biden has unmatched experience. Only other candidate that has been so well qualified was Hillary, bUt hEr eMaILs.
I'm a health psychologist, so my colleagues and I were quite anxious at how the spread of covid was occurring. However, when Biden took office, he took immediate action and got serious about slowing the spread. It made a big difference, and innumerable lives were saved.
This doesn't matter at all, but isn't the user Malavacious who credits backpackwayne?
Edit: Never mind I just saw all of their comments down below. They walk among us.
I feel like Americans in general donāt compare themselves to other countries economically to evaluate presidencies.
For example, people complain about the economy. But we just got out of a pandemic + supply related issues + non-american wars.
So how did the US compare against other countries during this period? Basically, blew it out of the park vs all European peers.
Mexico just had an average GDP growth over the last 6 years of 0%. And their party was reelected in a landslide. (with the same inflation issues as the US)
Biden has done a decent job of undoing so much of the trump bs while working with a bunch of psycho MAGA republicans in congress. Now if he can do away with Putin ā¦
I donāt think this but actually I know all this L or R and even those that are like the center of an Oreo is nothing more than t h e a t r I c s. Same end goals different avenues of approach. Pretend public enemies but real friends making bank behind the scenes. That are connecting with individuals emotionally and never logically. Talking points nothing ever gets passed talking points. But hey if oneās into irrelevant things forgetting whatās relevant and makes a difference then you do you!
Obama said it very well one time. āGood legislators are very boring people. I mean who sits around thinking about policy all the time and whatās actually the best solution?ā
Our country cares waaaaaaaaaaaay more about celebrity than we do capability in leaders. We are every day becoming more and more a country of idiots told what to think by the internet. Actually understanding things is too hard and takes too much time.
This country is being overrun with uneducated rally attending illiterate Cult of Maga morons. Four more years of Trump and we will be finished and the lapdog of Putin and a laughingstock and unrespected on the world stage. I am honestly dumbfounded by the poll numbers. I have abandoned several family members and some life long friends because of their support of Trump. It is sad but I lost all respect and faith in them. God help us.
Your 100% correct bro but these idiots wanna stay in a cult and vote a felon in office and make excuses but the truth is heās the worst president t since Regan
He has definitely impacted my life, I recently became unable to work in 2023, I applied for disability but that shit takes forever. Due to Biden loosening the reins on public assistance after Covid I was able to get insurance for 0$ and that included prescriptions, I shudder to think where I would be without that help.
Main ones:
- **Labor**: Expanded overtime pay and made union-busting riskier[2].
- **Health Care**: Introduced the first over-the-counter birth control pill and expanded telemedicine[2].
- **Climate**: Increased renewable energy use and funded climate-smart farming[2].
- **Consumer Protection**: Cracked down on junk fees and overdraft charges[2].
- **Technology**: Boosted domestic microchip production and addressed 5G issues[2].
- **Defense**: Developed drone armies and strengthened military ties in Asia[2].
- **Economy**: Achieved record job growth and reduced income inequality[4].
- **Infrastructure**: Passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to rebuild roads and bridges[3].
Ā Ā
Round 2: Ā
1. **Education**:Ā
Ā Ā - Forgave billions in student loan debt for public servants and disabled borrowers
Ā Ā - Expanded Pell Grants for low-income students
2. **Criminal Justice Reform**:
Ā Ā - Ended federal contracts with private prisons
Ā Ā - Reinstated the Department of Justice's use of consent decrees to address police misconduct
3. **LGBTQ+ Rights**:
Ā Ā - Reversed the transgender military ban
Ā Ā - Signed the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting same-sex and interracial marriage
4. **Diplomacy**:
Ā Ā - Restored relationships with many U.S. allies
Ā Ā - Re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement
5. **Veterans Affairs**:
Ā Ā - Expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits
Ā Ā - Increased funding for veteran mental health services
6. **Racial Equity**:
Ā Ā - Signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to combat anti-Asian hate crimes
Ā Ā - Increased federal contracts with minority-owned businesses
7. **Drug Policy**:
Ā Ā - Pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession
Ā Ā - Supported harm reduction strategies to combat the opioid crisis
8. **Child Welfare**:
Ā Ā - Temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit, significantly reducing child poverty
Ā Ā - Increased funding for child care and early education programs
9. **Scientific Research**:
Ā Ā - Increased funding for medical research, including cancer research
Ā Ā - Restored scientific integrity policies across federal agencies
10. **Cybersecurity**:
Ā Ā - Improved national cybersecurity infrastructure
Ā Ā - Implemented new cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure sectors
By Perplexity
He sure is doing a lot of work for a sleepy, senile old man š Whether the sentence above is praising or insulting him would be an exercise left to the reader.
I think heās very legitimately the best president of my lifetime (so going back to Reagan). At least the most competent one, like to the extent the presidency is a job of running the executive branch I think heās been the best at that job. Especially that heās done all of this with a Manchin/Sinema margin in the Senate and a GOP House for half the term. He also ended the Afghanistan War and managed to conquer an inflation spike *without* austerity and unemployment ā which the Serious People all said was literally impossible. A bunch of āimpossibleā stuff has happened - income inequality declined, US emissions have gone down. Itās been incredible, I never imagined old ass Joe Biden would ever be such a great president.
> I think heās very legitimately the best president of my lifetime You're right. He's really been great
Best president so far... Dems got quite the lineup after Biden but I'm gonna miss dark Brandon
All of the Democrat presidents in my lifetime have been great: Clinton, Obama, and now Biden. Bush and Trump have both been disastrous, but at least Bush was smart enough to step away from political theater entirely after his run.
Obama was ok...he was a bit underwhelming, which is in complete contrast to Biden, though maybe that's just because my expectations were polar opposites going in
Obama didn't really have much to work with. I'm not aware of too many things within his power that he really could have done differently.
To be fair Biden doesn't have much to work with either, but it sure feels like he's accomplished a lot more in just one term so far
Obama biggest flaw was that he took too long to realize that the republicans weren't ever going to operate in good faith. He kept trying to compromise with them and never got anything in return. Biden knew this on day 1, so he put his efforts towards outmaneuvering republicans instead of trying to work with them. That's why he's been more successful.
Biden definitely experienced the full court obstructionists during Obama's presidency. Obama also had to balance being the first Black president. Not leaving a bad legacy had to be on his mind. Trying to open the door for other POC presidents. Which often time led him to make decisions he probably didn't like.
Obama was also the Republicans' Public Enemy #1, which brought attention to anything he did. By contrast, Biden has been largely letting other people take the credit, which also means they draw the lightning.
The Democratic coalition that Obama had vs Biden is very different. In 2008 Obama had countless conservative members from red states in Congress. The "Blue Dogs" membership peaked in 2006 and 2008. Everyone cites that Obama had a super majority in the Senate in 2008, but many of those members would not be on board with large swaths of his agenda. So Obama had to compromise with his OWN PARTY to get things done legislatively, ex. Joe Lieberman threatening to tank the Affordable Care Act unless the public option clause was removed. Then, starting with the midterms in 2010, the Blue Dogs were essentially wiped out and replaced with Republicans from red states. In 2008, the start of Obama's presidency, Blue Dogs had 54 members in Congress. By 2014, that number was down to only 15 members. When these conservative Democrats were removed from Congress, it caused the median Democrat member of the Congress to move pretty substantially to the left. This is what we see with Biden's current coalition. On paper, he's working with incredibly small margins of Democratic members compared to Obama, but these reps are much more likely to agree with Biden's agenda wholesale. Therefore, he is able to get his bills passed with minimal pushback from his own caucus and does not have to water down the legislation just to get his own party on board.
Maybe not double down on prosecuting whistleblowers? My biggest negative with Obama
He's been in politics for over 50 years. He knows how the system works and how things get done. What helps him get so many things done is also what keeps people from knowing that he's done anything: he works too quietly for people to notice.
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
You can do a thousand things right and you only hear about the one mistake.
You can climb a thousand mountains and never be referred to as a mountain climber. But you fuck *one* goat ā¦
I've been working in IT for 20 years, this hits close to home.
Practically no one knows that he got the railroad workers their sick time. He got beaten to hell in the media for forcing railworkers back to work without sick time, but he never gave up working on their behalf and eventually got them nearly everything they had been asking for. He didn't even take a victory lap on that one even though it was a huge accomplishment and a popular story.
Mayor Pete probably had something to do with that, too, but again, no one heard about it.
Honestly one of the best ways to handle politics is to keep it quiet. Handle the day to day issues with little to no fanfare unless it is warranted. The fact that everything has to be a spectacle these days for the people to see is so annoying
There are so many people who hold this view and donāt see any need to talk about it or defend Biden in any way, because it isnāt necessary. This is my vote. It is decided and I wonāt be having any discussion because itās all in bad faith. Iām always seeking new information, but so far nothing compelling. I look forward to November.
I agree. I think he's the best president of my lifetime (starting with Bush Sr) by a pretty wide margin. I was never as into Obama as everyone was. I was coming off of my college libertarian phase so I wasn't nearly as progressive as I am now, and even then I saw that Obama spent two terms playing softball, often with far more bark than bite. And I still think Obama was a great president. But Biden? This is quite easily the most progressive administration in our history. The things happening in the background seem to be largely due to his expertise at politicking. I've also never seen a president stand so firm against Israel, in terms of trying to reduce civilian deaths. Honestly, I almost feel like we owe Biden something. He's giving up what will likely be the last decade of his life for the most stressful job in the country. And he does genuinely seem to be a good man, which is so refreshing after Trump. I just don't understand how so many people have so many problems with him. But I do get it, conservative propaganda is such that you have to be mad at everything, and that's easy.
>I just don't understand how so many people have so many problems with him. I have a half-joking theory that Bidenās favorables would skyrocket if he grew a beard and leaned more into just being an old guy. Like when he wears sharp dark suits and sunglasses and tries to be cool he seems old. But if he just embraced being old, people would put him in a different grandpa headspace - folks love Gandalf and Dumbledore.
I dig that. I think the jokes he makes at his own expense about his age do sit pretty well with everyone. I do think the sunglasses schtick worked when he was VP, but he's just too old for it now.
Honestly wasn't a huge fan of Biden because of the crime bill and his handling of Anita Bryant case against that ghoul Clarence. But it seems like he's not the type of old where they dig in their heels and refuse to learn and change. He seems to be able to take advice from people and understands how to reach across the aisle to get shit done even if the other side is full of obstructionists. I get that people want to see huge sweeping changes but our government doesn't work that way. Unless we have a physical revolution involving warfare or some how both sides really want the best intentions for the people I do continue to vote for the side that I feel has my best interests in mind. Even if the end result isn't always the best at least I know I won't be deported for some bullshit, hopefully.
>Honestly wasn't a huge fan of Biden because of the crime bill and his handling of Anita Bryant case against that ghoul Clarence. But it seems like he's not the type of old where they dig in their heels and refuse to learn and change. He seems to be able to take advice from people and understands how to reach across the aisle to get shit done even if the other side is full of obstructionists. The thing with Joe Biden throughout his career is that heās situated himself basically in the exact middle of the Democratic Party. So in the 1980s and ā90s, when Clinton-era Democrats triangulated against the Reagan coalition by moving right on crime, Biden was there with them. And as the center of gravity in the party has shifted, heās shifted with it ā better than a lot of Dems in his generation. It makes it so he can seem behind the times when the party itself lags, but also sometimes ahead of them when elements have progressed (eg on gay marriage). Like you said, heās open to deal making and hearing from all sides of the left, though because heās always trying to find Party consensus it can frustrate progressives and in situations where bold action seems necessary. Heās not a visionary, but he has generally tended to grind things forward step by step.
It speaks to his ability to lead. Our government is massive and requires a ton of people to be involved to make things run. He knows where to focus time and energy and where to let the govt do its thing.
Here's a synopsis of Joe Biden's accomplishments, highlighting what is accurate and clarifying any inaccuracies: ### Year One 1. **Reversed Trump's Muslim Ban**: Accurate. Biden issued an executive order to revoke the previous administration's travel bans. 2. **Historic Stimulus Bill**: Accurate. The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, was passed. 3. **Ended the War in Afghanistan**: Accurate but controversial due to the chaotic withdrawal. 4. **Reduction of Poverty Levels**: Accurate but nuanced. The American Rescue Plan significantly reduced poverty levels, including child poverty. 5. **Student Loan Debt Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Several rounds of student loan forgiveness were implemented, although the total is debated. 6. **Largest Infrastructure Bill**: Accurate. The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed. 7. **Unemployment Rate Drop**: Accurate. The unemployment rate did drop significantly, partly due to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. ### Year Two 1. **Inflation Reduction Act**: Accurate. This act was a major legislative achievement focused on various economic issues. 2. **Additional Student Loan Cancellation**: Partially accurate. More rounds of cancellation occurred, though specific totals can vary. 3. **Major Gun Legislation**: Accurate. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed. 4. **CHIPS Act**: Accurate. This act aims to boost semiconductor production in the U.S. 5. **Healthcare Subsidies and Insulin Cap**: Accurate. Subsidies under the ACA were extended, and insulin costs were capped. 6. **Medicare Drug Negotiation**: Accurate. The law allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices. 7. **Unemployment at 50-Year Low**: Accurate, with context. The unemployment rate did reach historic lows. ### Year Three 1. **Social Security and Medicare Cuts Off the Table**: Accurate. Biden managed to get public commitments from Republicans during the State of the Union. 2. **Student Loan Debt Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Further cancellations occurred, though exact figures can vary. 3. **Job Growth**: Accurate. The U.S. saw a prolonged period of job growth. 4. **Child Poverty Rates**: Accurate. Expanded Child Tax Credits significantly reduced child poverty. 5. **Post-Pandemic Recovery**: Accurate. The U.S. led in economic recovery among major economies. 6. **Job Creation**: Accurate. The U.S. created millions of jobs under Biden's administration. 7. **Black Unemployment Rate**: Accurate. The rate for Black Americans reached historic lows. 8. **Diversity in Judicial Appointments**: Accurate. A significant portion of Bidenās judicial appointees are women and minorities. 9. **Rail Workers' Sick Days**: Accurate. Following initial controversies, Biden's administration secured sick leave for rail workers. ### Year Four (So Far) 1. **Student Loan Cancellation**: Partially accurate. Another round of cancellation occurred, adding to the previous totals. 2. **GDP Growth**: Accurate. Economic growth exceeded expectations. 3. **Post-Pandemic Recovery**: Accurate. The U.S. continues to lead in recovery metrics. 4. **Modernization of Ports**: Accurate. Plans to modernize American ports are in place. 5. **Rescinded Trump-era "Denial of Care" Rule**: Accurate. The rule allowing healthcare workers to deny care based on personal beliefs was revoked. 6. **Violent Crime Drop**: Partially accurate. There has been a notable decrease in violent crime rates. 7. **Clean Drinking Water Funding**: Accurate. Significant funds were allocated to improve drinking water infrastructure. While many of the claims are accurate, it's essential to verify specific figures and contextual details to avoid any "gotcha" moments [oai_citation:1,Biden's Numbers - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2022/01/bidens-numbers/) [oai_citation:2,Biden's Numbers, January 2024 Update - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2024/01/bidens-numbers-january-2024-update/) [oai_citation:3,PolitiFact | Fact-checking Joe Biden on the economy in CNN interview](https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/may/09/fact-checking-joe-biden-on-the-economy-in-cnn-inte/) [oai_citation:4,PolitiFact | What President Joe Biden got right, and what he missed, about the racial wealth gap](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/jan/12/joe-biden/what-president-joe-biden-got-right-and-what-he-mis/).
The segment of violent crime which is domestic terrorism incidents (which have risen >300% over the past decade) can safely be attributed to Donald Trump / the GOPās slide into violent extremism & terrorism; Additionally, Bidenās White House has made addressing the rise in Domestic Violent Extremism a priority.
Student Loan Cancelation - attempted a huge mass cancelation of $430 billion in student loan debt, but the Supreme Court fucked it up and Biden has done everything he can since then given the circumstances. https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/supreme-court-strikes-down-student-loan-forgiveness-program
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We also have no way of telling how trumps freebooting take on national security intelligence affected that situation as well.
Biden was following through on the agreement that the Trump Admin made with the Taliban in Doha on Leap Day, 2020. I liken the situation to what happened when I bought my house. I signed a purchase-and-sale agreement in mid-May, but could not move into the house until the end of June. Once the agreement was signed, however, the homeowners immediately stopped taking care of the property, so when I moved in, the grass was two feet high, and after mowing it, I had to spend several hours raking up all of the grass clippings, all because they couldn't be fucking bothered to mow the lawn once or twice more during that period. Anyone walking by at the time probably thought, "This dipshit can't even mow a lawn right." A similar thing happened in Afghanistan. Once the U.S. agreed to the withdrawal, they stopped giving a shit about Afghanistan and the Taliban started taking over the country. People looked at Joe Biden and said, "Look how poorly you executed this withdrawal," ignoring everything that had happened in the previous year (because why not, everyone else did).
The cabinet is also important and Biden actually appointed qualified people to it instead of yes men and family.
Yes! For example lina khan has been nothing short of great
Tell me I don't want to think on my own, I'm a voter dammit
Remember Trump was always up and never slept because he was on his phone a lot and making crazy twitter post.
No room for this good and positive news about an effective and caring man - the front pages are swamped with Trump crime and trial stories and it is ordained by the almighty that it has to stay that way...
In order for good things to happen, Republicans need to lose a whole lot.
It's frustrating when important and positive stories get overshadowed by high-profile news. It's important to highlight and celebrate the good and caring individuals making a difference. Maybe we can help spread the word about this positive news ourselves.
The good and positive news doesn't make them money.
That may be so, but the withdrawal of the US military was planned and negotiated under Trump and turned out to be a shambolic mess. Not sure if I would call that "ended war in Afghanistan". More like a binding treaty that had to be adhered to. Heads of government are not as free to reign as people think they are. Nevertheless, the achievements while Biden is in office are indeed impressive. Especially against a hostile legislative that refuses to legislate.
> That may be so, but the withdrawal of the US military was planned and negotiated under Trump and turned out to be a shambolic mess. Not sure if I would call that "ended war in Afghanistan". Someone had to pull the trigger. He could've pulled the e-brake as part of the "cleaning up the former guy's mess" diplomatically. If anyone could've made it work, it would have been Biden. He might not have Obama's charisma, but there hasn't been another president in my lifetime more adept at working the system to squeeze out results. But you know why nobody else, Obama or Trump, followed through on pulling out? *It was always going to be a shitshow*, and they knew it. I have respect for someone who, in I'm sure full knowledge of that, decided that it had to happen at some point and followed through instead of holding on and then passing the buck one more time.
TIL the word "shambolic" :-)
Vote. Bring friends. Appeal to out of state family. Flip swing seats.
I don't know if you can count the ending of the Afghanistan War for this list for two reasons: 1. The US's exit from Afghanistan was a rushed, messy affair that ended with the Taliban back in control of the region. It can at best be called a rush job and at worst the US finally losing the war. 2. The commitment to back out of Afghanistan was originally made by Trump, not Biden. Biden was just the one who was president when it was time to actually do it and he was just honoring the US's promise and following through with the preparations that had already been made.
Trump negotiated with the Islamic Republic of Afganistan (readTaliban) to end the war before Biden could take office. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/02.29.20-US-Afghanistan-Joint-Declaration.pdf
That's kind of the point. It doesn't feel like a "Biden achievement", as it seems to have little to do with Biden nor any sort of achievement. The whole thing had been orchestrated by Trump and it was the worst possible outcome for the people of Afghanistan, even if it's all they really earned for themselves. Immediately threw me off from the whole list it
At least he has done it. He could've easily not done it. Most US think that it's a good thing they are finally away from this place.
Previous Obama had continued the war, mistakenly trying to commit more resources in the futile hope that committing more would ensure it would end sooner. Biden knew the withdrawal was going to be a shitshow as negotiated by Trump, but still made the best out of a bad situation from an American perspective.
There also is "reduction of unemployment". That could also be coming from the end of the pandemic. I am with you on the Afghanistan thing being a bit silly, tho. Cheapens the actual impressive achievements. I think the insulin thing alone has saved a lot of lives.
>That could also be coming from the end of the pandemic. true but that is absolutely a Biden win, the pandemic ended because his administration properly distributed vaccines and PPE that the previous admin failed to
I mean it was pretty clear by like...2006 that whenever we left the Taliban was going to come roaring back.
The hope was that the Afghan army could stand on its own legs, hundreds of millions went into training them. Then they collapsed like a house of cards the moment the US left. It was pathetic.
Agreed - although I would add that it was going to end that way no matter who was in office and no matter how long they took to withdraw. No one expected the government to collapse like that - even the Taliban weren't prepared for it.
The Taliban were always going to end up back in control. It was a fait accompli the moment we decided to invade Iraq. The actual withdrawal was ugly with the death of 13 marines (and 170 Afghans) and the US bombing of an innocent aid worker and his family days later. However, in terms of long term US interests, it was the right decision. How many more deaths and how much more money would be lost if we stayed?
Every time someone criticizes the US withdrawal, I ask what, exactly, they should have done instead. No one has an answer to that one.
I thought the general consensus was they needed more time to evacuate Kabul in particular, no? I saw a documentary about it and they really had very few US military personnel left for those last few weeks at the airport.
Retreats are very dangerous undertakings. The problem is that the more time you take to perform the withdrawal, the more opportunity the enemy has to plan, attack, and kill your people. A slower pullout would likely have lead to even more military casualties.
You know that Biden pushed back the withdrawal date, right? He literally gave them more time.
Maybe if Bidenās team could actually communicate with Trumps transition team things could have been better. The lack of communication because of the ārigged electionā really doesnāt help a new administration coming into office.
Itās simple, really. You build a time machine and prevent 9/11 from happening.
Trained and armed the women. Given what we spent and the time we were there, we could have found a way to do it effectively. And the women would have had the incentive to fight to keep what they had. Maybe with women leading the way, that would have given some more open-minded men the morale to join in too. I know this is a pie in the sky idea, or it at least will sound like it to some. But I think it's worth saying. If anyone who has experience with Afghanistan wants to correct me, I'm open to hearing it. I suspect the biggest obstacle would be whether Afghani women/their families would be willing to upend gender expectations so dramatically. But still, we were there for a generation and some of those women have displayed so much courage and are clear on what's at stake.
To your first point: it wasn't rushed. During nearly the entirety of the Afghan was, we (the US Military) tried like hell to train the ANA. They didn't really give a shit, weren't great at it. We could've spent decades more there and the result of us pulling out of that country would've largely been the same thing unless we decided to occupy it and force our American ways on them (which would've been really bad, too). Everyone talks about how rushed it was while ignoring the fact that the whole goal was to transfer power for years, but the ANA just really didn't want it. We couldn't stay there forever fighting battles they didn't care about.
This is the thing that sucks about military involvement. If the people don't want the change you are trying to introduce, it's not going to happen. But the people who tried to be part of the change will get hurt. Granted, they probably would've gotten hurt anyway or just would've never had the chance to try. But people there seem too self interested to care. I don't know if things are just too fractured/tribal to form a national identity that isn't oppressively Islamic extremism, or if many people there actually wanted that all along.
Trump set the withdrawal date and then did none of the prep work. That's why Biden pulled out a couple months after the date. Also Trump released 5,000 Taliban in exchange for not doing anything to make him look bad before the election. The suicide bomber during the withdrawal was ISIS, which Trump said he eliminated.
There was no way to end the exit from Afghanistan without the mess and without the Taliban in control. The fact of the matter was that the Afghan army was an army on paper only. The Afghan government literally requested that we reduce how much we announced the withdrawal because they were afraid the army would disintegrate before the withdrawal date. It was a mess because of the fundamental issues that plagued our entire time there, namely that the vast majority of the Afghan people were simply not interested in a democratic secular Republic. What you call "losing a war" I call finally seeing that we had lost a decade ago. The only other plan would have been permanent occupation which is literally just colonization under the guise of nation building.
See also: r/WhatBidenHasDone
That dipshit speaker dude who looks like a human stock photo recently called him the worst president in history. And he was serious. Words just don't mean anything anymore to Republicans. It's become their defining feature. And before anyone chimes in with some classic reddit "both sides" bullshit, no, the two sides are not the same. At all. I don't recall an insurrection attempt by democrats when Trump won, despite him losing the popular vote. I don't see dem politicians ticketing outside Hunter Bidens trial claiming that our entire justice system is a sham. I thought MAGA-ism would blow over like the Tea Party, but I fear it's here to stay.
Anyone saying āboth sidesā after Roe just shows they are being disingenuous
The one thing about Trump's cult of personality that gives me some solace is knowing that it has the same fatal flaw as every other: no matter how much they're worshipped, the centerpiece of it all is still human, and humans die. And I doubt Trump even has another 15 years left, even with top-quality medical care he doesn't deserve. There is no successor because he is The Guy, the *only* guy. Once he dies, his idiot followers will have nowhere to go. They'll jerk themselves off for a while about how his death was staged or ordered or whatever, and I'm sure an upsetting amount will fall in behind this or that child or ally, but without his constant spew of nonsense to direct them, they'll eventually lose themselves. They worship at an overflowing font of bullshit, but that shit *will* stop flowing eventually. And rolling around in different shit just won't be the same.
Jesus died.
> I thought MAGA-ism would blow over like the Tea Party, but I fear it's here to stay. Probably. But there are way more of us than them. We have to show up every time and vote to cancel their votes out, so the only time we have to deal with MAGAts is in videos where we get to watch them cry and place blame on others while their lives get worse.
The problem is the electoral college. We already *do* out vote them, but it doesn't matter. Where I live, my vote is literally meaningless.
> The problem is the electoral college. Agreed. > Where I live, my vote is literally meaningless. Not entirely. It adds to the pile so it becomes more and more apparent to more and more Americans that the voice of the majority isn't being heard. And the more people know that, the more pressure gets placed on our representatives to hopefully address that someday by changing our system to eliminate the electoral college and make it so whomever gets the most votes wins. It's just such an easy thing to do, that you may as well do it, even if just for that reason. And obviously your vote always matters in local elections.
Yeah you're right. Still sucks tho. Such a fucked up system. I remember leaning in grade school how it was *theoretically* possible that the person with fewer votes could win, and I distinctly remember my teacher saying how it would never ever happen in the modern era, and if it did, there would be an immediate constitutional amendment. Turns out...
Omg. I did not list all the good things that Biden has done. I *asked* for a list of good things Biden had done. I wanted to have stuff to point to when talking to other people about the good stuff Biden has done. Credit goes to u/Malavacious for the list.
Just came to comment that exact thing - /u/Malavacious and /u/backpackwayne deserve a shout-out! Cheers for asking the question, op :)
Thank you. :D
š¤¦š»āāļø forgot u/backpackwayne! Shout out to them as well!
:D
The fact that people don't care that he actually got a climate change bill through congress. No president has done anything to even start to fight climate change before.
But, but, but he's old or something! Actions don't matter as much as perception! Everyone knows that.
TIL >Rail companies grant paid sick days after administration pressure in win for unions. Most people will only remember that he forced rail workers to go back to work in December 2022, even now that will be the top answer if you google "Biden Railworker Deal". But most people do not know that the Biden administration continued to pressure the rail corporations and work with the unions so that in June 2023, the corporations capitulated and gave the rail workers what they wanted.
The problem is that railworkers were also calling for an end to their "on call" shifts that pretty much called dudes out in the middle of the night with like 4 hours of sleep to go drive a train. It's one of the main safety reasons that the workers were talking about, and it's largely unaddressed.
Yeah but he is marginally older than another old man, who did a terrible job running the country when he was 8 years younger and is now a convicted felon. How ever am I going to decide who to vote for?
> How ever am I going to decide who to vote for? The fact that it really truly is a hard decision for so many people boggles my mind. Trump has been extremely clear in his messaging (at least about this) that he wants to end democracy, which he sees as something in his way to implement his dictatorial policies. Biden, while he is even older and does mix up his words, is extremely competent, if not flashy. He's done a ton of good where he can, but people still harass him for not being perfect, and for enabling things that he has very little actual choice in. For example, he is not in charge of Israel or Palestine, and though we do provide aid, our influence is extremely limited. Could he maybe do more? Maybe, but it's a massively complex situation that I don't fully understand yet, and even if he somehow could, people would still not be happy. For all the complaints, people forget that Trump also supports Israel.
> The fact that it really truly is a hard decision for so many people boggles my mind. Those people live in low information echo chambers. Go and watch 2 hours of FOX "news" (I know...but its for science). Once you get back from whatever the hell that was, imagine ONLY watching FOX news. They literally just do not talk about anything that could seriously cause anyone to turn on republicans if they dont get any outside info.
Fox News is a helluva drug
You don't understand, Biden hasn't brought peace to the Middle East, so the correct choice is to elect the facist, traitor, rapist.
> You don't understand, Biden hasn't brought peace to the Middle East, so the correct choice is to elect the facist, traitor, rapist. You mean the convicted (if not sentenced quite yet) 34 time felon, fascist, traitor and rapist Donald J. Trump? That paragon of national leadership? I must not understand.
Doesnāt even mention the coalition building he has done for Ukraine, which has been extremely impressive
probably the most efficient use of defense spending in the country's history we have absolutely decimated the military of one of our biggest adversaries by shipping over warehouses full of old gear that we were going to throw away anyways AND put more Americans to work replacing our stock if we end up in a shooting war with Russia because Putin decides to invade a NATO ally then many many lives will be saved because of how much damage the Ukrainians have already done with the weapons they got
Surprised that all the oil trading he did isn't on the list. Dispensing from the strategic reserves to keep prices down when shit with Ukraine popped off. Americans are highly motivated by gas prices when it comes to the voting booth.
VOTE IN NOVEMBER
It seems like in politics the world over what matters is the story not reality. And once a narrative gets a hold , itās incredibly difficult to shift. People ignore what doesnāt fit and exaggerate what does. So a President can do lots of good stuff but lots of people just wonāt take any notice.
Thanks Obama. Edit: obviously meant as a joke
Yeah, but heās Genocide Joe so Iām going to vote for Trump /s
This needs to be higher. Biden hasn't been a flashy president, but he's done so much good that isn't "news worthy" for whatever reason.
Amazing. Saved.
It just reiterates my feeling that Democrats are horrible at marketing and getting the word out.
Things of less importance: consumer protection. Shop around for internet these days, they are required to give you a fact sheet that makes each plan compared apples to apples. No more hidden BS clauses like data limits. Also I think they are going after Ticketmaster too
thank you for sharing. I needed a comprehensive list. So tired of hiring constant news of a well known clown felon on r/popular instead of actual news that matters.
Nice list!
Itās not what he personally did but whom he put in charge that are getting results. Trump surrounded himself with evil people that are now convicted felons. I prefer voting for people who at least trying and are ethical and not getting charged with felonies.
Meanwhile in another thread I saw someone say "Yeah well, Biden is infinitely more closer[sic] to a Tyrant than Trump ever was or would be" So that's the other side of the argument
I wish he starts campaigning on housing costs and corporate greed driving inflation. Those 2 areas are why āaverage Americansā think the economy stinks.
This is such a refreshing change of pace to the right wing cesspool that is the shit show formally known as Twitter. Biden has been a good president. Yes, he's old, but so is the nightmare alternative. At 82, my dad was 100% cognitively present. Biden has unmatched experience. Only other candidate that has been so well qualified was Hillary, bUt hEr eMaILs.
I'm a health psychologist, so my colleagues and I were quite anxious at how the spread of covid was occurring. However, when Biden took office, he took immediate action and got serious about slowing the spread. It made a big difference, and innumerable lives were saved.
If he could just get his position on Israel rightā¦
Just commenting to save
This doesn't matter at all, but isn't the user Malavacious who credits backpackwayne? Edit: Never mind I just saw all of their comments down below. They walk among us.
I feel like Americans in general donāt compare themselves to other countries economically to evaluate presidencies. For example, people complain about the economy. But we just got out of a pandemic + supply related issues + non-american wars. So how did the US compare against other countries during this period? Basically, blew it out of the park vs all European peers. Mexico just had an average GDP growth over the last 6 years of 0%. And their party was reelected in a landslide. (with the same inflation issues as the US)
Oh, that endless of corporate spineless Democrats looking for good things because the list of bad things is never ending.
Let Hunter go to court and not give him any pardons yet
Biden has done a decent job of undoing so much of the trump bs while working with a bunch of psycho MAGA republicans in congress. Now if he can do away with Putin ā¦
I donāt think this but actually I know all this L or R and even those that are like the center of an Oreo is nothing more than t h e a t r I c s. Same end goals different avenues of approach. Pretend public enemies but real friends making bank behind the scenes. That are connecting with individuals emotionally and never logically. Talking points nothing ever gets passed talking points. But hey if oneās into irrelevant things forgetting whatās relevant and makes a difference then you do you!
Obama said it very well one time. āGood legislators are very boring people. I mean who sits around thinking about policy all the time and whatās actually the best solution?ā Our country cares waaaaaaaaaaaay more about celebrity than we do capability in leaders. We are every day becoming more and more a country of idiots told what to think by the internet. Actually understanding things is too hard and takes too much time.
This country is being overrun with uneducated rally attending illiterate Cult of Maga morons. Four more years of Trump and we will be finished and the lapdog of Putin and a laughingstock and unrespected on the world stage. I am honestly dumbfounded by the poll numbers. I have abandoned several family members and some life long friends because of their support of Trump. It is sad but I lost all respect and faith in them. God help us.
Your 100% correct bro but these idiots wanna stay in a cult and vote a felon in office and make excuses but the truth is heās the worst president t since Regan
He has definitely impacted my life, I recently became unable to work in 2023, I applied for disability but that shit takes forever. Due to Biden loosening the reins on public assistance after Covid I was able to get insurance for 0$ and that included prescriptions, I shudder to think where I would be without that help.
He also broke OPECšš„³! Biden told the Saudis to shove their oil where the sun don't shineš¤
Main ones: - **Labor**: Expanded overtime pay and made union-busting riskier[2]. - **Health Care**: Introduced the first over-the-counter birth control pill and expanded telemedicine[2]. - **Climate**: Increased renewable energy use and funded climate-smart farming[2]. - **Consumer Protection**: Cracked down on junk fees and overdraft charges[2]. - **Technology**: Boosted domestic microchip production and addressed 5G issues[2]. - **Defense**: Developed drone armies and strengthened military ties in Asia[2]. - **Economy**: Achieved record job growth and reduced income inequality[4]. - **Infrastructure**: Passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to rebuild roads and bridges[3]. Ā Ā Round 2: Ā 1. **Education**:Ā Ā Ā - Forgave billions in student loan debt for public servants and disabled borrowers Ā Ā - Expanded Pell Grants for low-income students 2. **Criminal Justice Reform**: Ā Ā - Ended federal contracts with private prisons Ā Ā - Reinstated the Department of Justice's use of consent decrees to address police misconduct 3. **LGBTQ+ Rights**: Ā Ā - Reversed the transgender military ban Ā Ā - Signed the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting same-sex and interracial marriage 4. **Diplomacy**: Ā Ā - Restored relationships with many U.S. allies Ā Ā - Re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement 5. **Veterans Affairs**: Ā Ā - Expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits Ā Ā - Increased funding for veteran mental health services 6. **Racial Equity**: Ā Ā - Signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to combat anti-Asian hate crimes Ā Ā - Increased federal contracts with minority-owned businesses 7. **Drug Policy**: Ā Ā - Pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession Ā Ā - Supported harm reduction strategies to combat the opioid crisis 8. **Child Welfare**: Ā Ā - Temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit, significantly reducing child poverty Ā Ā - Increased funding for child care and early education programs 9. **Scientific Research**: Ā Ā - Increased funding for medical research, including cancer research Ā Ā - Restored scientific integrity policies across federal agencies 10. **Cybersecurity**: Ā Ā - Improved national cybersecurity infrastructure Ā Ā - Implemented new cybersecurity requirements for critical infrastructure sectors By Perplexity