While President Biden tried his best Harry Truman impression, the buck should not stop on his desk. When the country fell into the grasp of inflation and Fortune 500 companies admitted—out loud—they were taking advantage by pushing up prices until the public yelled ‘uncle!’ the people blamed Joe Biden. Accountable.US said in a new report, ‘Instead of keeping costs stable for struggling families, corporations have overcharged Americans and prioritized profit,’ the group claims. There were other factors, but Americans are adept at finding a singular villain for multi-layered problems.
Most observers believe the Supreme Court is poised to reverse Mr. Biden’s efforts to relieve the thousands carrying crushing student loan debt. Shortly after Mr. Biden was elected, I spoke to a woman who felt Joe Biden did not live up to his promise to reduce some of the loan debt. I tried explaining the intricacies of congressional intransigence. She is a Republican, and despite her party’s resistance to doing anything, she blamed Joe Biden. If the Supreme Court stops the student loan relief program, there will be a collective sigh and finger point at the President.
For over 20 years, the American public begged for a way out of a middle eastern conflict that killed thousands, both Americans, Iraqis, and Afghans. President(s) Obama and Biden drew a straight line between two points and withdrew from conflicts that the late John McCain and other Republicans were willing to stay for 100 years; The United States military could stay in Iraq for “maybe a hundred years” and that “would be fine with me,”John McCain told two hundred or sopeople at a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire in January 2008.Republicans object to America being the world’s policeman unless it is a Republican in office.
I am not sure what the GOP expected on our withdrawal from Afghanistan. The deaths of 13 Marines were a tragedy and a horrific ordeal for their surviving families. On what was labeled Operation Frequent Wind, four American marines were killed on the last day of evacuation from Vietnam. November 11, 1918, was the last day of World War I, and eleven thousand men— representing both sides died within hours of the Armistice. Wars are hideous displays of brutality, gore, and inhumanity from start to finish, and none have ended without bloodshed.
I have not so quickly forgotten the dismay of the Trump years. Memory is proving to be elusive, even in the short term. Thousands died from his dreadful mishandling of a killer virus and the near crash of the economy—the standing of the United States was in shambles with our allies. Mr. Trump was accused of extorting a foreign leader in Ukraine and condoning the murder of a journalist with the Washington Post. Also, as much as 2 billion dollars was paid to Jared Kushner by the Saudis on his way out the door.
Joe Biden…
On November 3, 2020, Joe Biden retied the bow tightly on the aspirational ribbon of America. Unfortunately, rioters pulled out their fingers before the package was secured, and the bow unraveled. America has always bound its wounds through self-destructive behavior, internal and foreign wars, and political strife. On this last night of Black History Month, I am reminded of Dr. King, who wrote, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
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