By Eric Blair

To hear the self-appointed media prognosticators, President Biden might as well step down from the office he assumed just a year ago, as he is being universally panned for his performance (remember when presidents’ actions were called policy, not performance? Reagan- of Bedtime for Bonzo fame- might have changed all that) to date. Despite a fusillade of acerb impugning his stutter, his sanity and his stoicism, Biden has “shown up” and done an admirable job with the hand he was dealt by the unscrupulous card sharks that form the opposition party.

At his approximately two-hour long press conference marking the first anniversary of his presidency, Biden fielded questions ranging across the foreign and domestic landscape, while still maintaining a view to the future of what needs to be done for a country addled with a pandemic and a political climate of equal toxicity and virulence. The President asked the inquiry for the ages: What are the Republicans for? 

A charitable response would be to say it is reflexive and perpetual obscurantism and opposition to anything on the Democratic agenda, merely for being what the Dems are offering (with the exception of begrudging and perfunctory resolutions marking the heritage du mois. 

At worst, the GOP has shown itself to possess a near criminal disregard for the well-being of the American people, arguably complicit, even directing in some quarters the subversion of American democracy through insurrections and voter suppression efforts.

Biden cannot expect much from the Republicans, who have been notably disciplined and united in their collective malevolence. But wither the Democrats, some, like Senators Sinema and Manchin who could rightly be sued for copyright infringement for improperly bearing the party affiliation? And what of the progressives, who fought the good fight for their desired issues in the Build Back Better agenda that is dead on arrival? 

Presidents no longer have the luxury to consider a full, one-term agenda, let alone ponder reelection. While the White House offers four-year leases, Washington now works around the calendar of Congress and its two-year blocks. All attention is on the midterms, and a political party that once prided itself as being the experts on U.S. foreign policy has ignored the impending threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continuing rise of China as the dominant global power, and oh yes, a pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on Americans and a normal rhythm of life.

Biden the realist refuses to be enslaved by the thought of legacy; James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Biden’s predecessor have ensured the medal podium of presidential ignominy is already filled. The 46th president is conscious that merely shepherding the nation through the post-Trump chaos, Covid and a depraved opposition is not enough. He will have to curb the appetites of progressives, who should wake up to the reality that America was never as progressive as they thought it was or urged it to be. He needs to remind Americans that the economy is still strong; inflation could be reduced if Covid disruptions are minimized, something that can occur if the vaccination rate and masking protocols are increased. As the country hurtles toward another contentious election season, Biden must appeal directly to the American people, without intercessors of questionable reliability from his own party, a media that fetishizes alarmism or certainly a hostile, depraved GOP. He can and still has time to make his case in his comfort zone: As folksy Uncle Joe, now that he knows that no one seems to care about whether any legislative agenda, his or anyone else’s makes it to the Resolute Desk this year.