I’ve never considered myself the emotional type. Most of the time, when others cry, I don’t feel like doing the same. So, the feeling I’m getting now is new to me. I don’t even know exactly how to explain it.
I’m talking about a feeling in my chest, call it some kind of heartache for any better description, when I see the low poll ratings President Joe Biden is currently experiencing as he tries his best to fulfill the enormous responsibilities with which he’s been saddled.
Recent polling shows his approval rating dipping to a low of 33%. Yes, much of that drop is due to a disapproval rate by polled Republicans of 94%. Although it helps explain the political aspect of the low rate, it saddens me that Americans, Democrat and Republican, apparently can’t join together in supporting our president as he faces enormous pressures on a daily basis.
I would like to place his distractors in his position to see how much better they might perform with all that the president currently has on his plate. My guess is the majority wouldn’t last more than a week or two. I know I wouldn’t. It’s been a 24/7 nightmare.
Even being president doesn’t empower someone to solve every problem on his own. He can’t force Vladimir Putin to act like a caring human being. He can’t cause the COVID virus to suddenly disappear at the wave of his hand. There’s only so much he can do to control inflation. The best that can be expected of a single human being, president or not, is to do his best to minimize the negative effects of all these enormous challenges.
That’s exactly what I contend our president is accomplishing in a manner that should be roundly applauded by all. He appears in front of the public on a daily basis, explaining his efforts in an honest and forthright manner. Comparing that to his Republican predecessor helps prove the superiority of his leadership.
Specifically, what are some of the major roadblocks he’s facing in attempting to solve critical problems currently facing America? First of all, it’s the Trump-led Republican juggernaut determined to defeat just about everything the president proposes, even when public opinion polls favor what he’s trying to accomplish. He can’t force them to be reasonable. Working across the aisle simply doesn’t work anymore like when he was successful at it as vice president.
Confronted with the agreement previously negotiated between Donald Trump and the Taliban to withdraw from Afghanistan, Biden chose an immediate withdrawal or face renewed fighting and the loss of more American soldiers. Confronted with that challenging scenario, the withdrawal went about as well a could be expected. No longer engaging in an unwinnable war with an uninspired Afghan military, I know I’m more than satisfied with Biden’s leadership as commander in chief.
The war in Ukraine involves a complicated balancing act. Supporting Ukraine, without risking World War III and a nuclear disaster, has involved superior leadership on the part of President Biden. He’s successfully orchestrated 30 billion of military aid for Ukraine’s defense. Getting the rest of Eastern Europe and most of the rest of the world to support his carefully thought-out military game plan deserves a higher poll rating.
With the pandemic, inflation was inevitable. Prices go up when demand exceed supply. The virus shut down the supply and people going back to work increased the demand. Sanctioning Putin and cutting off his sale of oil has resulted in high gas prices.
Would you rather not help deter Putin’s murderous aggression?
Biden has ordered the release of oil stored underground and initiated legal action against oil companies attempting to keep prices artificially high. What more can he be expected to do. Actually, it’s the Federal Reserve that’s our best hope for controlling the inflation steamroller.
What’s truly amazing to me, with all the roadblocks he’s faced so far, are his positive economic accomplishments. Except for inflation, all the basic economic indicators have improved under the President’s leadership. The passage of his major infrastructure bill and virus relief packages are truly laudatory accomplishments in the face of Republican obstructionism.
33%? Give me a break!
Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful, is a retired FBI special agent
Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful, is a retired FBI special agent having often been tasked with determining an accurate appraisal of a person’s true worth.
