Biden’s backtrack

Which is good; don’t get us wrong

THE WORD “backtrack” has a bad reputation. Especially among politicians. It implies that somebody made a mistake. And politicians don’t like to admit that, ever.

But if you’re human, you make mistakes. And hope that the ones you make don’t physically harm anybody. So the humans that we elect, when appropriate, should be able to backtrack without impeachment. That is, without overwhelming opposition. (Careful with the word “impeachment.”)

Last week, the Joe Biden administration, through its new press secretary, explained away his campaign promise to open a majority of schools in the United States in his first 100 days. Jen Psaki told the press that a majority of open schools technically means 50 percent plus one. And a school can be considered “open” if it has classroom instruction once a week. She called that bold and ambitious. And was sufficiently mocked for it.

This week, her boss, the new president, backed away from that position. That is, he said that wasn’t his administration’s position.

Joe Biden was at a town hall meeting Tuesday night on CNN and was asked about the 50-plus-one, one-day-a-week plan:

“No, that’s not true,” he said. “That’s what was reported. That’s not true. There was a mistake in the communication. But what I, what I’m talking about is, I said opening the majority of schools K-through-eighth grade because they’re the easiest to open, the most needed to be opened, in terms of the impact on children and families having to stay home.”

And, unlike what his press secretary said last week, he said using summer school as an extra semester is an option in some places.

As the kids say, it’s all good. As the old folks say, these things happen.

The president acknowledged that virtual-only learning is hampering the education and mental health of many students and placing more responsibility on the backs of parents. He said more protective equipment, smaller class sizes and a focus on younger kids in brick-and-mortar buildings could get schools opened sooner.

It’s a position not backed by all teachers’ unions. Which is a hopeful sign of the future when it comes to how this administration plans to govern.

A little backtracking isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can be a very good thing when, as Nixon’s people put it, “mistakes were made.” Which political scientist Bill Schneider called the past exonerative tense. And when the future of American students are factored in, better to backtrack than to follow a wrong policy off a cliff.

It’s all good. These things happen.