In year two, Biden needs to be The Boss
WASHINGTON » Anyone who is surprised that President Biden can talk for two straight hours doesn’t know President Biden. The notable thing about his marathon news conference Wednesday was not its length but its impact: He made news, stated his case forcefully and laid out an agenda for everyone else to follow.
More of the same, please.
His most important words about Year Two of his presidency came at the very end, in response to a question about whether he would reach out to Republicans on reforming the Electoral Count Act. He gave a clear answer — yes, he will — and then rambled at some length, but in a telling way. Here is what he said:
“And one of the things that I do think that has been made clear to me — speaking of polling — is the public doesn’t want me to be the ‘President Senator.’ They want me to be the president and let senators be senators. And so, if I’ve made — and I’ve made many mistakes, I’m sure. If I made a mistake, I’m used to negotiating to get things done, and I’ve been, in the past, relatively successful at it in the United States Senate, even as vice president. But I think that role as President is — is a different role.”
That sounded like an accurate self-assessment. And it sounded, encouragingly, like a plan.
I happen to believe that Biden had a successful and hugely consequential Year One. His biggest accomplishment, in my view, came in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. When Biden took office, a small fraction of the country was vaccinated against the coronavirus. Today, more than 200 million Americans are “fully vaccinated” and more than 80 million have also had booster shots. Basically, everyone who is eligible — and who has not been brainwashed by anti-vaccine conspiracy theories — now has lifesaving protection against COVID-19.
This monumental logistical achievement has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens. If the first duty of any president is to protect the American people, Biden has done his job.
Has the administration’s messaging on COVID-19 been consistent? Of course not. COVID-19 is caused by a novel pathogen that is constantly hitting us with new variants. Yes, the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration should better coordinate their pronouncements. But the message inevitably has to change as scientists’