Evan Vucci / AP
President Joe Biden speaks in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, in Washington.
Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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Joe Biden’s presidency turned 1 year old last week. Happy anniversary, Mr. President.
To commemorate this milestone, Biden stood through a two-hour question-and-answer session with the media and, through them, the American people. Like all such events, there was good and there was not so good. That’s the human nature of things.
For example, it was not so good that the president appeared to provide some daylight for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial aspirations into Ukraine. We have since learned from the White House that what Biden said is not what he meant to say — no surprise there, two hours in front of the cameras is certain to expose some mistakes — but our friends in Ukraine and throughout Europe are still uneasy.
What was good about all of that is that the United States has a president who is engaged on the right side of this issue, who has expressed his willingness to act in a most decisive and hurtful manner against Russia should it invade Ukraine. Contrast that to the previous president, who thought Putin could do no wrong no matter how wrong the Russian was.
Another not-so-good moment was Biden having to admit he was wrong when he believed that there were Republican senators who cared about the voting rights of Americans, and the concern they had for the least among us in society whom his Build Back Better plan would help.
Yes, Biden is an optimist and, obviously, a bit naive. So am I. That is, if you define that word as believing Americans care about this democracy enough to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to vote in free and fair elections and that women in the workforce have the opportunity to contribute to our economy while caring for their families.
It is clear to me — in hindsight, which is the lens through which we look at Biden’s first year — that what Republicans say to the public is not even close to how they vote against America’s values. What is not as clear is whether the voters are willing to see through the charade and vote against the hypocrisy of it all.
What is good about that understanding of GOP recalcitrance to the detriment of all, is that the president, who has already achieved some great wins for the American people in his first year — getting a bipartisan vote to fix our roads, highways, bridges, tunnels and water sources, for example — can set more achievable expectations. In other words, being more realistic.
And that means the hungry-for-change-at-all-costs far left of the Democratic Party needs to be willing to accept the good and not fail chasing the perfect.
And what was also good about Biden’s two-hour look into the first year of a president at work and a presidency that works is that it hasn’t been what most Americans feared in 2020 — another four years of the ugliest, most hurtful and most un-American presidency in, well, forever.
As for what comes next? That will be, as always, up to the voters. If we decide we want to continue on a path of steady, calm, intelligent progress, then we will let those who stand in the way know how we feel. We can do it in November or we can do it now, by making those who “just say no” for political sport realize that this is not a game. This democracy may hang in the balance.
When Biden stands up for another two hours on his presidency’s second anniversary in 2023, wouldn’t it be nice if he could report that America has returned to that place we all remember — where people work together, watch out for each other and prosper in a way that makes the United States the envy of the world?
Yes, that would be nice. But to get to that place, Biden will need to play a little not-so-nice with those who do not share our American values.
America needs him to be the president for this time.
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun.
