BTRTN: Biden and the Dreaded Bush/Carter Comparisons

[reggieandlee]

Born To Run The Numbers provides its May in Review, pointing out the many accomplishments of the Biden administration -- but acknowledging the parallels to famous one-term Presidents, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter:

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2022/06/btrtn-biden-and-dreaded-bushcarter.html

Excerpts: "It’s hard to find too much fault with the Joe Biden presidency. Sure, it has been far from perfect, from missteps in COVID communications, to messiness in the Afghanistan exit, to wildly understating the potential longevity of inflation. But Biden has also scored a number of real accomplishments: managing COVID down to a dull roar; propelling an economy that is exhibiting real growth and near full-employment; getting a infrastructure bill passed on a bipartisan basis, masterful management of the Ukraine invasion, including restoration of unity among our allies and a return to competence, analysis, empathy and integrity in our federal government.
"But the buck stops with Biden, and so far he is bearing the brunt of the blame for a divided and dysfunctional country. Perhaps the most frightening figure is that the percentage of Americans who believe America is on the 'right track' has fallen to 25%, and that is a five-point drop in the last month. It was at 20% when Trump left office, and Biden literally 'built it back' to 43% within two months of his inauguration, before it began sliding, when it became clear that Biden was not a miracle worker nonpareil...
"Unfortunately for Biden, the parallels to George H. W. Bush’s presidency are hard to avoid... The Bush comparison is bad enough, but the murmuring you are starting to hear is the even-more-dreaded Carter comparison. He must find more victories to avoid those Bush/Carter comparisons that would truly doom him to join the list of single termers. He has time. Reagan, Clinton and Obama all got shellacked in their first midterms – likely Biden’s fate -- and recovered to win second terms, rather easily in fact."

[lees1975]

1. Messiness in the Afghanistan exit??

I take it the authors were either just not paying any attention, were totally ignorant of the background of the entire exit, which was pre-determined at the Doha conference by failed president 45 before Biden was elected, or ignored the fact that the Biden administration succeeded in evacuating over 100,000 people, including all of the Americans who didn't dither, dawdle and think they were invincible because they were American.

Ya think failed FP 45 would have carried off that kind of success in the face of a total collapse in the government that his predecessor caused?

[tgards79]

2. I don't disagree with you on the merits, but...

...Biden and team publicly admitted to being shocked at the speed with which the Taliban took over, which made them look like idiots, and recast the exit in terms of a desperate gambit with horrible optics. There is no way to escape that this was not a "plus" for Biden on perception, but rather a "minus," even with the success of the evacuation.