For Joe Biden, results matter most

[LetMyPeopleVote]

President Biden has accomplished a great deal in his first two years

Link to tweet

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/3788406-for-joe-biden-results-matter-most/

All presidents admit to being frustrated by the limitations placed on the office, and few would subscribe to the strict constructionist views held by William Howard Taft, who believed presidents can act only when expressly granted the authority to do so. Today’s presidents side with Teddy Roosevelt, who believed it is the president’s “duty to do anything that the needs of the nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws.” Action-oriented presidents, like Roosevelt and Kennedy, test the strictures of the office and, like the voters they serve, want results.

Joe Biden’s presidency has been one of results. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Chips and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the PACT Act, the first major gun control legislation in 30 years and the Respect for Marriage Act all contain Biden’s distinctive signature on their legislative parchments. Key provisions in these laws will be implemented in the years ahead......

In 2022, Biden also correctly read the public mood. His legislative accomplishments gave quivering Democrats a platform. And Republicans also gave Biden a powerful assist, thanks to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and Donald Trump’s continuing attacks on our democracy and the Constitution. When the ballots were counted, Democrats added one Senate seat and gained three governorships, marking the first time since 1934 that a Democratic president has gained seats for his party in his first midterm contest. Instead of measuring yards of drapery for their new offices, Republicans will remain a minority in the Senate while holding the slimmest of majorities in the House.

Joe Biden has understood that results, not political posturing and bickering, are why a Trump-weary public hired him. At a 2021 Cabinet meeting, Biden told his department heads: “The American people sent us here to deliver. They sent us here to make government work. And they sent us here to make a difference in their lives.”

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Good government was the operative force in the Progressive Era

Ironically, perhaps, fueled by Republican populism in business and civic associations in cities and towns, even if in partnership with co-opting corporations that improved working and living conditions as a means to head off unionizing.

A great book on the subject: "Corporate Ideal in the Liberal State" by James Weinstein (1968, I think).