Biden’s barely passing grade

AMERICAN LEADER HASN’T FLUNKED, BUT HE’S SURE NOT GETTING STRAIGHT As

Six months into his first term, the early euphoria about Joe Biden is being blunted by hard reality, both domestic and foreign.

Surges of deadly urban crime and massive influxes of undocumented aliens at the southern border (possibly more than two million by year’s end) are getting worse and the administration has not found a way to contain either problem.

On foreign policy, Biden’s rhetoric about organizing democracies in a healthier competition with authoritarian adversaries has yet to deliver.

Nonetheless, the U.S. president is being bolstered by unquestioning support from the legacy media, who see him as the best antidote to Donald Trump.

Republicans have had trouble gaining traction because they remain stunted and polarized by the looming shadow of the former president and uncertainty about his electoral intentions.

America as a whole remains sharply divided politically and the media is intensely partisan. Objectivity has few outlets.

Biden’s immediate prospects hinge on Congressional support for US$3.5 trillion in spending on health, education and green programs, well beyond the roughly Us$1-trillion package of more traditional infrastructure projects that is moving toward bipartisan agreement in the Senate. Democrats want to pass the larger proposal under a reconciliation procedure requiring only 51 votes in the 100-seat Senate, but key issues on funding mechanisms and spending priorities are outstanding. Some Democrats insist that both packages be adopted. Offering goodies to 99 per cent of Americans while assigning the bill to one per cent may be good politics but it is a high-risk gamble for the president. Much wrangling lies ahead.

The Delta variant is stymying management of the COVID-19 pandemic. By reinstating some mask mandates the administration is confusing efforts to increase vaccinations. Inconsistent messaging on COVID frustrates many Americans, who are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future. That does not help Biden.

The economy is recovering strongly but, when a country of 330 million has 9.2 million job openings and 9.5 million unemployed, it suggests the American work ethic is waning. An editorial in Issues and Insights blames Democrats who “have made sitting at home collecting government cheques better than working.” Other media claim that Americans do not want to return to low-wage jobs and “terrible” working conditions.

Inflation rates, especially on gasoline, food and autos, are already the highest in 13 years.

Biden is dogged by allegations in the non-mainstream media about his son Hunter. The younger Biden lied on a gun purchase application, which is a felony, but no legal action has been taken. Photos from when Biden was vice-president show Hunter and his father meeting Mexican and Ukrainian partners, which belies the president’s solemn assurance that he knew nothing about his son’s business activities. And the sale of art by Hunter to anonymous buyers for enormous sums has raised many eyebrows, including those of president Barack Obama’s former ethics adviser, but to no avail.

On the foreign policy front, at a summit in Geneva in June, Russia was warned that further cyberattacks would elicit consequences and yet, while Russian ransomware attacks have multiplied, the Biden administration has responded with little more than finger-wagging.

Not to be outdone, China launched a reckless cyber attack on Microsoft Exchange earlier this year. The scale of the attack prompted sharp denunciations from America and its key allies, but strong

words are not enough. At some point, both Russia and China should face responses in kind. Both openly mock America as “soft.”

The U.S. State Department’s decision to invite the disreputable UN Human Rights Commission to investigate racism in America has only exacerbated the political divide in the United States.

And despite an initial change in tone, relations with Canada have not improved. Conversely, there is no coherent co-ordination on the opening of the Canada-u.s. border, no discernible effort to free Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from Chinese jails, and no attempt by the Biden administration to dissuade Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from blocking the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline

that is so vital to the fuel needs of Ontario and Quebec.

Adding to chronic trade disputes on softwood lumber and dairy products, the U.S. is seeking stricter rules of origin on North American content for autos than were agreed to in the USMCA negotiations — a blatant sop to American unions. What the Americans cannot achieve in negotiation, they impose by fiat. Tougher Buy America provisions are also imminent.

On climate change, Canada seems mesmerized by Biden’s rhetoric as opposed to what he is actually doing. Apart from negating Keystone XL and fracking on federal lands, his climate change promises primarily involve subsidies that are not yet approved. Because a carbon tax is dead in Washington,

Canada’s increasing tax commitment will further weaken our competitiveness vis-a-vis the U.S.

The burgeoning foreign fiasco for the Biden administration is Afghanistan, which shows many symptoms of Saigon in 1975. The evacuation of American troops was quick but little planning seems to have been given to “what next?” Former national security adviser John Bolton has described the abrupt American withdrawal as “national security malpractice.”

The Taliban now control more than half of the country. Apart from a small air force and an elite commando unit, many of Afghanistan’s security forces are melting like chocolate soldiers.

Having decided publicly to withdraw, the Americans lost negotiating leverage.

Renowned Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid states tellingly, “The Americans gave away far too much in this deal with the Taliban and without anything in return . ... As long as the Pakistani military and intelligence continue to give them the sanctuary, there is no need for the Taliban to accept any compromise or any deal or any dialogue with Kabul.”

President Biden rationalized the haphazard departure from Afghanistan by saying America had achieved its objective of “getting Osama bin Laden,” ironically action that, as vice-president, he had opposed. Speaking to the media last month, Biden said ominously that the U.S. mission had not failed “yet.”

The Taliban is achieving what ISIL failed to do — victory over the U.S. As the Economist observed: “America’s longest war is ending in crushing defeat.” Biden is not responsible for all the mistakes made on Afghanistan by various administrations but, if the fiasco becomes a debacle, he will wear it.

Biden’s strong suit is internal confusion within Republican ranks. More Republicans support Trump policies than support Trump himself. If the former president would take that cue and stand aside, the Republicans would be better able to question Biden’s policy foibles and offer credible alternatives.

How would I grade Biden on his six-month report card? It is a bit hard until the fate of the infrastructure package and the massive budget bill are known. But if I had to grade him today, it would be a “gentleman’s C,” possibly a C+. Unfortunately, even his initially strong COVID performance — his singular achievement — is now moving backwards. And he merits no pluses on foreign policy that I can see.