These Last Four Years: Grading Another President

 In years past, I've tried to sum up outgoing presidential administrations in a letter grade. I did this with Bush 43, Obama, Trump's first stint, and now I tackle the impact of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. 

In spite of what the right-wing media yells at you, the Biden administration was not a disaster. In the wake of Jimmy Carter's death, I see some parallels between the complicated, one-term legacy of both him and Biden. Both won a crowded, wide open Democratic primary (1976 and 2020), both succeeded a scandal-plagued Republican administration (Nixon/Ford and Trump), both inherited a wobbly economic situation, and both lost re-election to galvanizing Republicans (Reagan and Trump again).

Look at what Biden & Co. achieved in four years: a tighter, cohesive response to the pandemic; low unemployment; slightly higher incomes; job creation; more benefits for veterans and their families; reforming the military justice system; more energy transition spending. It's a decent list, but the early part of the Biden years were spent fixing the errors of the previous guy (which will almost certainly get reversed again). On the flip side, health care in the US is more expensive than ever, immigration and inflation were ineluctable concerns, and the administration's response to Ukraine and Gaza got mixed reviews to say the least. He didn't achieve lasting peace, but at least Israel and Hamas agreed to a nine-week cease-fire just under the wire.

As I said three years ago, Joe Biden frequently said the right thing and tried to do the right things, but he never came across as a leader on any major issue. In a time when Democrats are bringing sternly-worded letters to knife fights, he was the avatar of a party that insisted on approaching everything with decorum, staying steadfast and traditional, in a the face of the unrelenting, upending MAGA movement. His executive order to curb immigration last summer was probably too little, too late. He seemed to resist more than he fought. 

It's a cliche, but Biden's fatal flaw was his age. He was inaugurated as the oldest president ever, a record that will be broken for the third time in eight years on January 20th. His befuddled performance at the very first Summer presidential debate threw his party into a tailspin, which hit a crescendo when Biden was forced off the ticket with 3 1/2 months to go. Vice President Harris had a higher approval rating, and ran a solid campaign, but the Democratic ticket was the underdog the whole way, and the flip to Harris-Walz wasn't enough to close the gap. Pardon the over-simplification, but if Biden was ten years younger, one wonders what he and Harris would've accomplished in a second term. 

Joe Biden will leave office with an approval rating under 40%, joining a certain melon-shaped felon in that indignity. However, for his flaws I think we'll grow to appreciate the impact Biden made in the long-term. If his pal Barack Obama merited a B, then I'll give Scranton Joe a B-. God only knows what the next four years behold, though. 

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Ridin' With Biden (Until Sundown)

(Ed. note: I wrote most of this essay before the Trump assassination attempt. That will be the subject of my next post.)

It's been a rough few weeks for left-leaning ideologies. The SCOTUS' decision to allow ex-President Trump partial immunity for instigating January 6th is concerning, especially in yet another election cycle where he's polling around 50%. Project 2025 is looking less like a fringe-right wet dream and more like a handbook for how an emboldened Trump would navigate a second term. 

The greatest concern, however is the well-being of the incumbent. President Biden's performance in the first presidential debate was weak and doddering to the point of concerning, and even he admits that. He's our oldest president ever (82 this November) running against the man who would be the oldest elected ever (Trump turned 78 in June) and arguably neither is in top form. Where the GOP is dutifully propping up their guy, a panicky mutiny of sorts is growing among Democrats. Biden's own attempts to prove his worthiness have been mixed, further fanning the flames.

In the grand scheme of things this election cycle has been a slog, as galvanizing as drywall. Progressives, the hard right, and the media know it. If Biden is being bullied, he's not going to cave. There's also no consensus on who would succeed Biden on the ticket. It's an overblown debate when Democrats should rally against the greater evil, Donald Trump. To reiterate what I've been saying for 3 1/2 years, Biden is our best hope in spite his occasional senior moments. 

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Geezer Teaser

The primaries aren't quite over, but the result was a foregone conclusion six months ago: a rematch of Biden versus Trump, the first major party encore since Eisenhower and Stevenson in 1952 and 1956. (Pity the fellow Illinoisan-- our primary is still a week away.) As Jon Stewart attempted to point out a few weeks ago, Biden and Trump are also breaking the record for oldest presidential candidates since... the same two east coast grandfathers, four years ago.

The age difference between Trump and Biden is 3 1/2 years, and while there are obvious old age concerns, only one candidate seems to be in mental decline. The contrast was blatant this past week: Biden give a fiery State of the Union speech, belying his 81 years, while 77-year-old Trump looks increasingly tired and unfocused at his frequent Nuremberg rallies. One could blame Trump's weariness on all his legal woes, but I'd argue it's his undiagnosed diabetes. (For some personal perspective, my father died of "old age" at 78.)

Some of the Biden obloquy makes sense. His response to Gaza was has been lackadaisical for all involved parties. The economy is fine, and there is job growth, but inflation --or rather, simulated inflation by big business-- hasn't been tackled. Biden's first term has been a mixed bag, but there's no need to reiterate how we cannot let Trump pull a Grover Cleveland. This rematch is unappetizing for many Americans, but Joe Biden is the closest thing to a palatable option. 

Next week: my 2024 baseball preview.

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Random Notes, December 2023

 St. Nicholas' Day was over a week ago, but here's some candy for your shoe: 

+ A few months ago, I shared a eulogy of sorts for my aunt, Kay Allard while trying to uncover the communication breakdown behind her passing. As a last resort, my sister reached out to our lawyer to find her lawyer; a couple days later, we both had a 10 minute phone conversation with the woman handling our aunt's estate. As it turns out, both of the designated trustees in her will, her husband and my father, are both long dead. My sister has volunteered to jump in as the new trustee, and to my understanding we have some cooperation from her stepson in Florida. We may have also inherited some debt. Stay tuned. 

+ The Biden impeachment is a waste of time, energy, and money. In pandering to right-wing propaganda (and voters who gobble up said propaganda) the GOP is frittering away whatever advantages they have in Congress on an investigation where there is little evidence that connects the president to his son's various vices. 

+ In the wake of Donald Trump's "dictator on day one" remark, imagine if Trump pulls a Grover Cleveland *and* Democrats win back the House. (I'm not as optimistic about the U.S. Senate, at least right now.)

+ I almost met David Letterman! In all honestly, I was nowhere near Dave and never have, but I caught wind of his Netflix show shooting one episode in Chicago and I was on the wait list for the taping. I even cleared out my Tuesday afternoon just in case, but for naught. What could have been...

Next time: my annual year in music blog.

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File This!

On paper, Trump looks screwed. Alas, I doubt his punishment (assuming he really does get punished) won't fit the crime. After a presidency that was more scandal-plagued than Nixon and Clinton put together, we watched one Trump lackey after another get thrown under the bus while the boss remained relatively unscathed. On top of that, Trump has no intention of dropping out of the 2024 GOP primary, where he's polling better than all the other declared candidates combined. At least 51% of the party is sticking with their guy, prison or not.

At least one conservative pundit has compared Trump's unfair treatment to how George W. Bush was scrutinized by the "liberal media" in the 2000s. Was Bush 43 a trust fund bumbler? Yes. Was he too trusting in the wrong people? Often. Was he corrupt? No. Trump is not being prosecuted for being a Republican, nor is being prosecuted by cable news. Trump is being prosecuted because he is likely a criminal.

Then there's the Trump lackeys, his homers, his ride-or-dies. The sizable chunk of the GOP he hasn't alienated. Naturally, they're pretending the overwhelming evidence against Trump isn't real, that this a politically motivated witch hunt or exaggerated by partisan vitriol. In other words, they're incorporating their two favorite tactics, gaslighting and whatabout-ism. Either they're saddled by unconditional support or they're lying to themselves, it's often hard to tell.

Let's play that GOP tactic right now: what about Joe Biden? Yes, he did have confidential documents stacked in the garage. However, there weren't nearly as many as Trump hoarded, Biden cooperated with authorities, and Biden apologized. Mike Pence, the stoic Christian, committed the same sin. Even so, the 2024 race is shaping up to be Biden against... something, and for all of Biden's flaws he is the only palatable option. In other words, vote blue... or until Mark Levin is blue in the face.

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Random Notes, May 2023

 What's happening, friends?

+ The COVID-19 pandemic is over, except it's not. It's under enough control that it's not longer considered a major threat. The wave became an undercurrent, where it's been for several months now. I still see students wearing masks, but I don't judge them. I was one of the fortunate few that never tested positive, but I'm still wary of it, and I fear its aftereffects. 

+ Lori Lightfoot's sole term as Chicago's mayor will be remembered as a mixed bag. Her strict mom energy during COVID (and in general) was annoying but well-intentioned, but her accomplishments over the last four years will be undercut by her fractious relationship with the city council, her limp response to a spike in violence and being too empathetic to the CPD. At best, Mayor Lightfoot was a deeply flawed altruist. I can see why Chicago progressives rallied around Brandon Johnson, a relative political novice, as her successor. He didn't inherit a mess necessarily, but there is ample room for improvement. 

+ Speaking of mixed bags, I can see why Joe Biden decided to run for reelection. Trump just keeps adding baggage, and the DeSantis "campaign" is already losing steam. 

+ Hey, here's the short film I shot in Austin! 

Next time: my annual memory list.

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Remember, Remember, The 8th of November

 Election Day is tomorrow. This is my ninth election cycle since I started this blog, and I feel like with each passing decision the stakes have risen. I've grown to resent how the first midterm of a president is an early moratorium on the sitting president; that has taken an uneasy turn, as a president as uniquely vulnerable as Joe Biden could be handcuffed by a GOP that has descended into pseudo-fascism and cult of personality. 

Misinformation has always had a home in American politics. Even before the internet, lies and slander were ingredients in the average candidate's word salad. Now we have dueling echo chambers, with the GOP's arguably being the loudest and more shrill of the two. The events of 1/6 should have been reckoning, a moment of crisis for Republicans at every level; instead, 1/6 "attendees" are running for office, and the majority of GOP candidates think the 2020 election was stolen without any proof. It's saddening and appalling, but the seeds of this were planted over a decade ago with the Tea Party. 

My message remains the same: vote. I beg of you, vote. Your decision in the booth makes an impact. Do your part as an American citizen, and afterwards if all else fails, hope for the best.

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Random Notes, August 2022

 Hot takes, sometimes reheated:

+ After a lengthy schnied, the Biden Administration has a modest winning streak going. After 18 months of COVID-distracted sputtering, culminating in Biden contracting the virus twice in two weeks, he's finally getting stuff done. The climate change bill might define his presidency so far, and college debt elimination was a modified campaign promise. Whether this saves him or the Democrats in '22 and '24 could either be just enough or too little, too late. 

+ What to make of the midterms? At the moment, the House of Representatives is a toss-up, but I think the Democrats will retain the U.S. Senate and then some. The GOP simply has too many vulnerable incumbents (Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio) and peculiar first-time candidates (Dr. Oz, Herschel Walker). That's not to say any of the above will get blown out, but polls are not tipping in their favor. 

+ I often tell friends that radio was my great unrequited love. Hosting and producing barprov shows is a distant second. In 2 1/2 years of COVID, Flower Shop Bangers has produced exactly one in-person show. The fact of the matter is, barprov in Chicago is more or less dead. An entire thriving scene in 2012 steadily whittled down to nothing; a lot of local pubs simply don't make money on the shows. As I write this, Dan and I are re-strategizing. Stay tuned. 

Next time: my annual NFL preview.

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Random Notes, October 2021

 If I post "random notes" about once a month, your eyes are not deceiving:

+ I won't lie, President Biden had a rough August and September. Like, fifth-year-in-a-two-term-presidency rough. Compared to Dubya (2005; Katrina and Iraq) and Obama (2013; the botched ACA rollout) these have been miscues but not yet administration-defining fiascos. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, we had been going in circles for awhile; if we learned anything from three administrations ago, a financial surge wasn't going to win this once and for all. COVID has proven tough to defeat as well, and the economy has been sluggish. However, in those regards there's still plenty of time to turn things around. 

+ The house in Downers is almost sold. After spending a fair chunk of my spring and summer cleaning and reorganizing --right up to this week, really-- the burden is almost off our shoulders. My sister is working with a realtor that she knows from high school, and we're on the hook for some minor repairs (wiring and foundation). 

+ After barely working this summer --the house was a massive undertaking-- I've taken on a long-term substitute teaching gig. It's double my normal rate, which will definitely help alleviate some credit card debt. 

Next time (whenever that is) the conclusion of the Daisy saga.

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Dispatches from Arm's Length, Part 17

 I have been so caught up in personal stuff this first half of 2021 that I've barely commented on the still-nascent Biden administration. Make no bones about it: Joe Biden is running the country from the center-left. Compare him all you want to his pal Barack Obama, but a better comparison would be Bill Clinton. Biden hasn't been perfect --he's been slow to tackle immigration, or at least differentiate himself from his predecessor-- but right now I'll take mere competence. Give him time; it's only been six months.

Like the increasingly unhinged and uninformed far-right, progressives tend to be extremely vocal on social media, yet don't represent a majority of votes within their political party. Their notoriously bleeding hearts are in the right place, but the self-rightousness is palpable. This is why rattling off names of progressive presidential candidates --Dennis Kucinich, Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders-- almost reads like a graveyard. (I am randomly reminded of the prison camp situation on the US-Mexico border.) I hate to say it, but a democratic socialist would've handed Trump re-election.

I mention Biden because when I lost blogged, COVID as we knew it seemed to have its back against the wall. Now we have the Delta variant, a spike in deaths among the non-vaccinated, and the gradual return of mask mandates. Like last summer, we tried to move back into the "old normal" too quick, but now we have a flawed honors system that's hospitalizing the unvaccinated left and right. Unlike 2020 when a weak, deluded president deferred constantly to state governments, we have someone like Biden who can take some accountability and listens to the experts. For all his flaws, Biden is still better than the alternative. 

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Random Notes, March 2021

 Bouncing off the (news) satellites:

+ I was fully expecting the early days of the Biden administration to be a mixed bag. The worst is gone, but our problems will not be immediately absolved. The decision to bomb Syria to intimidate Iran was concerning, but I like what Biden et al. are doing in regards to the pandemic. 

+ Meanwhile, I have both of my COVID shots!

+ It probably goes without saying I'm not flying to Texas for Spring Break. Money is too tight to travel, on top of... well, you know. I am saving my money for a couple of short, cost-effective road trips, though.

+ If I've been keeping my semi-regular dispatches short, I've been distracted or overwhelmed by other things at the moment. Cleaning out our parents' house has been just as much of a challenge as I expected. My sister and I are sifting through the belongings of not just things we inherited from our parents, but from grandparents, aunts and uncles as well. So much of our once big, sprawling Catholic brood has trickled down to the two of us.

+ I'm guardedly optimistic about my Royals this year. We made a number of good moves, and I have faith in our plethora of above-average arms in the minor leagues. I'll go more into detail when I write my baseball haikus later this month. 

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These Last Four Years (Which Felt Like a Decade)

 Much like my late December music blog, it's become a tradition of sorts to letter-grade an outgoing U.S. president. I've been writing this blog for almost 16 years, and I summed up the Bush 43 and Obama administrations in lengthier than usual pieces. Given who our latest outgoing president is, I don't think I'll be nearly as verbose.

I don't think there's really anything I can say that hasn't already been analyzed or scrutinized in regard to Donald John Trump. He is by far the most polarizing president of our time, a man no one has no opinion about. No one used (or abused) social media quite like he did, and certainly no one flirted with abusing their power like Trump, either. History will remember him for running laps around Nixon's misdeeds. To paraphrase the man himself, he grabbed democracy by the pussy. 

Trump is a man of contradictions, if you consider his love for attention and disregard for the media contradictory. He is man who loves attention, a category 5 narcissist, who can't handle any negative news directed at him. He persuaded his base, already socially conservative and disdainful of the social media, to make "fake news" his mantra of choice both on the campaign trail and in office. He lives for flattery and bombast. 

I could just rattle off his various crises and scandals: the Russia hack, the sloppy attempt to cover up the Russia hack, Ivanka plugging her handbags, Stormy Daniels, myriad deregulations, a mountain of sexual misconduct allegations, and of course the situation in Ukraine that led to impeachment. His failure to address COVID --at least, until he tested positive himself-- was a stain on his final year in office. Now, just days after a bunch of Trump's most rabid supporters raided the U.S. Capitol building, a second impeachment is not beyond possibility. (Forgive the brevity, but frankly I'm sick of writing about the man.)

I remember reading something in Entertainment Weekly 15 years ago (I want to attribute this to Alynda Wheat, but I'm probably wrong) about the pitfalls of giving anything an "F" review. Wheat or someone else said that if you give something the lowest possible grade, it implies that the film, TV show, etc. has a train wreck quality that will still intrigue and attract people. An F makes one think it's so bad it's good, like "The Room." Almost for that reason alone, I'm giving Trump a D-, which is marginally better but far less savory. Trump had a few scant positive achievements, but they were minor and offer little long-term impact. 

In short, a new voice can't come soon enough. Former Vice President Joe Biden, our oldest elected U.S. President, has a tall order ahead of him. He's not perfect, but in many ways he's already an improvement over his volatile predecessor. Things can only get better. 

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Epilogue for a Disputed Election

 I spent most of election night *not* watching news coverage. After the mercurial election cycle of our lifetimes, I had to take a deep breath and step back. I saw a glimpse of early election results on a 60" TV as I was driving early that evening, then after dinner I spent most of the evening writing and filling out a job application.

The fact that the presidential race was so close is appalling. My worst assumptions about how Trump supporters won't waver were confirmed as Tuesday night dragged on. Even more disturbing is that 56% of white women voted Trump, which is a 3% increase from 2016. (I'm not even going to bother looking at the white guy vote.) Biden's supporters were a tight alliance of people of color, the marginalized, or both. That was what carried Biden to a razor-thin victory.

As I write this, only Georgia and North Carolina haven't been called, but it's a moot point now. This election was a rebuke of the entire Trump administration, and it's clear that more Americans than not have had enough. Trump's lapdogs are assisting him in disputing the election results, claiming voter fraud without any substantial evidence. A litany of frivolous lawsuits are pending.

Joe Biden and the Democrats did not put together a great campaign. In fact, it was almost Hillary 2016-level incompetent. Stronger campaigns were built around weaker candidates during the primaries. And yet, Biden 2020 didn't have to be well-run. There were enough exasperated Americans to get Biden over the hump.

In the end, America will get what it needs, rather than what it wants.

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Bracing for the Worst, Hoping for the Best

I want to assure everyone that this is my last blog post before the election. I'm suffering campaign fatigue like almost everyone else, but I'm attracted to the news like a moth to a light. As hard as it is for liberals and conservatives alike to believe, there are still undecided voters, and those precious few might tip a very close race. To call it anxiety is putting it mildly.

In spite of positive statistics, Joe Biden is right about where Hillary Clinton was about four years ago in several swing states. The only difference is that Trump is maintaining a single-digit lead in several states (Georgia and North Carolina being the most notable) that he carried four years ago. Ohio and Pennsylvania has both parties looking nervous. 

This article suggests Trump is a bizarro Jimmy Carter. I see where the CNN brain trust is coming from, but it still feels speculative. I won't deny the parallels between the Iranian Hostage Crisis (the defining fiasco of Carter's one term) with Trump's mishandling of the pandemic. At the same time, the peanut farmer didn't have the same blindly rabid base that Trump has built. 

Even if you're reading this and completely beg to differ, I am asking you one more time to please vote. Being an American means meeting this minimum requirement every other November. A democracy functions best when everyone participates in some way. At this point, a mail-in ballot won't make it by November 3rd, so fill it out and drop it off at a polling station. Your nation depends on you.

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Dispatches from Arm's Length, Part 11

 This past week has been to much of a whirlwind to ignore. The unwatchable "debate" between President Trump and former VP Joe Biden begat unintended free publicity for the Proud Boys, an anti-Semetic "next-gen" hate group. Soon after Trump weakly denounced the Proud Boys, his top aide Hope Hicks was diagnosed with COVID-19, then Trump and his wife both announced they had the coronavirus. An abbreviated hospital visit led to speculation that Trump either didn't really have COVID-19, but the more likely explanation is that Trump wasn't (and still isn't) taking the pandemic seriously.

While I'm happy to be working in a school again, it's at a questionable cost. Several school districts in the west suburbs that had been doing remote learning since mid-March caved to parents' demands, and began "hybrid" (IRL and remote simultaneously) learning. Most of the students I've encountered are happy to be out of the house, but with COVID numbers not tapering off, I fear a step backwards. The adjustments made for learning remotely have been clumsy, but I have faith my teaching peers will somehow make it work.

Every other late October/early November, I write a blog post imploring everyone reading this to take part in the democratic process and vote. This is my eight election cycle since I started this blog, and with each passing election the stakes continue to rise. This election, like 2016, is a no-brainer. Donald Trump has been an abject failure, if not close to complete ignobility as president, and does not deserve a second term. If you prefer to vote by mail, do so. If you're willing to risk voting in person, do so early. Everything is at stake here.

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Debate Talk

Sorry for the delay, everyone:

Whether you love, hate, or have no general opinion of Vice President Biden you have to admit that he made for some exciting television last week. Where the second banana debate is just that, this meeting of the minds was somewhat compelling.  However, where Biden was animated Paul Ryan was direct and caustic. Even though conservative pundits praised Ryan for keeping his cool, his lack of specificity in explaining the campaign's economic platform made me very wary.

As for the second presidential debate, I found President Obama's performance to be much stronger than it was the first time around, and the incumbent and challenger almost fought to a draw. Gov. Romney's "binder full of women" remark was pretty awkward, and it probably would've blown by if women's rights weren't a crucial issue in this year's election. My only question is, was this narrow victory too little too late for our 44th president? At least one guy thought so.

One last, completely unrelated note: the weekend before last, I made my annual sojourn to Normal, IL for homecoming. Since I graduated nearly five years ago the area has changed dramatically; the "Uptown" area east of ISU's campus is almost unrecognizable from six or seven years ago. While having a beer with my ex-roommate at one of the new restaurants in town, I stepped away to use the restroom. As I waited to use one of the stalls, I watched six or seven guys in a row walk up the urinal, do their business, than walk out without washing their hands. After I did my business, another guy at the urinal threw a beer bottle on the floor and threatened to fight me. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

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