Biden Begins - Rob Horowitz

Biden Begins - Rob Horowitz

When Joe Biden begins his presidency tomorrow, he will do so facing the most daunting set of challenges since FDR took the oath of office during the height of the Great Depression nearly 90 years ago. He inherits a pandemic that is raging out of control and that has already killed nearly 400,000 Americans, a related economic downturn, and a nation polarized politically with an all too real threat of violence from right wing extremists, egged on by the outgoing president who still refuses to concede his election defeat.  Additionally, he will need to skillfully navigate the beginning of his presidency, working to keep the focus on his priorities, while an impeachment trial of his predecessor is proceeding in the US Senate.

Biden’s steady and impressive performance since the election, however, demonstrates he is ready to meet the moment.  Through his deft handling of a tricky transition period in which his predecessor delayed full cooperation as he embarked on an unprecedented and disgraceful attempt to overturn the will of the voters and hang on to power, Biden enters the presidency in a strong position politically, having substantially expanded his support among the American public since winning an impressive victory in November. Nearly 2-out-of-3 of voters “express a positive opinion of his conduct since he won the November election,” according to a new Pew Research Poll.  Similarly, 58% of Americans approve of the job Biden has done in explaining his plans and policies and 57% approve of his cabinet choices.

The president-elect is also benefiting by the contrast with his predecessor who is leaving the presidency with a dismal 29% over-all job approval rating and with only 24% of Americans approving of his performance since the election, Pew reports.  In the wake of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, even 1-out-of-5 Trump voters rate his performance since the election as poor.

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In gaining adoption of his top priorities, including a $1.9 trillion dollar COVID economic rescue package and major action on curbing climate change, President Biden will be advantaged by the fact that Democrats are now in control of the US Senate. With the Senate and House both closely divided, however, principled bi-partisan compromises are going to be required in order to get important things done.  Here, Biden’s long experience in Congress and his strong commitment to bi-partisanship and stubborn belief that even in today’s politics characterized by partisan polarization it is possible to win bi-partisan agreements will serve him well.

The small group of US Senators, including Mitt Romney(R-UT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), who came together and broke the logjam on the stopgap COVID stimulus package that passed in late December, provide President Biden with some potential leverage. The combination of this group of 8 to 10 US Senators of both parties that broke through 4 or 5 months of stalemate on COVID relief and the 50 or so members of the Problem-Solvers Caucus in the House that are evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans may help our new president to achieve some major legislative accomplishments on the challenges we face, showing that partisan gridlock has not become a permanent feature of our democracy.

Our nation’s difficulties and divisions, immeasurably worsened over the past four years, will not be solved overnight.  But this is a moment for optimism. Joe Biden brings the skills, experience and character that fit well with our current challenges and he still has a great, if dented, nation and a good and generous people to both draw on and lead. 

Sixty years ago, our only other Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, gave his inaugural address. Some of the words he uttered in a very different moment ring true today—words that I’m sure that Joe Biden takes to heart: “All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, not in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."

 

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, businesses, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.