Joe Bidens Grade Card in your Book?

If you had to guess or pick or choose a “grade” for Joe Biden on a school grading scale? A, B, C, D, or F for failure: What grade would you give him so far for his performance as our president? I’m middle of the road on him, so I’d go maybe a C for him in my book, just because can’t really judge or say if he’s done anything that’s been really good or really bad or horrible in my book?

 

I'm not really sure what grade to assign him because if the republicans had not won the house---I think he would have been able to get a lot done that is being blocked. B for effort, I suppose.

 

When someone says that they "can’t really judge or say if he’s done anything that’s been really good...", I don't understand what they're talking about.

When Biden took office, the United States had the highest per capita death rate from COVID of any industrialized nation in the world. Hospital ICU's were overrun, patients were dying in hallways, and refrigerated semi trucks were being used as morgues. Dr. Deborah Birx estimated that the willful malfeasance of the Trump administration was culpably responsible for 638,000 American deaths.

Biden's administration launched a safe, effective, comprehensive vaccination campaign which resulted in 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses being administered in Biden's first year in office; 75% of the U.S. population now has at least one dose.

Trump signed the "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan" with the Taliban on 29 February 2020 in Doha, Qatar. By any objective measure, this was a complete capitulation; the Taliban agreed to stop attacking U.S. troops, conditional upon the immediate release of all Taliban prisoners and the withdrawal of all U.S. troops, with no plans for how to conduct the final withdrawal or to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies. Trump publicly bragged that no one could undo his sabotage of the next administration (and by extension, America); they'd either have to withdraw in disarray and be blamed for defeat, or re-invade Afghanistan and be blamed for re-igniting a deeply unpopular 20-year war, the longest in American history.

As a result, when President Biden took office on January 20, 2021, the Taliban were in the strongest military position that they had been in since 2001, controlling nearly half of the country. At the same time, the United States had only 2,500 troops on the ground—the lowest number of troops in twenty years.

Biden exhibited the personal courage and integrity to personally take the political hit, and get us the fuck out of Afghanistan, stating that he'd send no more American sons and daughters to die in a futile war that would not materially change the outcome. His administration coordinated the largest non-combatant evacuation airlift in U.S. history. Operation "Allies Refuge" evacuated more than 124,000 people in 17 days, utilizing nearly 800 civilian and military aircraft from more than 30 nations from the two runways of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The airlift spanned nine countries, eight time zones, and more than 10 temporary safe havens.

Biden’s American Rescue Plan, best known for providing $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans and expanding the child tax credit for parents, extended generous subsidies that make Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans more affordable. The law will prevent an estimated 3 million Americans from losing their ACA insurance and 10.4 million more enrollees from paying more for their insurance plans. As a direct result of Biden's American Rescue Plan, the child poverty rate fell from 9.6% in 2020 to 5.2%.

The American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $36 billion in funding to protect workers’ pensions to prevent substantial cuts to the pensions of more than 350,000 union workers and retirees. It also:

Provided $40 billion in funds to invest in and create opportunities for America’s workers

Provided funding for public safety and crime reduction efforts

Funded affordable housing development across the country

Provided much-needed financial support to small businesses

Invested in healthcare centers and mental health treatment

Expanded food assistance programs to keep American families out of hunger

Expanded child care assistance and invested in schools and childcare programs

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act represents the largest single investment in America’s infrastructure in more than a half-century. The law allows for the investment of hundreds of billions of dollars to upgrade, modernize, and improve America’s infrastructure.
In 2022 alone, more than $185 billion in funding was approved for nearly 7,000 specific projects across all 50 states. These efforts include:

2,800 bridge repair and replacement projects

More than $3 billion in funds to upgrade infrastructure at more than 3,000 airports

More than $9 billion to improve America’s water infrastructure, pipes and services lines, and sewer systems.

More than $3 billion in funding to make homes more energy-efficient and more than $200 million to help families pay outstanding energy bills.

More than $2.3 billion to help states, tribal nations, and territories upgrade and modernize America’s power grid.

Financial assistance to nearly 15 millions of households to help them afford high-speed internet

The Inflation Reduction Act reforms Medicare to lower drug costs for tens of millions of Americans with Medicare Part D coverage by capping out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs to $2,000 a year. It allows Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices and caps the price of insulin at $35 a month for 3.3 million insulin-dependent Americans. The Inflation Reduction Act also represents the largest-ever national investment in fighting climate change. The law is predicted to create up to 9 million jobs over the next decade while reducing premature deaths from air pollution and helping the US dramatically reduce climate change-causing emissions.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provides roughly $10 billion in funding for mental healthcare, the largest-ever investment in America’s mental healthcare system. The law also funds community-based violence interruption programs and provides up to $750 million in funding to incentivize states to pass “red flag” laws that allow officials to temporarily take away guns from people deemed in court to be a threat to themselves or others. It also makes it more difficult for domestic abusers to buy guns by adding anyone convicted of domestic violence to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The CHIPS and Science Act allocates $39 billion in incentives for companies to construct and expand manufacturing facilities in the US and $13.2 billion for workforce development programs and research and development efforts, dramatically increasing domestic microchip manufacturing, a move that will strengthen supply chains, lower costs for consumers, create jobs for American workers, and make the US more economically independent. The law also invests approximately $170 billion in the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies that are focused on technology, innovation, and manufacturing in an effort to make America more competitive with China and other countries.

Since President Biden took office, the economy has created more than 12 million jobs—including more than 800,000 manufacturing jobs, and the unemployment rate is at a 54-year low. All this without raising taxes on small businesses or Americans earning under $400,000 a year.

By any measure, Biden has been a very effective leader, especially considering the circumstances of war, global pandemic, and the MAGA cult. Would I have liked to see more out of him? Of course. That's why I'm voting a straight Democratic ticket...especially considering the stakes involved.

 

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Certainly partisans will applaud President Biden. but all of the borrowing and spending as mentioned above contributed to inflation and budget deficits.

How much bi-partisan support did these bills enjoy?

 

So far he's played ~340 fewer rounds of golf than Emperor Orange did on the taxpayer's dime...and that's not just about green fees. Think of that - that was one day out of four he spent on the golf course. Probably months less time tweeting out useless bullshit for hours every day, too.

Hands down, inflation was and continues to be caused by record high oil prices, huge record corporate profits, a full labor market driven by one of the best economic recoveries in history. Where's that money going? Not to me, not to you, certainly not my small business - we're getting screwed left and right by Trump's tax "cuts"... Look at record high oil stock prices - yet they have the same puny dividends - they won't even share their windfall with their own shareholders. Look at food prices. Where is that money going? Farmers aren't getting rich.

How big of a debt did Biden inherit? Our kids will be paying off Trump's tax cuts to the rich for the rest of their lives.

I think the solution is to raise taxes - and this time not just to the middle class.

 

When one side is populated by 'Proud Boys', '0ath Keepers', White nationalists, Christian nationalists, neo-confederates, neo-Fascists, neo-Nazis, traitors and insurrectionists, advocates political violence and explicitly plans to end constitutional democracy as we know it, you're goddamned right I'm partisan!
Project 2025: Fascist Plan for a Unitary Executive



PRO TIP: If people start throwing up barricades, look around you. If you're surrounded by people in white robes and brown shirts, you're on the wrong goddamned side!

 

Thank you for your detailed reply. Here in the UK, we hear none of this, just videos of him stumbling and getting confused.
I know that you feel very strongly about covid, so I have added a copy of the official US mortality chart. It is true that thousands of people died with covid in their system, it happens with every virus as part of the natural process of death, but they did not die twice.
To prevent the hospitals becoming overwhelmed, the restrictions were necessary, but the pictures painted by the media where completely misguided due to their lack of medical knowledge.
The story about the refrigerated trucks was apparently true, but caused by funeral parlours shutting down to safeguard their staff. With around 5,000 deaths every day in the US, the results were obvious.

United States - Historical Death Rate Data
Year Death Rate Growth Rate
2023 9.172 1.070%
2022 9.075 1.090%
2021 8.977 1.090%
2020 8.880 1.120%
2019 8.782 1.120%
2018 8.685 1.220%
2017 8.580 1.240%
2016 8.475 1.270%

The year on year increases in deaths over the last decades, simply reflect the increases in the birth-rate following WW2. In reality, we are all living longer.

 

I have a friend, Terry, who is a funeral director. He said they just didn't have room or time for a lot of showings or graveside funerals, much less storage. He said the crematorium was going 24 hours a day for a while. Generally, they're small time operations - but more and more they are being bought up by large corporations.

We were all pretty surprised at his choice of careers since he was kind of the class clown in high school - but he worked summers washing and waxing the cars, doing the lawn at the local funeral home..


My grandmother said they had to bury people at night during that epidemic, they just had too many. She said she caught it, it was nasty, but she never really had a bad cold since "maybe the sniffles..." So, maybe that will be a positive thing out of all this.

 

You have hit the nail on the head.
Viruses do not kill, but by weakening the immune system, they allow bacterial infection to take over. In the respiratory system, these can lead to pneumonia, then septicaemia. While in the digestive system, renal failure is followed by multiorgan shut down. That is why early use of antibiotics can prove fatal, since they have run out at the critical time.
During covid. one in a thousand people needed antibiotics, so taken too soon resulted in several deaths.
Your gran was one of the 999 who survived the bacterial stage naturally, so her immune system is left strengthened, along with her natural immunity to covid. During her time coughing and sneezing all over you during and after the bacterial stage, she was sharing her immunity.

While my mortality year on year figures seem to contradict your experience, covid was killing seriously ill people between 1 and 3 weeks early. This created the peaks that undertakers were not expecting. They were followed by weeks of lower than normal business.
While in the Americas and western Europe, deaths are fairly spread out during the year. In India, the chart looks like a camel with it's hump representing the monsoon season. Their is a saying that if you survive the monsoon, you will survive until the next one. Life expectancy in India is no lower than in the rest of the world.

 

She was a tough old gal, lived to be 96. She had 13 siblings and all but one survived into old age - and that was accidental...so yay for good genes. Mom is 98 and in good shape, I'll give her 105 - her sister lived to be 103, other 98.

 

slightly above average so C+

 

The man is not a "Uniter"

 

I give him a B-.
He has done as much as Congress will allow.
But he could legalize marijuana.
He could stop giving unconditional support to Israel.
He could act his age and stop running for President.

 

This would be the single greatest thing he could do

 

I grade 75% objectively, 25% subjectively ….. Combined Grade C-

Biden has good intentions. He got the “Build Back Better” package passed before the U.S House flipped to Republican control.
Between the “Republican Freedom Caucus” hijacking the House, and Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema constantly being a P.I.T.A. In the Senate, it has been all but impossible to get meaningful legislation passed during the second half of his term. Biden, who claims to be a “Uniter” has not come thru for the most part.

It’s time to rein in Israel by halting shipments of military hardware and get a truce agreement in place. The Israelis have gotten their revenge 10 fold since the October attacks. Biden needs to take a hard stance with further aid being tied to de-escalation of hostilities, and opening up humanitarian aid.

The southern border crisis needs to be tackled. Both the immigration and drug smuggling. If congress can’t get it done, it’s time for executive orders.

Truth be told. I have no passion for any of the current crop of announced candidates (If you have an “R” behind your name, you are automatically out). With the exception of Obama, picking a nominee feels like the choosing lesser of two evils. Obama was the first presidential candidate I was passionate about.

A Newsom/Whitmer ticket is what I’d love to see. They are both relatively young (56/52 respectively), but are well seasoned and who get things done.

 

I saw Mr. President speaking today from Blue Bell Pennsylvania. It is the one year anniversary of the D.C. Capital riot.

The campagain speech was all anger, nothing on the economy. an imitation of the previous president. Hyping up a sense of fear.

Nothing on hope, unity, brotherhood, faith, optimism or civil order.

What a lousy choice of candidates.