Teach Them How to Say Goodbye
Looking Back on the Biden Legacy
Is President Biden—as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it Sunday—“a Mount Rushmore kind of president?”
The short answer? Time will tell. Much of President Biden’s legacy hangs on defeating the threat of Trumpism “one last time.” At the end of the day, the ending to Joe Biden’s story depends on what millions of ordinary Americans do over the course of the next 2-3 months.
The power truly resides with the people—whether they live in New Hampshire or North Carolina. Or Michigan or Wisconsin. Or Arizona or Nevada. Or NE-2 or in the many other critical swing states, congressional districts, or state legislative races across this country. Not even a president as deeply consequential as President Biden can change that. “The fight for the soul of this nation” rests on our heavy shoulders.
Yet if we prevail, President Biden’s extraordinary legacy will be enshrined in the history books of generations to come. Some of it will be due to his monumental accomplishments both at home and abroad. He made “transformative long-term investments” in the American economy (via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and many more). He offered a historic level of support for unions and the working-class—the people that built American and make it run. He was on the picket lines (literally) and he worked tirelessly for working-class priorities in the Oval Office. In fact, one historian gave “Union Joe” a higher grade on union issues than “any president since FDR.”
On the eve of the first July 4th, Thomas Paine once said, “we have it in our power to begin the world over again.” Thanks to President Biden, we are on the cusp of living out those words once again. As we speak, America is making historic investments in infrastructure, child care, manufacturing, and energy.
Let me give just a few examples. Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States is currently experiencing “the largest upgrade of its transportation infrastructure since the 1950s.”
The Administration has helped reversed a decades-long decline in manufacturing investment and employment (unlike Donald Trump, President Biden does not traffic in empty promises).
The Biden child tax credit “helped reduce child poverty by 46 percent” (emphasis mine) when it was in place (until Republicans and two rogue Democrats/the Manchin-Sinema duo failed to renew it).
Green energy is on the rise. The United States had “the strongest post-covid recovery of any major economy.” During President Biden’s term, America created 15 million jobs, “the most ever for any president in one term.”
Just as critical, he avoided the 25 percent inflation that some European countries like Hungary faced. Thus far, he has also avoided the near-constant predictions of recessions in 2022, 2023, and probably 2024. The once-seemingly impossible “soft landing” is still within reach (and that is remarkable and historically unprecedented).
All that in spite of a once-in-a-century pandemic that killed approximately a million fellow Americans and tanked our economy. Unlike Trump, President Biden took the COVID-19 crisis seriously, and was an instrumental part of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort. In fact, the ambitious and early rollout push ended up going ahead of schedule.
We too often fail to fully take in the significance of the times we live in. This era of American politics is no different. For 3 years, we have lived in a confusing maze of history. The January 6 insurrection, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the unprecedented missile strikes of Iran, the Biden-Trump presidential debates, the assassination attempt on Trump, Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race. Our kids will try to cram all this in for a history test. You have lived it.
In this hodgepodge of history, we truly have forgotten what makes President Biden a truly great president. It all boils down to one word: democracy. Above and beyond his domestic policy accomplishments, and above and beyond his dramatic work to restore American credibility on the world stage, President Biden gave us the best hope of preserving our system of government for future generations.
He led us through the uncertain period between a once-in-200-years insurrection and Inauguration Day. He smoothly took the helm from an Administration that denied ever losing the election. He gave the American people confidence that a transfer of power could and would happen.
On Inauguration Day, he set the tone for an almost-impossible presidential task. He governed for all Americans. He laid the groundwork for revitalizing both Red and Blue America. In a nation more polarized than at any time since the Civil War, Biden pioneered a tightrope game of bipartisanship. On its own, the number of bipartisan legislation the Biden Administration passed was and is remarkable. In these times, it is semi-miraculous. It was a reaffirmation of what democracy can do, even under enormous strain.
In 2022, despite both history and inflation working against him, Joe Biden’s Democratic Party secured unlikely successes in the midterms. Again, democracy was vindicated; MAGA extremists paid the price at the ballot box once more.
Finally, we come to 2024. A little less than a month ago, President Biden made a historic decision to stand down. When he leaves the Oval Office in 2025, he will be 82 years old, and not 86. Yet, funnily enough, “[b]y modern standards, Washington would [have been] nearly eighty years old” when he first took office.
Like Washington’s decision to stand down in 1796, Biden’s decision will set a new precedent for America and for the world. Even now, President Biden’s withdrawal has put increasing pressure on aged African leaders to “pass the torch” to an overwhelmingly younger Africa. Those types of stories will continue to demonstrate the enduring example President Biden has provided to the world.
Over the next few months, that example will once more be put to the test. There is so much to do, and yet so little time. There is a ceasefire deal to finish. In about 3 months, there will be an election. After that, who knows? Divisive and vicious election challenges? Social unrest instigated by a former president? New insurrection attempts?
Could America face a challenge to its stability that rivals the Whiskey Rebellion?
Again, who knows. Here is what I do know: if we win this November, and see ourselves through to January, President Biden will likely be known as the president who saved democracy. If that’s not a Mt. Rushmore presidency, I don’t know what is.
