For a couple of months now, it has become clear to me that unless President Biden is willing and able to change the way he is communicating with the American public and what he is actually proposing and accomplishing, he’s going to lose big-time to Donald Trump or to whomever takes his place in the unlikely event that the criminal cases become so appropriately overpowering someone else does take his place.
The latest poll numbers this morning shout even louder that this is the truth. He’s down in all the key states versus Trump; and if Haley would displace Trump (and she is the most likely candidate to do so) the gaps would be even higher.
It is clear that the 91 indictments against Trump and his outrageous self-revealing assertion that he’ll be a “dictator on Day One” aren’t moving the needle. They will to some degree when voters are confronted with this reality in the voting booth, but not enough.
Biden’s challenges are two-fold as I see it: 1) Personal. He is not seen as sharp enough; he is “too old for the job.” 2) There are the policy issues, above all immigration; he and the administration have to take a decisive stand on this now. The feeling that the economy is not going well is out there, too. Time is going to have to take care of that. I think the message that the economy is better will come through over the next year.
However, the age and policy issues, particularly around immigration, won’t go away unless Biden does something differently.
I don’t know if he’s up to it, but he has to change the way he presents himself to and communicates with the American public. I believe he needs to adopt informal fireside chats. Perhaps with an interviewer; perhaps with a small group. I’m not talking about town halls.
He needs to address head-on the issues that are on voters’ minds: his age, his quickness, why he feels he is uniquely able to carry out the role of the presidency at this point in time.
I for one believe he is, above all because of the global challenges we face in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and Russia and in many other places, too. We must hold NATO together. We must have good relationships with our allies. We must seek a relationship with China that doesn’t blink at the reality of competition but sees the opportunity and the need for collaboration.
Joe Biden is far more equipped by experience and temperament to carry out this critical function at this moment in history than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.
He needs to make that clear. Concretely.
I wish I knew how to share this message with someone who might be able to make a difference in how Biden approaches this. In fact, I don’t think what I’m saying here would be new to the inner circles of the White House or the Democratic Party. What I don’t understand is why it’s not getting through. Or, perhaps if it is, why Biden isn’t acting on it. I just hope he is up to it. I truly believe the country’s future depends on it. We are at a perilous moment. Liz Cheney understands this. Not enough other leaders do. The time to act differently is now. We can't just pretend that it will all work out. Life does not work that way.
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