The Most Effective President in Half a Century: Joseph Biden Jr.
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In what ways has President Biden been effective?
1.1. Articulating core values and principles of the United States . A leader of any institution must first and foremost understand and be able to articulate the reason for the existence of that institution. Yes, we’ve had charismatic teleprompter-reading presidents. But Biden has expressed the core values and principles of the United States in a manner as articulate and heartfelt as any president in the past half century.
1.2 Acting in defense of core values and principles of the United Sates. President Biden has led the formation and maintenance of an international coalition in defense of those core values, which include the inalienable right of all people to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Where recent ill-conceived and (catastrophically) ill-managed wars involved a projection of American power, sometimes unilaterally, in places where a US presence was not broadly invited or welcome (the Vietnam & “regime change” models), President Biden has committed US resources to an ally seeking our support as it defends its sovereignty against an aggressor nation (the Lend-Lease model, ref. FDR.)
2. Responsible economic stewardship. Due to policy lags, Presidents arguably have a greater impact on the world after they are long gone than while they are in office. (Example: GPS). So I don’t put too much store in current economic data as a reflection of Biden’s performance. That said, the past three years have been as much of a macro clusterf — k (sorry, but it’s really the only word) as anyone who works on this stuff for a living has seen in their lifetimes. Yet somehow, the U.S. overall is still doing pretty well, both in absolute terms and relative to other countries. (I am aware of enduring geographical disparities, which I have noted in the past.) More to the point, Congress has enacted significant bipartisan legislation that holds the prospect — not demonstrated, of course, since appropriation isn’t spending, and spending isn’t progress — of yielding significant future benefits.
Side note: I have written extensively on lab to market transition, early stage technology development, economic ecosystems, and all the rest. I’m not a fan of Entrepreneurial State lines of argument and am generally skeptical of industrial policy (ref. “I come to bury industrial policy, not to praise it” here and here). But I think the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (which, OK, has nothing to do with inflation reduction, but by the way, it passed) are significant pieces of legislation that constitute well-considered investments in the future. I give Biden great credit for shepherding these pieces of legislation through in the current political environment.
3. Effective executive management. Alright, I’m out on a limb here. I wanted three categories, but I don’t really know much about what Biden has done to make government work better — if anything. But I do know this: He’s not spending his time as President of the United States of America and Commander in Chief denigrating civil servants, the military, our intelligence services, and the rule of law. In the past, that would have been a given. But not anymore.
I don’t take public political positions. No one cares about my endorsements.
But let’s be thankful we have President Biden.
[Side note: Seriously, which President in the past 50 years would you say was more effective?]
