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In all this headline grabbing lazy narrative, a wonky aspect of the Biden presidency I'm noticing is how amazingly well prepared his team has come in. Exactly like you would expect the most experienced President in US history to start his term. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/biden-judge-nominations/2021/02/02/e9932f3a-6189-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
Dude was chairing the Senate judiciary committee when RBG was being confirmed. He has literally seen it all in almost 50 years in federal politics. Doesn't need lazy CNN takes to govern.
An interesting thing about this presidency, if you've read US history and followed Biden's career, is that it is probably the first presidency that can be called...."post ambition"? He didn't really have that same fire in his belly this time as his previous runs in 88, 08.
People become president as a culmination of a lifelong campaign to be president. In Biden's personal calculus, that campaign end when Beau died and he declared he wouldn't run in 2016. He assumed, like everyone else, that Hillary would be President. And he'd be a grandpa only.
I'm not saying the presidency does not mean as much to him or her has no fire left in his belly. He wouldn't have run if he didn't care. But what I'm saying is, we have a President who is quite simply not interested in headlines or adulation or even re-election.
He is there literally to do the job itself. He knows his long storied career has earned him a place in the history books already. By defeating Trump, he's further sealed and embossed that place. He really has little left to prove to anyone, especially himself.
Basically, this is as close to an idealized West Wing type presidency as you can get. Obama pretty much admits he got played a lot and Biden was often the only voice in the room telling him he's being played. Now Biden is in charge. And he's seen it all. Literally all.
And if you're a hardcore US politics junkie, you will see that even in the daily details, this administration is pitching a near perfect game so far. Not compared with idealized standards but from the perspective of how Washington actually works. It's a great first 2 weeks.
He came, he saw, he governed, is how his term is likely to be remembered. And it's a pretty open secret that he's not interested in a second term even if he has the option. You can see it in how closely he keeps the Veep involved in everything. Knowing she could be it any day.
President Biden was elected to the Senate a full 12 years before McConnell. There is no dirty trick of his that 46 has not seen. In fact the most pithy and on brand story about McConnell in Obama's book comes from Biden. He's seen up close what a heartless guy Mitch is.
They literally have no leverage over Biden nor the hope that they can out-manuever him somehow like they did Clinton and Obama in their first terms, two dudes new to the byzantine ways of DC. That's why he's kinda their worst nightmare. So difficult to demonize.
The Immigration Bill he's put up shows that he's learned from 42 and 44's mistakes that he had a front row seat to, first as a senior senator and then VP. No point starting the presidency trying to "reach across the aisle" first. Best to stake out your ideal position first.
It might not pass at first attempt. Heck, he knows it has no chance of passing till 2022. But what it does is shift the conversation towards him, even when they attack his bill as "amnesty for illegals" or whatever. And it eventually, slowly, moves the Overton Window too.
Why even waste political capital reaching out across the aisle under the mistaken impression that they care, as Mitch once said to Joe? Better to stake out positions, govern the country competently, and in 2022, make a big push to grow the majority. Then try signature legislation
He played the Covid relief negotiations like that too. Staked out his ideal position. 10 moderate GOP senators came to him to pretend to negotiate. He gave them coffee and sent them on their way. Now he is signaling "compromise" that too tentatively. https://www.npr.org/2021/02/03/963622911/biden-forges-ahead-on-relief-bill-without-gop-but-signals-checks-could-be-target
But if you look at where the conversation was when he took office and where it has moved, it's definitely in his favor. The end result will appear to give cosmetic wins to some Republicans while giving him almost what he realistically wanted anyway. But if he'd started at 1400...
...GOP would have tried to prune that number. It's exactly how they operate. Remember when GOP would demand $25 bn in cuts to raise the debt ceiling. And if given those cuts, still not agree and demand $45 bn. Or when Grassley pretty much admitted he would never play ball.
See, they won't even do literally the least they can do. You think they have any interest in working together on anything else when they won't even stand up to sedition? https://twitter.com/ryanobles/status/1357082852144406538?s=19
