(01-26-2021, 04:32 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:(01-26-2021, 03:03 PM)David Horn Wrote:(01-26-2021, 12:35 PM)mamabug Wrote:(01-26-2021, 06:33 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: That is far better than what we just had, someone who saw Big Government as one huge patronage scheme to enrich people like him and to enforce the will of such people.
Ummm.... from where I sit, that looks exactly like the Biden presidency too. Except, 'people like him' basically means establishment politicians and the sectors of the economy that have bought them.
So, from a libertarian perspective, politics as usual. Isn't it great things are back to normal
More seriously, though, from the EOs passed (over 30) and the bills on the agenda, it does feel as if Biden's role is to rubber stamp the wish list of the various parts of the DNC coalition. It goes beyond just reversing what Trump had done and into sweeping changes that will affect the country for decades to come. His approval rating now is mostly because he isn't Trump, not sure how long it will last once people realize there is more going on than that. OTOH, the media is completely covering for him with such hard-hitting questions as 'will he redecorate Air Force One' and sighs of how wonderful it is that his tweets are 'boring.'
Too early to tell what any of this means in a 4T perspective except that it is clear the DNC is acting in full Crisis Mindset (us v. them, our agenda uber alles) while a good half of the GOP still thinks if they cave enough we can get back to a 3T give-and-take. Bodes well for those who welcome the coming Utopia ™, I guess.
For now, he get's a bye-me, because he's not Trump and because it's typical for new Presidents to get a honeymoon. Biden seems to know that he needs to get real things done quickly, so relief checks are a must-do, and an easy sanity check on the GOP willingness to go along (unlikely as that is). And yes, the libertarians will not be happy. Assume more regulation, and god knows it's needed. Raising taxes and similar things that the centrist Dems don't want will be much further down the road.
I wouldn't be surprised if his approval rating remains fixed. The Democratic side seems to be very self absorbed and high on itself as usual and uninterested in the advancement of any other groups than themselves which is why a major threat of some sort will be needed/used to pop their bubble and bring them back down to earth.
Good reason existed for Trump support going as low as it did several times, and if it spiked just before the election (but not enough to get him re-elected) he destroyed what could have been whatever legacy he had as President. Most of us are going to remember the worst, and undoing that worst will be a huge achievement.
President Biden treats COVID-19 with the seriousness of a military threat as if it were the Axis Powers. It may be generally awkward to have as President someone whose oldest members are turning 96 if still alive... yes, Paul Newman and Johnny Carson would both be turning 96 this year if still alive. Biden has good people around him, and good staffing is an essential part of solid leadership. Good staffing precludes surrounding oneself with yes-men. Getting America inoculated will put an end to the 2020 Plague. Much more about Donald Trump is objectionable.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.