Burningbird

I don’t watch debates solely because they all boil down to optics rather than substance. And last week’s debate demonstrated how true this is. If one watched the debate, you saw one thing. But if you just read the transcript of the debate you saw something else. Unfortunately, few media pundits read the transcript.

Some of these pundits are so caught up in the optics that they think Biden should quit, now, late in the game. Ian Millhiser, who is someone I have respected in the past, went so far as to write on threads:

I remain optimistic that Biden eventually does the right thing and drops out. It’s not reasonable to expect him and his family to process the grief they must be feeling right now in a single weekend.

For which he got a great deal of pushback, leading to him having a snit:

I think I may be done with this website. The amount of Clap Harder, just ignore Biden’s senescence, magical thinking denialism on here is too much for me. The reason why Democrats are better than Republicans is that they’ve historically been the party that is in touch with reality. If folks around here want to turn America’s one remaining viable party into the GOP, I’m out.

What Millhiser and the New York Times and other big media companies and pundits forget is, it’s not just Joe Biden who is running for President—it’s the complete Joe Biden package that’s running for President. And if the person, Joe Biden, didn’t have a good debate, that doesn’t take away the good that Joe Biden and the Joe Biden package have done in the last three+ years.

Let’s start with Kamala Harris, the VP. She’s smart, she’s capable, and she has been kept in the loop about what’s what in the world. If something were to happen to Joe, Kamala is there. And if some people just can’t handle the idea of a smart and capable Black woman being President, well, all I can say is there are a hell of a lot of White guys who’ve done really crappy jobs and maybe it’s time for a change.

Then there’s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. I don’t always agree with him, especially about Israel and Gaza, but I don’t know of anyone who has worked harder to keep this fragile world from imploding on a daily basis. Globally, the world is in one of the worst shapes it’s ever been in. But Secretary Blinken remains cool, calm, and importantly, present and involved. The USA is here, he demonstrates. And we’ll continue to be here.

How about Deb Haaland the first indigenous leader of the Department of the Interior? She has worked to expand parks, to limit gas and oil exploration on public lands, and to bring indigenous people into the decisions involving their land. Secretary Haaland has worked to preserve the beauty and the majesty of our country so we have something more than oil pumps and concrete for our future generations.

Then there’s Xavier Becerra. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has looked every which way he can to find ways for women to continue having access to the healthcare they need, all the while fighting red state governors who want nothing more than to deny healthcare to as many people as they possibly can.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has worked to implement so many of the projects funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. And he’s been there—a calm and caring presence—during all of the transportation-related disasters we’ve had the last few years, and there have been several.

(What’s ironic about the infrastructure projects in the Inflation Reduction Act is how many Republican Congressional members take credit for them back home, when they didn’t vote for the bill. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Buddy Carter, my own rep.)

And finally, I’ll mention Attorney General Merrick Garland. A lot of people are not happy with him because he appointed Hur to look into Biden’s classified document issue; especially after the obviously politically motivated and incredibly petty and sloppy report Hur wrote. And people feel Garland has not done enough to go after Trump.

But AG Garland realizes that the people of this country are fast losing hope and respect for our judicial system, beginning with the hacks Trump appointed as AG and now the Supreme Court, with its years of undermining rights, and eviscerating the government. We may not like what Garland does but the point he’s made is invaluable: No party owns Justice. Not under Joe Biden’s watch.

I could go on, but the facts speak for themselves: President Joe Biden has put together a solid team of people who are doing an incredible job with all the odds against them—including a House led by a Christian Nationalist who cares little about actually accomplishing the business of legislation, and a Senate where we frequently couldn’t count on two Democratic senators not to mention a Supreme Court issuing decisions that don’t have the thinnest veneer of a legal basis as long as it fits their agenda.

And look at how much the Joe Biden package has accomplished the last few years? We’ve economically recovered from the COVID pandemic. Though COVID is still a scourge, but we’re beginning to get it under control. At the least, we take it seriously. No bleach.

The government is working on lowering the cost of healthcare, especially medications. When the courts allow, former students are getting a break from onerous student loan debt. Inflation is under control again. People are working. Real wages are actually rising. The economy is robust. And yeah, even the number of people entering the country at the border is the lowest its been in years. At the same time, the Joe Biden package is trying its best to help the migrants who are here in the country—productive citizens who have integrated into the communities and whose contributions have helped this economy recover.

Most importantly, under the Joe Biden package, democracy still exists. Damaged in too many states, but it still exists. Don’t lose sight of this one.

So yeah, I have no problem voting for Joe Biden. I could give a damn how he does in a stupid debate. I care what he does everyday, and he does a good job. Because he built the Joe Biden package, and it works.