There’s not enough antacid for this
Seeing so many anti-Trump conservatives and libertarians dig in their heels in opposition to the rise of Donald Trump was at least somewhat encouraging. Yes, their efforts to secure political power had helped create the monster. But looking it in the eye was entirely different from war-gaming for a billionaire-funded think tank. The experience may not have scared them “left,” but we got to watch more than a few revaluate their trajectories in life, at least temporarily. (America loves a redemption story.) Should MAGA wither and blow away, some will backslide. Count on it.
All of which is prelude to citing David French for the second time in a month. Strange bedfellows.
President Joe Biden’s long political experience, warts and all, have prepared him for what might be the most perilous set of foreign policy crises of the 21st century. With the Israel-Hamas war dialing up, it is unclear how Biden threads the needle between supporting America’s longtime ally presently led by a lunatic and expressing compassion for innocent Gazans presently dominated by lunatics. I’m not even sure there is a needle.
The war has driven a wedge between Biden and younger and left-leaning voters. French believes Biden has the right stuff even while a recent poll shows Biden’s support slipping 11 points with Democrats (New York Times):
Consider what he confronts: a brutal Russian assault on a liberal democracy in Europe, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and an aggressive China that is gaining military strength and threatens Taiwan. That’s two hot wars and a new cold war, each against a nation or entity that forsakes any meaningful moral norms, violates international law and commits crimes against humanity.
In each conflict abroad — hot or cold — America is indispensable to the defense of democracy and basic humanity. Ukraine cannot withstand a yearslong Russian onslaught unless the United States acts as the arsenal of democracy, keeping the Ukrainian military supplied with the weapons and munitions it needs. America is Israel’s indispensable ally and close military partner. It depends on our aid and — just as important — our good will for much of its strength and security. And Taiwan is a target of opportunity for China absent the might of the United States Pacific Fleet.
The Washington Post Editorial Board devoted its Sunday editorial to China’s stepped-up provocations in the South China Sea. The U.S. is the indispensible nation to allies Australia, the Philippines and Taiwan on that side of the globe as well. Thus, the Post writes, “it’s imperative that the administration send constant reminders to Beijing and to America’s allies in the region that the United States is a Pacific power and can deal with multiple crises at once.” So far, the Editorial Board suggests, Biden is striking the right pose in the Pacific.
French continues:
And keep in mind, Biden is managing these conflicts all while trying to make sure that the nation emerges from a pandemic with inflation in retreat and its economy intact. In spite of economic growth and low unemployment numbers that make the American economy the envy of the world, Americans are still dealing with the consequences of inflation and certainly don’t feel optimistic about our economic future.
Biden is now under fire from two sides, making these challenges even more difficult. The populist, Trumpist right threatens his ability to fund Ukraine, hoping to engineer a cutoff in aid that could well lead to the greatest victory for European autocrats since Hitler and then Stalin swallowed European democracies whole in their quest for power and control.
You thought the first Trump presidency was a disaster and deadly? A second could be the apocalypse for which his evangelical cult thirsts.
French, the former National Review writer, sees in Biden a steady hand in a political climate that insists a leader overreact to every poll and public demonstration. Biden’s policies seem “fundamentally sound.”
History will have the last word on that. For now, the domestic threat from a Congress and Supreme Court dominated by MAGA lunatics and funded by self-interested billionaires is enough to recommend investing in manufacturers of antacid.
French, himself a non-MAGA evangelical, sees Biden as an American leader in the right place at the right time:
If Biden can persevere in the face of the chaos and confusion of war abroad and polarization at home, all while preserving a level of economic growth that is astonishing in contrast with the rest of the world, he’ll have his own story to tell in Chicago, one that should trump the adversity of any given moment or the concern generated by any given poll. If Biden can do his job, then he can take the stage in Chicago with his own simple pitch for re-election: In the face of disease, war, inflation and division, the economy thrives — and democracy is alive.
May we all survive the next fifteen months. Especially Joe Biden.