Skepticism in Biden’s Ability to Lead

Given his standing among voters as evidenced by reputable polls, Biden can only be seen as a vulnerable incumbent. While anything can happen between this post and 5 November 2024 (election day), his approval numbers have remained in the high 30 to low 40 range for much of the year. Those numbers are a proxy for how people feel about his handling of the big issues, otherwise known as economy, immigration, foreign affairs, crime, gun control, homelessness, social activism, his cognitive state, religious freedom... I like most Americans continue to express skepticism in Biden’s ability to handle numerous issues, including international crises and economic policy. About two-thirds of Americans say they are not too or not at all confident in Biden to make wise decisions about immigration policy or to deal effectively with China. Nearly as many express low levels of confidence in him to work effectively with Congress, to make good decisions about economic policy or to navigate an international crisis.

Over the next few months, I will be delivering to you, the reader, various issues, and concerns .... that need to be appropriately addressed if we are to survive as that nation upon the hill that President Reagan famously expressed in his 1989 Farewell Address to the American people ... a shinning city upon a hill: “in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” Reagan built on the phrase preached by Puritan pilgrim John Winthrop in perhaps the earliest example of the idea of American exceptionalism in a 1630 sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity.” He said, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” Furthermore, the origin of the phrase is found in the Bible, Mathew 5:14-16... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and puy it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Reagan declared in his farewell speech that America “rediscovered” its commitment to world freedom, so must we do it again in 2024. If the United States is to be respected again on the world stage and looked to for leadership. The key, according to President Reagan, was a return to “common sense” that “told us that to preserve the peace, we’d have to become strong again after years of weakness.”