President Joe Biden began his presidency with some (including the man himself) comparing him to Franklin Roosevelt.
While that was always hubris, along with a heaping dose of spin, it's worth remembering for no other reason than as marker of how much his standing has fallen since Biden beat Donald Trump in 2020.
Consider the ongoing and increasingly sharp critique of Boden's political future from former Obama campaign guru David Axelrod.
The New Times' Maureen Dowd – never one to shy from kicking a pol while their down — wrote about the spat between Biden and Axelrod, and Biden's use of the word “prick” to describe Axelrod's dim view of Biden's re-election chances:
“I don't care about them thinking I'm a prick — that's fine,” [Axlerod] told me. “I hope they don't think the polls are wrong because they're not.”
The polls in question being those that have shown Biden trailing Trump, be it nationally, or in in key battleground states. But Axelrod wasn't finished offering Biden some free advice:
“I think he has a 50-50 shot here, but no better than that, maybe a little worse,” Axelrod said. “He thinks he can cheat nature here and it's really risky. They've got a real problem if they're counting on Trump to win it for them. I remember Hillary doing that, too.”
Nothing like putting the boot in to make a point.
Yes, of course, Team Biden is trying to diminish the issue-that-will-not-go-away: his age. Like Trump's Biden is an aging baby boomer. It's not a sin – just an inescapable fact. And a consistent poll finding – even among Democrats – is the view that Biden is just too old to serve a second term.
Had Axlerod stopped there, it would have been enough of a critique to send Biden into a purple rage. But the chef's kiss is the reference to Hillary Clinton's astonishingly arrogant, presumptuous 2016 presidential campaign. Few honest observers would doubt what Axlerod says is true: how could anyone with a modicum of decency lose to Trump?
Turns out, it's entirely possible…particularly if the candidate is living in a double-walled bubble of entitlement and arrogance. Nevermind being the new FDR. Biden has a 50-50 chance of being the next Jimmy Carter.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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