Now that the midterms are over and voters have spoken it is important to look back over the first two years of Biden's presidency to assess the major contributions and his detractor's accusations.
Of course, the major success was his immediate call to arms with NATO and the European Union to enable Ukraine's pushback against Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine, an event labeled “brilliant” by Putin asset Trump. Yes, it has cost money, but nothing in comparison to a Putin victory and potential for a full scale third world war. The United States has recognized the value of helping countries neighboring Russsia and other hostile nations like North Korea, Iran, and possibly China in containing their ambitions for more dominance in world affairs. Better to fight adversaries on their turf than ours.
Equally significant was his accelerated development and distribution of the COVID vaccine and variants left languishing under the previous administration. This has resulted in steady progress toward normalcy in our daily activities. Many lives have been saved. Stadiums and classrooms are full again. The pandemic fights go on aggressively.
Critics have called his withdrawal from Afghanistan a major failure without acknowledging he inherited the withdrawal plan Trump and Pompeo negotiated with the enemy Taliban bypassing the legitimate government of the country. Biden had two choices at that point: set a dangerous precedent by ignoring an agreement made by Trump or delay to prepare a workable strategy for safe withdrawal. His plan assumed major support from the Afghan government and military. He could not have predicted both would flee and desert their countrymen and allied forces. But they did. Biden's rapid response to fill that vacuum saved many lives but was messy.
The domestic legislation passed by the Democratic Congress will have long term benefits for all economic and social levels. More could have done except for fellow Democrats, Sens. Manchin and Sinema, standing with Republicans blocking passage. With that hurdle now gone, there is expectation for bipartisan cooperation, a course Biden insists on. There is hope for a return to win-win consensus building over the win-lose strategy employed by Trump and the MAGA GOP.
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Of course, now that the MAGA Republicans control the House, it will be difficult to pass significant legislation, but Biden is no stranger to this situation and is ready to engage for the benefit of all of us and our global friends. Let's hope proposed investigations will not interfere with the work needing to be done across all areas of neglect and need.
Lee Purrier lives in Park Rapids, Minn.
This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.
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