The gift of Joe Biden.

February 21, 2023

          Joe Biden is a gift to American democracy. A public servant who was in the twilight of his career stepped up during a moment of political and constitutional crisis for his country. Few thought he had a chance to win the nomination, much less the presidency. He endured the most violent and oppositional “peaceful transfer of power” in our nation’s history. He was handed the slimmest possible majority in the Senate—a fifty-fifty split with a tie-breaking vote from the Vice President. His presidency was been undermined by GOP leaders who refuse to this day to say that “Joe Biden won the 2020 election.”

          Against all odds, he succeeded in a legislative agenda that compares favorably to the most respected and successful presidents. People who did not vote for him or who voted for him begrudgingly have come to admire and respect his success—even if they profess uncertainty about or opposition to a re-election bid by Biden.

          Biden is not perfect. Far from it. But he was the right person for the toughest job in the world at the toughest time in a half-century for the nation he sought to lead. And yet, at every opportunity, pundits, commentators, and media provocateurs pronounce his career finished. Again and again, he proves his critics wrong and surprises us by displaying a second wind, a new gear, a moment of disarming sincerity, an unexpected feistiness, or political shrewdness that brings us up short. We are reminded that we underestimate Joe Biden at our peril.

          Over Monday, Joe Biden did something no other modern American president dared do—visit an active warzone not under the control of US troops. The trip was audacious and risky but vitally important to Ukraine, NATO, Europe, and the world. In traveling to Kyiv and appearing in public aside President Zelenskyy as air-raid sirens blared in the distance, Biden delivered tangible and dramatic signs of US support for Ukraine and determination to stop Putin’s expansionism.

          The visit by Biden was a blow to a faltering Putin—and was understood as such by Russian “military bloggers” with millions of followers on Telegram. The ultra-nationalist military bloggers called Biden’s visit a humiliation for Putin, noting that Biden was able to travel safely to Kyiv while Putin was effectively imprisoned in his own country by rising discontent. More to the point, Putin could not have traveled into Ukraine even if he dared venture beyond the walls of the Kremlin. His troops lack weapons, protective gear, ground support from tanks, air support from bombers and fighter jets, and the discipline and will to protect Putin if ventured into Ukraine.

          The New York Times covered Biden’s visit with grudging admiration and respect for his courage. See NYTimes, Inside Biden’s Surreal and Secretive Journey to Ukraine. Per the Times,

          In an audacious move meant to demonstrate American resolve to help Ukraine defeat the Russian forces that invaded a year ago this week, Mr. Biden traveled covertly to Kyiv . . . The visit produced an indelible image of the two presidents striding to a memorial for fallen soldiers in broad daylight even as an air-raid siren blared, a show of defiance of Moscow quickly beamed around the world.

          Never in Mr. Biden’s lifetime had a president ventured into a war zone that was not under the control of American forces, much less on a relatively slow-moving locomotive that would take nine and a half hours to reach its destination. During that time, he was potentially exposed to circumstances beyond the control of the hypervigilant security phalanx that normally seeks to shield a commander in chief from every conceivable physical danger and minimize his time outside a hardened shelter.

        Since Abraham Lincoln rode to the front lines outside Washington to watch battles in Northern Virginia during the Civil War, no sitting president has gotten that close to combat. 

          A Russian journalist called Biden’s visit a “demonstrative humiliation of Russia,” while a Telegram account managed by active-duty Russian military officers posted the following sarcastic comment:

          Almost a year after the beginning of the Special military operation, we are waiting in the Russian city of Kiev for the president of the Russian Federation, but not for the President of the United States.

          I could go on, but you get the point. In a daring move, Biden has bolstered Ukraine, weakened Putin, and reminded the world that the US still has leaders willing to demonstrate the bravery and commitment required for Western unity. It was not so long ago that a prediction of rain caused an American president to cancel a 60-mile trip from Paris to honor US and French soldiers killed in World War I in the Aisne-Marne Operation. In contrast, Biden stood in public as a Russian MIG took to the air in Belarus, only 20-minutes away from where Biden was participating in an outdoor ceremony to honor fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

          As the unhappy Russian military bloggers wrote on Telegram, who would have thought that nearly a year after Russia’s invasion, it would be Joe Biden visiting a defiant and free Ukraine? In America, who would have thought that it would be an 80-year-old Joe Biden who would take a risk avoided by all US presidents since Lincoln? Whatever happens with Biden’s hoped-for second term, he has exceeded all expectations, broken new ground, and changed all of us for the better. Joe Biden is a gift to America that it was not expecting—but desperately needed.

Kevin McCarthy’s treachery.

          Axios reported on Monday about a new scandal involving Kevin McCarthy and Tucker Carlson that will reverberate for months—a near eternity in political dog-years. McCarthy has granted private access to Tucker Carlson’s producers to more than 1,400 hours of surveillance video from inside the Capitol on January 6^th. See Axios, Exclusive: Kevin McCarthy gives Tucker Carlson access to massive trove of Jan. 6 riot tape.

I urge you to read the entire relatively brief article in Axios to learn the details. Tucker Carlson claims that the January 6^th insurrection was “mere vandalism” and will comb through the videotapes to find footage of insurrectionists who happened to walking from one portion of the crime scene to another—making it appear that they were tourists who had lost their way.

          McCarthy’s action is stupefying. He has granted access to non-public materials to a propagandist who has continuously misrepresented the facts about the 2020 election and the January 6^th insurrection. More importantly, the materials to which Carlson has been granted exclusive access do not belong to Kevin McCarthy, to Fox News, to the GOP, or to Tucker Carlson. They belong to the American people. If full transparency is appropriate, then it is appropriate for all news organizations and the American public, not merely to a politically motivated hack like Tucker Carlson.

          But the full set of videotapes should NOT be released! They show, among other things, the movement of the Vice President, Speaker Pelosi, and House and Senate leaders. If those tapes are released, all members of Congress will be less safe during the next emergency.

          What could Kevin McCarthy have been thinking? Did he make a deal with Tucker Carlson to gain the on-air personality’s assistance in securing votes for McCarthy's Speakership bid? It makes absolutely no sense and is a gross violation of congressional ethics and the constitutional office occupied by McCarthy. The co-Chair of the January 6^th Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, called out McCarthy’s actions. See The Hill, Bennie Thompson rips McCarthy for giving Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 footage.

          Per Bennie Thompson,

If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson — a Fox host who routinely spreads misinformation and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s poisonous propaganda — and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation of why he has done so and what steps he has taken to address the significant security concerns at stake.

          This is a breach of ethics and trust of epic proportions—and should be treated as such by the media and American citizens. Do your part. Don’t let this travesty fly under the radar. Speak up!

Concluding Thoughts.

          It has been a long day. We have moved from Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs as we chase another viewing of the Northern Lights. But a strong winter storm has chased us, dumping snow on the already-deep snow covering the highways. Our bus broke down halfway between Fairbanks and Chena and I worried that we would be spending the night on the side of the road in below-zero temperatures. But our tour guides leapt into action and rallied multiple replacement vans and buses to allow us to finish our journey before nightfall. As a result, I am behind in reviewing the news and had less time than usual to synthesize and write. I will be back on a regular schedule by the end of the week.

          You may have seen a statement by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling for a “national divorce” between “red and blue states.” The only reasonable interpretation of her comments is as a call for secession. Her comments were so extreme that at least one Republican leader called them “evil.” See The Hill, GOP governor says Greene’s call for ‘a national divorce’ is ‘evil’.

          Greene’s comments are dangerous, reckless, and shameful. Greene’s views are likely shared by a significant part of the GOP grievance caucus but will never result in any steps toward secession. It is fantasy-based ideation by people who are happy to share such views with pollsters and drinking buddies but have car-payments and little league teams to coach. It is just talk, but it is dangerous, shameful, and reckless, nonetheless.

          Greene’s comments are so outrageous that Kevin McCarthy will not defend them—widening the incipient rupture that began with their disagreement over Greene’s comment that a Capitol Hill police officer “murdered” Ashli Babbitt. When McCarthy fails to endorse Greene’s “national divorce” comment, both McCarthy and Greene will be weakened politically. It is a win-win for Democrats. There will never be a “national divorce,” but we may be able to get rid of both Greene and McCarthy because they disagree over something that will never happen.

          As Republicans divide over increasingly militant and unpopular statements by Greene, America is witnessing a good man and remarkable leader do extraordinary things. Whether you support Biden in 2024 or not, his actions are setting up a path to success for Democrats in 2024. It is hard to ask (or expect) anything more from Joe Biden than he is delivering. Joe Biden is a gift to America that it was not expecting—but desperately needed.

          Talk to you tomorrow!