I have carefully listened to the last three speeches Biden gave on the Ukraine crisis, and I am relieved that we have President Biden at the helm. Of course, allow me to stipulate my prior criticism of Biden, for I am not going to be one of those hypocrites that talks out of both sides of my mouth. Yes, I have been very critical of Biden, mostly for his domestic political incompetence, for example, his quixotic belief that he could work with the RepubliKKKlan Party to get BBB passed or work with them at all on anything. Let’s be clear: McConnell’s only goal is to make Biden a half-term president, and RepubliKKKlans really are the enemy from within. And I was extremely critical of Biden for his Afghanistan withdrawal, but history will be the ultimate judge of the wisdom of his decision, which could very well prove me wrong.
All that being said, Biden, without a doubt, has hit his stride and proved his strength on the international stage as a wartime president. The addresses to the country, his ability to unify NATO, and the actions he has taken against Putin are proof of his ability. I have argued sanctions will not work, but I am willing to let Biden try if he thinks these sanctions are as server as he says they are. And I should qualify what I mean by “work.” Sanctions were never going to change Putin’s mind or, at this point, get him to withdraw from Ukraine. I think these sanctions are really in place to prevent Putin from further expansionist endeavors beyond Ukraine. I think they should be used as purely punitive measures — to hurt Putin and Russians. Nonetheless, it’s better than standing by and watching, which Bush II and Obama essentially did when handling Russia. And it is undoubtedly better than siding with Russia, which traitor trump did routinely and without hesitation. And I have argued more than once that the West will ultimately sacrifice Ukraine for peace, but Biden is starting to convince me otherwise; I remain skeptical, but I will do that one worthless thing I am constantly railing against: Hope.
My only critique is that Biden may not be going hard enough, fast enough. Moreover, he keeps failing to fully explain why this moment in history is important to each American. Why preserving Ukraine’s democracy is important to every American citizen. Yes, he speaks broadly about America standing up to bullies and standing up for freedom as being something that we do and something that defines who we are as a nation. Yes, he spoke to the economic anxieties of Americans. But I don’t think he belabors the point quite hard enough that defending freedom is critical to every person. Americans are a rather obtuse and selfish bunch, so one must speak slowly, using small words over and over again, making sure to use the word “you” copiously.
I will say this as a final thought. Biden absolutely nailed it when he correctly warned — repeatedly — that the greatest challenge of our time is preserving democracies in the face of growing autocracies. Even I was late on the up-take as he made it a talking point in his presidential campaign. But he was absolutely right and clear-eyed about the continuing threat that autocracies around the world pose to America. Now, if only we could convince the rest of America! Welcome to stupid America!