What Ails Joe Biden's Presidency?

The title of Kim Strassel's latest Potomac Watch column is What Ails the Biden Presidency. The short answer is Joe Biden. The slightly longer answer is Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Alejandro Mayorkas, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Anthony Fauci, Merrick Garland and Pothole Pete Buttigieg. There's a reason why I nicknamed this bunch the "Never Will Be Ready for Primetime Players." But I digress.

There are multiple 'ailments' with this administration, starting with stunning, across-the-board incompetent cabinet officers, often unpopular policies, terrible decision-making and a stubbornness that keeps this administration in trouble. (There's an old family adage that says 'Stupidity is what gets you in trouble. Pride is what keeps you there. If the shoe fits, right?)

It isn't a stretch to nickname this administration the Alice in Wonderland administration. More often than not, this administration sees things as they'd like them to be than seeing things as they actually are.

Covid was always going to be difficult, but the White House’s obsessive focus on dictating rules from Washington—vaccine mandates, masks in airports, travel bans—left it flat-footed for the tools most needed now, tests and therapeutics. Its March wash of Covid dollars is stoking the demand that feeds inflation. Its disaster of an Afghanistan withdrawal traces a direct line to today’s Russian, Chinese and Iranian aggression.

In July, 51 senators (including Mr. Manchin) voiced their outright objection to a $5 trillion progressive agenda featuring a half-dozen new entitlements, a green new deal, Medicare expansion and sweeping tax hikes. The Democratic leadership ignored this policy reality, pretended the cost was much lower and wasted five months on a Build Back Better bill that died in December. Meanwhile, 52 senators (including Mr. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema), made clear for a year they oppose the left’s push to destroy the filibuster. Mr. Biden pretended it wasn’t so, and his federal voting takeover therefore died this week. Democrats have a bare Senate majority, but their ideas remain the minority.

The underlying reason for the Biden agenda's unpopularity is that this administration has pushed their own agenda rather than pushing America's agenda. People want an America First agenda that delivers safe neighborhoods, energy independence, school choice and secure borders. Thus far, Biden and Democrats have delivered on none of that.

Steve Scalise's grade for Biden's first year isn't surprising:

Ms. Strassel noticed what everyone noticed:

If anything, Mr. Biden is doubling down on the failure. In his meandering two-hour press conference, he explained he now intends to push through Build Back Better in "chunks." Smooth or chunky, the provisions still require the support of Mr. Manchin—the same Mr. Manchin Mr. Biden last week compared (along with Republicans) to Bull Connor and George Wallace for supporting the filibuster. The same Mr. Manchin Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Mr. Biden this week set up for a primary challenge by forcing a filibuster vote designed to isolate and humiliate the West Virginian. Mr. Manchin is no doubt raring to give Mr. Biden a helping hand.

So much for Joe Biden 2.0. Packaging the same junk in a different package isn't the definition of Joe 2.0. It's what honest people call a scam.