Biden Report Card: Sinking further and surrendering his agenda

This week’s White House Report Card finds President Joe Biden backpedaling on major elements of his agenda, including one near and dear to his wife: tuition-free two-year college.

It says a lot about Biden and the Democrats’ congressional agenda when one of the biggest achievements of the week was the House holding former Trump aide Steve Bannon in contempt for not complying with the Jan. 6 inquisition.

Democratic pollster and grader John Zogby found nothing good and gave a D+. Conservative Jed Babbin found lots bad and graded an F.

John Zogby
GRADE: D+

This week was about Biden, the victim. Actually getting pounded by his own party. I am reminded of the sentiments of two historical figures.

The first is the Greek philosopher Zeno, the author of several paradoxes. The relevant one is his answer to the question of how far is the distance to the wall. If you measure it by how far it is to the halfway point to the wall, the result is that you never get to the wall. Think about that one the next time the president or Democratic congressional leaders say they are getting closer to a deal on spending.

For Biden, the other relevant piece of history comes from former President Warren Harding who, upon learning the extent of scandalous behavior by some members of his Cabinet, said that others worry about their enemies, “but for me, it’s my friends, my goddamned friends.”

Victims who only get halfway to the wall don’t get high grades.

Jed Babbin
GRADE: F

Biden’s ugly “new normal” is so well established that the media are entirely ignoring its principal elements: the Americans who remain in Afghanistan, raging #Bidenflation, and the open-border crisis that Biden created. But there’s plenty more going on that even the media don’t ignore.

Biden hinted that we would be giving Afghanistan “humanitarian relief,” which smells like possible ransom payments for trapped Americans. On Friday, it was reported that Gen. Mark Milley and the Pentagon thought we could partner with the Taliban to help fight terrorism in Afghanistan. What are these clowns smoking?

Biden’s infrastructure and “Build Back Better” spending bills are, thankfully, stuck in Congress. Democrats are fighting among themselves to keep their pet rocks from being tossed out to lighten the load in order to meet the limits imposed by Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Biden’s political power is fading quickly, almost as fast as the U.S. economy. Economic experts, to the extent that term isn’t an oxymoron, are already saying we’re at the beginning of a recession as bad as the one that started in 2008.

Asked about China’s tests of nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she wouldn’t comment on them except to say that the United States welcomes the competition. (YGBSM.) Her venture into humor extended to the supply chain problems that are threatening everything from Thanksgiving dinners to Christmas gift-giving when she mocked the thought that people’s deliveries of treadmills would be delayed. Just as funny was the news that Biden had killed yet another U.S. pipeline project, costing hundreds of U.S. jobs.

Just returned from months of “parental leave,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed the supply chain problems on the COVID-19 pandemic. Could the fact that his department is incompetent to deal with the problem could be the cause? DOT is at least as competent as the rest of the Biden administration.

Meanwhile, thousands of illegal immigrants are being flown around the country at night to conceal where they were going. Some of the flights reportedly went to New York. As usual, they’re being dumped on unsuspecting communities that are expected to pay to support them. The migrants, of course, are exempt from the vaccine mandates that are causing hundreds of federal employees and federal contractor employees to be fired. The Biden crew reportedly wants to give dishonorable discharges to military members booted out for refusing the shots. That’s a truly despicable idea.

With all this fun going on, it’s no wonder that the “f*** Joe Biden” chant was so loud that it drowned out the broadcasters of the Fox News postgame show at an ALCS game last week.

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @ZogbyStrategies

Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin