• dudinax@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    I’m pretty old. Biden has been the best president of my lifetime.

    He should be viewed as a national hero for beating Donnie in 2020 and making it stick, which was probably harder than it looked. The US President starting a coup has lots of strings to pull.

    • Soulg@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      I genuinely think that the only reason so many people aren’t able to admit that is because of Gaza.

      • Narauko@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I deduct credit from a President if they are primarily fixing problems that they themselves caused or greatly assisted in creating throughout their previous political career. In Biden’s case, that means that he is unlikely to get better than absolute neutral due to his incredibly long history of selling out the American people.

        I will not give Biden an 11th hour passing grade just because he is up against Trump, he doesn’t deserve to be graded on a curve.

        • IamtheMorgz@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Eh, this is a bit too “moving the finish line” for me. In a super long political career, attitudes shift. I don’t think you can judge someone for, say, cheering about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (a win for it’s time, but now seen as a crappy half measure) as long as their attitudes shifted. That’s kind of how politics works. 100 years from now current liberal attitudes will be looked down on because they aren’t progressive enough. That’s sort of the definition of progress.

          • Narauko@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            So if I spend my life being a right bastard, like 50 straight years of kicking dogs, stealing from old ladies, being a slum lord and extorting people, breaking people’s legs in mafia style protection rackets, dumping toxic industrial byproducts into rivers, and using my wealth and power to keep and enforce “sundown laws”, but then in my 60s open an animal shelter, fund bingo nights and retirement centers, set up community reinvestment grants, sponsor efforts to get the wetlands to get cleaned up as a Superfund site, and get diversity and equality training implemented for the police department, would I then be considered to be a good person because my attitude shifted? The thousands of people I hurt and potentially indirectly killed over those 50 years don’t count against the good I am now doing?

            Even simpler, if I steal and destroy your car, causing you to lose your job because you don’t have transportation which then causes you to lose your home, should I then be praised for giving you a nicer brand new car a year later?

            Sticking to politics in case that’s the only place this kind of behavior gets a pass, what if someone didn’t cheer for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell but instead had sponsored bills undoing limitations or bans on gay conversion therapy. Does later supporting a bill making conversion therapy illegal undo the suicides and trauma they inflicted because their apparent attitude has changed? Are they now equal to the person who spent their entire career pushing for gay rights, because this person supported strengthening of domestic partnership laws instead of marriage equality 20-30 years ago? They both support gay rights now, so is saying that the first person is doing the bare minimum and shouldn’t really be called an ally “moving the finish line”?

    • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I think Obama was better in charisma and speeches. Which is motivating. But Biden is damn good.

    • Tinidril@midwest.social
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      2 months ago

      I totally agree, but I also think that every president for the last 50+ years would have walked out of office and into a prison cell in a just world. Judged in that context, Biden looks pretty good.

      Also, a ham sandwich would have beaten Trump in 2020. I know this because half the Biden supporters on Reddit were constantly paving over Biden’s deep flaws by pointing out that they would pick a ham sandwich over Trump. I have no idea why it was always a ham sandwich. All Biden had to do was hide in his basement and not say anything mind-blisteringly stupid. That and avoid catching COVID from Trump on the debate stage.