Presidents Should Only Get Second Terms If They Earn It In Their First

During the 2020 campaign, Biden painted himself as a transitional figure, not a transformative one.Although the times call for a transformative leader, Obama decided otherwise and we suddenly wound up with an also-ran as a frontrunner. He wasn't lying when he said that fundamentally, nothing would change. If Trump-- or some facsimile-- gets back into the White House in 2024, the changes could well be very transformative... and in a very, very bad way. Do the Democrats even have any viable candidates to put up against a fascist in 2024? Neither Pramila nor Ro was born in this country. The Republicans have succeeded at making AOC appear too divisive. and would an electorate increasingly concerned about Biden's mental acuity be too nervous about Bernie-- who would take office at the age of 83-- or Elizabeth Warren-- who would take office at the age of 75? Both have already said they don't plan to run.

Many of the prospective candidates being discussed now are more mediocre than inspiring-- particularly Kamala Harris and Mayo Pete. Michelle Obama says she isn't running and Gavin Newsom is another neoliberal careerist and-- God forbid. I don't know if he's considering it, but the best candidate I can think of-- if neither Bernie nor Elizabeth runs-- would be Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, who needs to start getting a lot better known. Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin is also someone who should continue working on a robust national profile.

A new Marist poll, that was released by NPR Friday shows that many Americans, particularly Republicans, have basically given up on democracy, precisely what Putin's propaganda machine has been working on for the last half dozen years. The polling also showed that "Biden’s approval rating is upside down. 44% of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president, and 49% disapprove... Looking ahead to 2024, 36% of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents say their party will have a better chance winning the White House with Biden at the top of the ticket. 44% want someone else, and 20% are unsure."

So... more Democrats want him to be a one-termer than to try for a second term. Makes sense to me--more sense than I usually ascribe to Democratic voters. However, a lot can change between now and then-- not necessarily by Biden, but around him. The pandemic could abate, which would likely drive his approval numbers up. The economy could start popping. Trump could do something more horrible than usual. The Republicans could be unbearable if they control Congress.

By the way, that same Marist poll had some interesting information on how Americans look at the Climate Crisis-- based on data collected before the nothing-burger summit in Rome or the one in Glasgow or wherever the leaders are doing nothing much, and before Biden allowed Manchin to walk all over him and gut his Climate agenda. The key takeaway is that "about half of Americans say the United States’ current policies do not go far enough."

Global emissions have continued to climb since the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris. Despite a record dip in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, emissions have come roaring back a year later. More than half of the human-driven CO2 trapped within the atmosphere has been produced in the last three decades, with China, the U.S., India and Russia being the top polluters.

More Americans-- about six out of 10-- say the global community is doing too little to address climate change. Though China has excelled in producing electric vehicles as well as wind and solar energy, some experts say the nation still produces more carbon emissions than the rest of the developed world combined.

...Younger people, who will inherit the choices of previous generations, were much more likely than others to feel that the global community is not doing enough to prevent climate change from getting worse. Seventy-two percent of Gen Zers and millennials in the U.S. felt that way in this poll, compared to 57 percent of Gen Xers and 54 percent of baby boomers. About half of the nation’s oldest members-- 47 percent-- say the global community should take further action.

That generational support for climate change action supercedes political divides, said John Kotcher with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, where he conducts polls for the Climate Change in the American Mind project. Kotcher pointed to an April 2020 poll that suggested 38 percent of Republican millennials and 87 percent of Democratic millennials supported climate activists who urged elected officials to work to reduce global warming. That is compared to 20 percent of Republican boomers and 81 percent of Democratic boomers who felt the same way.

“Younger Americans in both parties are more willing to engage in activism in support of climate policies,” Kotcher said.

Following his inauguration, Biden rejoined the Paris agreement his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, announced he would pulled out of four years prior. He has also pushed for more robust action on climate change. A clean electricity program at the heart of Biden’s climate agenda has not survived efforts to scale back the massive Build Back Better spending plan. However, the most recent version of the framework allocates $555 billion for climate change measures, which would be the largest ever investment of its kind.

Wednesday morning, pundits will be talking about why younger Democrats in Virginia didn't vote in high enough numbers. Trump and Youngkin should call Manchin up to thank him for sabotaging Biden, McAuliffe and the Democratic Party.