Democrats Stuck with Joe Biden

Joe Biden is still the Democrats’ best bet in 202 4 — I stand by that. His poll numbers have steadied as gas prices have fallen, and broken supply chains have healed. He doesn’t inspire the intensity of fear and loathing among Republicans that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did. Yes, his party went on a spending spree at the end of the Covid emergency, but he’s pivoting toward the middle as he prepares to run again, highlighting the parts of his administration that are genuinely popular — the infrastructure bill, and more energetic competition with China. The great scandal of his administration is his son, Hunter Biden. And so far, the president has avoided direct implication in Hunter’s bad dealings. In some ways, Biden has turned it into an advantage. In a country that consumes 80 percent of the global supply of opioids, loving a troubled addict child is sadly relatable.

But let’s be clear. Joe Biden is their best choice, but that’s not really a good thing. An approval rating in the low 40s is not a great place for an incumbent president to start. A December surve y found that a majority of Democrats don’t want Joe Biden to run for president again. Sixty-one percent of Democrats who said that he shouldn’t run again cited his age.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

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Joe Biden is still the Democrats’ best bet in 202 4 — I stand by that. His poll numbers have steadied as gas prices have fallen, and broken supply chains have healed. He doesn’t inspire the intensity of fear and loathing among Republicans that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did. Yes, his party went on a spending spree at the end of the Covid emergency, but he’s pivoting toward the middle as he prepares to run again, highlighting the parts of his administration that are genuinely popular — the infrastructure bill, and more energetic competition with China. The great scandal of his administration is his son, Hunter Biden. And so far, the president has avoided direct implication in Hunter’s bad dealings. In some ways, Biden has turned it into an advantage. In a country that consumes 80 percent of the global supply of opioids, loving a troubled addict child is sadly relatable.

But let’s be clear. Joe Biden is their best choice, but that’s not really a good thing. An approval rating in the low 40s is not a great place for an incumbent president to start. A December surve y found that a majority of Democrats don’t want Joe Biden to run for president again. Sixty-one percent of Democrats who said that he shouldn’t run again cited his age.