Personal Responsibility Has Gone Extinct in American Politics

Here, courtesy of the New York Times, is a headline that nicely sums up our political moment: “Biden Promised Calm After Trump Chaos,” it reads, “but the World Has Not Cooperated.”

Got that? Joe Biden promised that his election would bring calm, and, as it turns out, that hasn’t happened. But, instead of being Biden’s fault for having failed to bring about “calm” — or, if such a thing is impossible to guarantee, for having made vows he evidently could not keep — it’s the world’s fault. Biden tried, you see, but the world — dastardly little minx that it is — shockingly declined to cooperate! There we all were, elatedly watching Biden’s inauguration and assuming in good faith that the mere act of elevating such a man to the presidency would alter the fabric of reality itself, and then along came the world to stick a fork into the toaster. Really, one has to wonder what things are coming to when the leader of a superpower can’t count on the entire population of the earth to refrain from throwing obstacles in his path for the duration of his four- or eight-year term. After all, the history of the past century was one of unadulterated peace and prosperity until noon on January 20, 2021, at which moment everything suddenly kicked off, and poor ol’ Joe was left holding the bag.

About the Author

Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

Featured Tags

Here, courtesy of the New York Times, is a headline that nicely sums up our political moment: “Biden Promised Calm After Trump Chaos,” it reads, “but the World Has Not Cooperated.”

Got that? Joe Biden promised that his election would bring calm, and, as it turns out, that hasn’t happened. But, instead of being Biden’s fault for having failed to bring about “calm” — or, if such a thing is impossible to guarantee, for having made vows he evidently could not keep — it’s the world’s fault. Biden tried, you see, but the world — dastardly little minx that it is — shockingly declined to cooperate! There we all were, elatedly watching Biden’s inauguration and assuming in good faith that the mere act of elevating such a man to the presidency would alter the fabric of reality itself, and then along came the world to stick a fork into the toaster. Really, one has to wonder what things are coming to when the leader of a superpower can’t count on the entire population of the earth to refrain from throwing obstacles in his path for the duration of his four- or eight-year term. After all, the history of the past century was one of unadulterated peace and prosperity until noon on January 20, 2021, at which moment everything suddenly kicked off, and poor ol’ Joe was left holding the bag.