We inaugurated a new president yesterday, and considering the past year, I prefer to look forward — to reclaiming the U.S. House and Senate in two years and presidency in four — not back.
There are various paths for President Joe Biden to take with Americas’s current challenges. I’ll keep it simple, with a list of options he should avoid:
- Do not get bogged down on impeachment. Focus on uniting the country, as you promised in the inaugural speech. Restrain the fringe appetites of your coalition, while quelling their ideological vengeance.
- Do not succumb to society-induced utopianism like “racial equity” or listen to “social justice” activists. The U.S. Senate is evenly split, and as you often say, you beat the socialist. Grievance and wokeness are divisive, regressive and help no one.
- Do not bash you predecessor. Donald Trump may at times be petulant, but no president in my lifetime blamed the prior commander-in-chief more often than did Barack Obama. Your former boss was 47 with limited life experience when he assumed office; you’re 78 with a half-century in politics. Act as such.
- Do not be so downtrodden. Stop with the “dark winter” nonsense. It’s one thing as a partisan tool when campaigning, but now you’re the president. Americans are optimists. We know your COVID plan is not much different from Trump’s and we also know about your COVID leadership team’s personal foibles.
- Do not ruin the Abraham Accords and recent miraculous progress in the Middle East. You’ve re-hired Obama administration personnel who should support our Israeli allies, oppose totalitarianism, and work toward peace. A new alliance between the Jewish State and its Sunni Arab friends is a phenomenal development. Do not retreat toward past failures, or reenter the horrific Iran nuclear deal.
- Do not show weakness on genocidal China. The South China Sea is a dangerous military flashpoint. While the Trump administration enjoyed some success against mercantilist Beijing, your history with China is too genial; meanwhile, the global community coddles evil and some of your Cabinet nominees seem inclined to do similarly.
- Do not kill thousands of good-paying jobs by caving to the well-funded environmental lobby (and China). They are as misguided as the teachers unions punishing school children the past 11 months.
- Do not listen to your vice president. She is an unlikable extremist, whose candidacy failed two months before the first primary vote was even cast. As I wrote five months ago, you made a grave mistake picking her and only did it for race and gender protocols. No one chose that manipulative authoritarian. And please do not attempt to model our country after her failed state.
- Do not get sick. Stay healthy. See number 8.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
