Washington Merry-Go-Round

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 July 2024
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Today’s Events in Historical Perspective
America’s Longest-Running Column Founded 1932
              The issues
By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift         
 
WASHINGTON – Presidential elections are about the future, and President Biden for the next six months will do everything he can to help his vice president win the White House.
With his family looking on, Biden in a primetime address to the nation took a victory lap on his accomplishments, getting the nation through the Pandemic, strengthening the NATO alliance, growing the economy and “defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote – to the right to choose.”
It is up to Vice President Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, to build on the contrasts Biden drew when and if she is on the debate stage with Donald Trump. Are voters safer today than four years ago? Are they feeling better about the economy? What about immigration and the border?
These issues will decide the election, and Biden can use his remaining time in office to boost Harris’ chances to blunt the attacks coming from Trump.
Inflation is substantially down from a year ago, and a cut in interest rates could happen soon. Biden can’t call for that, but he can draw attention to an economy that has fully recovered from the Pandemic with unemployment the lowest it’s been since 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War.
Handing off an economy that is the envy of the world is a far cry from the Pandemic Biden inherited. Even so, Harris needs to make the economy her own, perhaps with a proposal to rival Trump’s catchy idea of “no taxes on tips.”  While a crowd pleaser, only about a third of tipped workers make enough money to even pay taxes. Harris can do better.
Trump will attribute the influx of undocumented migrants to Harris, mocking her as Biden’s “border czar,” but here again Harris with an assist from Biden can go on the offensive. Border reform legislation crafted by conservative Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, was embraced by Biden and Senate Democrats only to be scuttled by Trump. Trump killed the deal because it benefits him politically to have the border issue inflamed.
              However, Biden finally did utilize executive orders to stem the tide. This was enhanced by the efforts of Mexico’s new President Claudia Sheinbaum, who undoubtedly was influenced by Biden and Harris.
Immigrants are not taking the jobs of Americans, jobs that Trump referred to in the debate last month as “Black jobs,” revealing his race-based typecasting. Many jobs left vacant would be filled if more immigrants were granted employment visas.
Ending the war in Gaza is Biden’s goal, and if he gets Israel and the Hamas leadership to agree to a temporary ceasefire that includes the return of the remaining 140 hostages, the result could redound to Harris’ benefit.
Her challenge is to navigate the politics around Israel and Gaza, and to separate herself somewhat from Biden. She can point to her strong rhetoric calling attention to the humanitarian plight of Gazans.
Finally, America’s NATO allies are worried about being abandoned should Trump win the election. The Baltic countries are reintroducing conscription fearing that Russian President Putin might be emboldened to invade if Trump is elected. Trump takes regular jabs at NATO countries, complaining they don’t pay their fair share to assure their safety.
He said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t pay up like they have agreed to do. Strengthening NATO in word and deed is core to Biden’s mission and to Harris’ presidency should she succeed in winning the White House.
              Meanwhile, in J.D. Vance, Trump has selected the weakest vice presidential candidate since Presidential nominee John McCain disastrously picked Sarah Palin. So, here is where Harris can shine by vetting and professionally selecting a responsible and qualified running mate. Nothing she currently says or does could be more compelling.
 
          See Eleanor Clift’s latest book Selecting a President, and Douglas Cohn’s latest books The President’s First Year: The Only School for Presidents Is the Presidency and World War 4: Nine Scenarios (endorsed by seven flag officers).
          Twitter:  @douglas_cohn
          © 2024 U.S. News Syndicate, Inc.
          Distributed by U.S. News Syndicate, Inc.
END WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND