Not Looking Like He Is in Charge

In the midst of an otherwise disappointing column Edward Luce raises an interesting point. Luce, as you know, writes a column for the Financial Times. In his column yesterday he seems to have felt the need to resurrect the reputation of Jimmy Carter, of all people.

Conventional wisdom has painted Joe Biden as an inept fool, someone who is in way over his head, who does not know what he is doing and does not have a sufficient number of little gray cells to right his presidency.

Now, most people thought as much of the hapless Jimmy Carter. I will not recall the failures of the Carter presidency, but will skip to Luce’s more salient point, one that echoes my remarks of yesterday.

In order to lead effectively people must have the impression that you are in charge. It is very difficult to fake. Getting angry and ranting like an adolescent-- Biden's latest ploy-- will not do the trick.

Considering that Biden is incapable of holding a press conference that is not completely scripted, the implication is that he is not in charge. When he offers an aside to the effect that he cannot answer questions because his handlers do not want him to answer questions he gives the impression that he is a marionette, an empty head being controlled by puppeteers.

As it happens, Luce remarks, Jimmy Carter lost the confidence of the American people when he started whining about the general malaise. Luce does not remark on it, but Carter had gotten in touch with his feminine side and was showing off his superior capacity for empathy. It is a formula for calamity; see the current case of one Boris Johnson.

The question is whether voters think Biden is in charge. In practice, he has less power than responsibility. A key to public confidence is the impression of being in control. Carter flunked that test in 1979 with his “malaise” address, in which he mused about the country’s crisis of confidence — “a fundamental threat to American democracy”. It was ostensibly about US energy security at a time of galloping oil prices. What voters heard was a leader bemoaning America’s spiritual decline. He did not use the word “crime”. Inflation was mentioned only in passing.

As it happens, and I add this for your edification, the party line is that poor Joe Biden cannot succeed because the problems are so vast that no one can solve them. And yet, following Luce, we must remark that Biden is obviously not in charge of much of anything. He does not even give the impression that he is doing the job. 

He went up to Capitol Hill the other day in order to persuade senators to abolish the filibuster-- it would have been a dramatic moment, worthy of a conquering hero. But then, he was upstaged and put down by Arizona senator Krysten Sinema, who put the kibosh on his plan. The conquering hero was slapped down ignominiously. 

Luce understands the concept of looking like one is in charge, but he is far too confident in Joe’s ability to be in charge of much of anything. Keep in mind, Biden is very likely to lose Congress ten months from now.

Compared with what Biden faces, Carter’s domestic challenges seem almost enviable. Unlike Carter, who had big majorities in both chambers of Congress, Biden has little ability to pass legislation. Prospects for his “build back better” bill, and the two democracy reform bills that he is now prioritising, are dim. He should get high marks for good intentions. But declaring something an existential priority is a pistol you can only fire once. If it turns out to be loaded with blanks, the electorate will notice. Carter’s malaise speech was remembered for its insolubles; no president can fix a spiritual crisis. Biden has at least set himself a goal he can theoretically achieve. But can he convince the nation?