Why Biden Is Patient as Democrats Panic
A faint but discernible note of alarm has been slipping into Democrats’ chatter about the 2022 and 2024 elections. President Joe Biden’s approval ratings have slumped to their lowest levels since his inauguration. His governing coalition is splintering over the Haitian migrant crisis. Many Democrats view the legislation moving through Congress this week as a defining test of whether they can marshal their congressional majority and pass something that most Americans want. “You’ve got an imperative here that requires the Democrats to deliver. Their survival depends on it,” Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate leader from South Dakota, told me.
Biden seems to be playing a longer game. He’s working to pass the infrastructure plan, but the White House considers subduing the pandemic its overriding mission. He hopes to forge a sunnier future from this past summer’s wreckage of soaring case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths. The pandemic news is bleak. But the administration’s recent actions could nevertheless seed a turnaround. Offices that went dark as COVID-19 swept the country could again fill with employees who have
