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Joe Biden faces an electorate increasingly impatient with his style of governance. His herky-jerky approach to policy confuses supporters and opponents alike. One day he pressures Israel, the next day he gives them another billion. If he is trying to leverage Tel Aviv he is not doing a very good job. Benjamin Netanyahu can be forgiven for being nonplussed about America's foreign policy - who isn't.
Throw in Biden's support for Ukraine that makes less sense. Russia is slowly winning the war, but Biden pushes on. Secretary of State Tony Blinken goes to Kiev, sings "Rockin' in the Free World," and promises more aid. No mention of negotiation or a hint of reality. Perhaps Hunter Biden's investments in Ukraine have nothing to do with this policy, but who knows. Nothing is stated, but Biden is always convinced of American exceptionalism - a risky and juvenile concept. C'mon, man, America can do it all, deficits be hanged and consequences ignored.
Time Warp Joe lives in the flush of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite his fondness for diversity, he slips and refers to Japanese and Indians as xenophobic. Despite his chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Biden is a provincial in his foreign policy. Foreigners are simply those who must follow America's lead or else. No wonder the global south regards the commander in chief as something of a curiosity.
At least Donald Trump is clear, even if he is misguided. He is not clear on Ukraine one way or another. But he does rely on peace through strengths - which at least is a coherent approach.
Biden fights back with bombast and empty threats. His state of the union address was sound and fury signifying nothing. Like Harry Truman, he pushes, reconsiders and pushes yet again. Biden is like a phonograph record forever stuck. Blinken, one of the worst secretaries of state since Madeleine Albright, spews cliches and rattles his umbrella. No wonder Netanyahu holds him in contempt, and Vladimir Putin ignores U.S. blandishments.
One wonders why Democrats held George W. Bush in so much contempt. They follow his foreign policy chapter and verse. A new Wilsonianism that will prove as feckless as the original. Based on American notions of its superiority and omnipotence. Every time Biden opens his mouth, confusion reigns, and it is based on the belief that all depends on personalities. Just get rid of Netanyahu and Putin and all will be good with the world. Unfortunately, it's a little more complex than simply issuing a laminated card which is issued to governments. Do as we say, for your country is meaningless, or so says the American deep state.
Unfortunately, Biden is trying to ride two horses, Ukraine and Israel, at the same time. As Thomas More wrote in "Utopia," "Once upon a time they had gone to war to win for their king another kingdom," describing the disorder financial and otherwise that came as results. All because, as More wrote, "The king being distracted with the charge of two kingdoms, could not properly attend to either." Wisdom rarely is seen on foggy bottom, by those denizens of American supremacy.
Biden's re-election depends on his ability to handle these crisis with imagination and skill. Instead it is ham-handed and crude. If he wants "morning again in America" he needs peace and prosperity. Ronald Reagan pulled out of Lebanon in 1984 and he launched a new policy towards the USSR in 1985. Biden could win re-election if he adjusted, but the evidence points to the contrary.