Joe Biden’s presidency is not going out on a pleasant note. His popularity is below 30% in some polls, yet he insists he was a successful President. Some progressives still taut his successes in passing legislation on par with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. It has been an administration filled with bluster and brag; and at times, Biden himself has appeared delusional.

Assuredly he passed legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment, the Jobs Act, and the Chips Act of 2022, but these were not sweeping in their impact on American society. FDR passed Social Security, and guaranteed the right to form unions; LBJ outlawed centuries of racial discrimination. These actions touched the soul; Biden’s were laundry list triumphs, like George H.W. Bush, he dealt in “good government remedies.” And, similar to Bush, he became a one-term President. What Biden shares with Johnson is his administration’s handling of foreign affairs. He split the Democratic Party with his positions on Israel and Ukraine, as LBJ did with Vietnam. Like Woodrow Wilson, Biden rambled on about Democracy without fully explaining what he meant. FDR, unlike either of these Democratic Presidents, articulated his vision of a post-World War II peace, blending it with a practical foreign policy. Neither Wilson, Harry Truman nor Lyndon Johnson could explain “why we fight.” During his administration, Biden whined and wheedled; and to top it off, the White House, as with Wilson, covered up Biden’s declining physical condition. Certainly, Roosevelt was ill, but he was able to set the United States on course to victory. Biden was stubborn, proud and defensive, and it showed. He broke his promise to serve one term, placing the Democratic Party in a jam.

Not only that, his campaign team guided Kamala Harris’s efforts. She was game and competitive, but she was given only 109 days. Luckily, the Democratic Party suffered minimal losses in the Senate and the House. Harris, not Biden, left the party in good shape, although she lost her campaign. Indeed, Biden’s yammering on about “garbage” when describing Donald Trump supporters brought back the “deplorable” comments of Hillary Clinton. Whatever Biden did for Harris did not work and hurt her candidacy.

Biden had no real understanding of the modern world. He believed standing on a picket line would automatically win over the rank and file in massive numbers. Because of inflation, this did not help Harris in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania. The outgoing President was a fixer, not an inspirer. He takes a little bit too much credit for success than he deserves. As a result, Biden is now solitary Joe, who ironically, like Truman, overly praised his administration. Despite public opinion, unlike Jimmy Carter, Biden leaves with rancor and bitterness, still convinced he could have beaten Trump.

All this does not leave Trump unscathed, but Biden, through his irresponsible public announcements, gives him a leg up. The inflation, overspending, and the feckless foreign policy were Biden’s fault. Facing up to what went wrong in 2024 would allow Democrats to renew and regroup.