Put it down to a hyper-caffeinated media. A few weeks ago, Joe Biden’s presidency was widely hailed as a triumph. Coronavirus was in retreat. The US economy was roaring back. And Democrats looked on course to pass Biden’s ambitious economic bills by early autumn. Rash comparisons between Biden and Franklin Roosevelt were being bandied about.
A few weeks of setbacks have changed everything. The rampaging Delta variant has dented consumer sentiment and created a bad jobs report. Forecasts of a Democratic defeat in the midterm elections next year are now commonplace, which would turn Biden into a lame duck. All of a sudden people are proclaiming Biden’s “failed presidency”. Others are chronicling “How Delta beat Biden”.
Writing him off now is just as overwrought as reserving a premature slot on Mount Rushmore. The turning point came on the July 4 weekend. That was when Biden failed to meet his target of inoculating 70 per cent of Americans against Covid-19. He missed it by a few weeks. America’s vaccination rate is now at 75 per cent, which is not a disaster though it trails most of Europe. But a missed deadline is unforgivable, particularly if you work in the media.