Poring through the latest round of polls showing President Biden’s approval regressing back near all-time lows, it’s worth presenting an alternative history, one in which he governed as he campaigned—a pragmatist offering a simple return to normalcy after the tumult of the Trump years. He’d rightly recognize himself as a bridge presidency, looking to reset our politics from the tribalism of the previous four years, without seeking ideological glory or a place in the history books. …
Part of the reason that Democrats rushed to push the most ambitious agenda imaginable is that party leaders expected their time in the majority to be short. It became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy: They rushed to push unpopular progressive legislation that further reduced their chances of holding onto power. They looked at the history of parties in power reliably losing seats in their first midterm election and assumed Biden would be destined to the same fate. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it’s not clear that a more-popular Biden would be on track to lose both the House and Senate. CONTINUED
Josh Kraushaar, National Journal
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