# President Joe Biden and the runup to the 2024 election

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [November 15, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384 "2021-11-15T14:54:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 16

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**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/301 "2023-11-09T16:35:00Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> Biden has had, imho, the most successful and productive presidency since Ronald Reagan

Thanks for that list. Partial though it may be, I intend to share it every time I hear someone complain about Biden not getting enough done.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/302 "2023-11-09T16:40:52Z")

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But, but, but, none of those things were cruel to the downtrodden. It can’t be an actual 'Murrikan accomplishment if it’s not cruel to the downtrodden.

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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/303 "2023-11-09T16:45:04Z")

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President Biden signed -

the [American Rescue Plan](https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/fact-sheet-the-american-rescue-plan-will-deliver-immediate-economic-relief-to-families).

[The Safer Communities Act](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-bipartisan-safer-communities-act-1-year-later/)

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**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/304 "2023-11-09T16:48:24Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> The Inflation Reduction Act which… since it’s passing… has resulted in reduced inflation: [Senate-Passed Inflation Reduction Act: Estimates of Budgetary and Macroeconomic Effects — Penn Wharton Budget Model](https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/8/12/senate-passed-inflation-reduction-act)

Just going to nitpick this one, but did it reduce inflation? That link says:

> [@](#):
>
> The Act would have no meaningful effect on inflation in the near term but would reduce inflation by around 0.1 percentage points by the middle of the first decade. These point estimates, however, are not statistically different from zero, indicating a low level of confidence that the legislation would have any measurable impact on inflation.

The IRA has achieved a lot but I’ve not seen evidence that it, in itself, brought down inflation.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/305 "2023-11-09T17:20:01Z")

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Probably not, but in politics, perception is key.

My cite makes this admission, but to the point above, _I don’t care_. Sometimes you gotta fight propaganda with propaganda.

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**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/306 "2023-11-09T18:59:32Z")

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Having prices come down _would_ be pretty nice, and really help Biden’s popularity.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/307 "2023-11-09T19:16:03Z")

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The last extended deflationary period America had was 1930-1932. I don’t think the American electorate was happy about Hoover’s performance, though!

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/308 "2023-11-09T19:35:23Z")

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As @JOhnT just said, overall price deflation is an unmitigated economic disaster.

OTOH, headline prices of gasoline dropping due to increased refinery output or OPEC price reductions would be a popular and not harmful thing to have happen.

Unless one is concerned about AGW.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/309 "2023-11-09T19:35:34Z")

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Looking back at it 1990-1993 was also deflationary. Didn’t help george bush much!

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/310 "2023-11-09T20:52:17Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> The choice is clear: you can vote for the 82yo Democrat in 2024 and then vote for his much younger successor in 2028, or you can vote for the 79yo Republican in 2024 and never vote again.

More or less- correct. There is no magic choice. And Biden has done a damn good job.

> [@JohnT](#):
>
> Since we like to consider ourselves pretty smart, let’s not fall for obvious propaganda and, instead, educate ourselves and others what Biden has actually accomplished despite “being too old for the job”:

AND passed a bipartisan Gun Control bill.

And I said- a damn good president.

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**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/311 "2023-11-09T21:51:20Z")

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Excellent summary, and I already fully agreed. Biden has been a terrific, consequential president. I am stunned at what he’s been able to achieve—not to mention the respect he’s reestablished with the international community, and the masterful way his administration has corralled and led that same community in vital ways (e.g., Ukraine).

I don’t get the lack of enthusiasm because of his age. It certainly hasn’t slowed him down in his first term.

BTW, I am certain I’ll refer back to your post multiple times. Thanks for the effort.

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**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/312 "2023-11-09T22:47:59Z")

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> [@Stratocaster](#):
>
> I don’t get the lack of enthusiasm because of his age. It certainly hasn’t slowed him down in his first term.

It’s the power of relentless right wing propaganda, spewed constantly into the bloodstream of the overall media narrative. Even so-called “leans left” media outlets allow a lot of this garbage to slide by unchallenged. The diseased information seeps into everything, and before you know it, you hear people making idiotic statements like they’re repeating matters of fact.

I hate it. Even really smart people whom I generally respect fall prey to it. I get tired of debunking these casually-accepted lies, but it is imperative to do it.

And yes, @JohnT, thanks for compiling that summary.

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**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/313 "2023-11-10T01:35:12Z")

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> [@TeroSunbear](#):
>
> The problem it that the polled people do not understand the question the way the pollsters think they do.

There are lots of detailed questions that may be misconstrued. But I think the question of who you would vote for if the presidential election was today is understood. The reason Trump outdid polls by a few points on the November 2016 and 2020 election days was probably fear of being looked down on. This will probably continue in this cycle.

The state of a political race often changes over time. But the horse race pollsters are giving us the best picture available of where a race may be at a point in time.

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**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/314 "2023-11-10T02:00:52Z")

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> [@Stratocaster](#):
>
> I don’t get the lack of enthusiasm because of his age.

I think that the gut feeling concerning whether you would or would not vote for Biden usually comes first. If then asked why you don’t plan to vote for Biden, age is an easy and perhaps the most socially acceptable answer to give.

For Trump opponents, there are even more socially acceptable answers to give than age as to why you will be voting against him, such as his general boorishness. I wonder if this is why polls show so many more voters concerned about Biden’s age than Trump’s.

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/315 "2023-11-10T08:25:34Z")

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Dark Brandon is on _fire_ in this clip.

> <https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1722694591999074471>

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/316 "2023-11-10T10:28:42Z")

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From the (probably non-unionized) meme factories…

[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53322063581_6cc31d81e5_b.jpg "Biden") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/53322063581/)  
[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53322413259_9e223c9145_b.jpg "Biden") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/53322413259/)  
[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53322523190_2d290744ce_b.jpg "Biden") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/53322523190/)  
[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53322533985_1d89de8c60_b.jpg "Biden wins") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/53322533985/)

Feel free to share!

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**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/317 "2023-11-10T11:58:38Z")

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You bet I will! Thanks very much!

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/318 "2023-11-10T16:56:34Z")

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I like President Biden, respect his many achievements in office and certainly expect to vote for him, but if you see him speak these days or watch him try to answer questions, it’s obvious he’s not the guy he was in 1988 or in 2008 (and yes, I know, none of us are). I don’t think concerns about his age and mental acuity are off-base or merely the result of right-wing trolls’ eeeeevil work.

And as a former reporter myself, I’m not crazy about his avoidance of the press: [https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3952271-press-conferences-now-extinct-as-biden-lets-tiktokers-do-the-talking/](https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3952271-press-conferences-now-extinct-as-biden-lets-tiktokers-do-the-talking/)

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/319 "2023-11-10T19:52:31Z")

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> [@Smapti](#):
>
> Dark Brandon is on _fire_ in this clip.

Wow. Sharp and pointed.

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**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/320 "2023-11-10T21:24:18Z")

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> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> I like President Biden, respect his many achievements in office and certainly expect to vote for him, but if you see him speak these days or watch him try to answer questions, it’s obvious he’s not the guy he was in 1988 or in 2008…

1988 and 2008 Biden was an asshole. I have grudges over his legislative record that I won’t go into here, because they’re irrelevant in the current situation. But I’d rather have Biden with his current stances than that guy, even if he’s lost a few steps.

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