# The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days \[NOT an Afghanistan discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057 "2020-11-08T15:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**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:** [April 29, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/722 "2021-04-29T14:46:14Z")
A nice photogallery: > **[Photos: Biden's first address to Congress | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/gallery/biden-first-address-joint-session-congress/index.html)** > > Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday for the first time in his presidency — and it was an address unlike any other we've seen in modern American history. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/723 "2021-04-29T14:50:03Z")
has he promised free hookers and coke to everyone yet? Maybe that will be in package #3. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/724 "2021-04-29T15:23:58Z")
Joe is one classy dude. [https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/550875-biden-thanks-mcconnell-for-honoring-beau-biden](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/550875-biden-thanks-mcconnell-for-honoring-beau-biden) > … > Biden on Wednesday [went off-script](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/politics/mcconnell-beau-biden-cancer/index.html) to commend McConnell, who while Biden was vice president called for the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act aimed at accelerating cancer research to be renamed after Beau Biden, who had died from brain cancer less than a year prior. > > Biden while addressing lawmakers broke from [prepared remarks](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/04/28/remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-president-biden-address-to-a-joint-session-of-congress/) the White House had sent earlier in the day, saying, “I’ll still never forget when we passed the cancer proposal in the last year I was vice president, almost $9 million going to NIH,” referring to the National Institutes of Health. > > Biden, who was presiding over the Senate session when McConnell proposed the name change, added, "You’ll excuse the point of personal privilege — I’ll never forget you standing, Mitch, and saying, naming it after my deceased son.” > > “It meant a lot," he added. > … ---
**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:** [April 29, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/725 "2021-04-29T15:24:50Z")
I literally cannot imagine his predecessor ever saying something like that. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/726 "2021-04-29T19:49:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Delaware Man, Delaware Man > Delaware Man hates Florida Man > They have a vote, Delaware wins > Delaware Man Awesome!!! 😀 ---
**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:** [April 30, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/727 "2021-04-30T13:17:42Z")
Looking good! > **[The Bidens visit the Carters in Georgia | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/bidens-carters-visit-georgia/index.html)** > > President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the Carters' Plains, Georgia, home on Thursday. > **[Biden's economic push tests the power of pocketbook issues to sway America's...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/30/politics/joe-biden-economy-2022-elections/index.html)** > > A building Biden boom may be about to reshape America's politics. > **[Biden at 100 days: Hottest stock market since JFK | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/investing/stock-market-biden-100-days/index.html)** > > The Biden bust that the Trump campaign warned of has morphed into a Biden boom. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/728 "2021-04-30T13:36:15Z")
It seems weird to me that Carter and Biden are only 18 years apart in age, but 40 years apart in when they were in the presidency. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/729 "2021-04-30T20:01:04Z")
I couldn’t agree more: > **[Yeah, I admit it: I was wrong about Biden. So, so wrong. And I couldn't be...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/4/29/2028202/-Yeah-I-admit-it-I-was-wrong-about-Biden-So-so-wrong-And-I-couldn-t-be-happier-about-it)** > > You could go back to the primary days and read headlines I wrote about then-candidate Joe Biden. They weren’t flattering. You see, he was a dinosaur, he had a history of moderation, he wanted to chase the “bipartisan” pony, he supported George W.... ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/730 "2021-04-30T20:08:45Z")
Me too. I’m very pleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/731 "2021-05-01T12:19:19Z")
More cleaning up Donnie’s mess… > **[Homeland Security to repair damage created by border wall](https://apnews.com/article/business-government-and-politics-5df94c05550b8f012a35e4f13e351ca8)** > > The Biden administration says it will begin work to address the risks of flooding and soil erosion from unfinished sections of the wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. > … > Construction under the Trump administration “blew large holes” into the flood barrier system of low-lying regions in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, the Homeland Security Department said. It said it will “quickly repair” the flood barrier system without extending the wall. > > Hidalgo County, Texas, officials have expressed alarm about flooding risks during the hurricane season starting in June from breaches in a levee system after Biden halted border wall construction immediately upon taking office in January. > > The department said it would also fix “improper compaction of soil and construction materials” along parts of a 14-mile (22.4-kilometer) barrier in San Diego and soon unveil plans to address additional damage from border wall construction during Trump’s presidency. The San Diego wall is largely in unpopulated stretches in areas restricted to Border Patrol agents. > > … > > The Defense Department said it in a statement that it is cancelling contracts and will use unobligated money for military construction projects for its initial purpose. It is reviewing which of the billions of dollars in delayed projects would get priority. > > As of Jan. 15, the government had spent $6.1 billion of the $10.8 billion in work it signed contracts to have done, according to a Senate Democratic aide with knowledge of the contracts who spoke on condition of anonymity because details have not been made public. The full amount under contract would have extended Trump’s wall to **664 miles (1,069 kilometers).** > … My bold. BTW, > The total length of the continental border is **3,145 kilometers (1,954 mi).** From the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the course of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte) to the border crossing at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas. > _[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border)_ …so yeah, this project was and is a loser in every way beginning with its author, The Biggest Loser. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/732 "2021-05-01T22:03:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I literally cannot imagine his predecessor ever saying something like that. Even though I cannot recall him ever saying something like that, it would be at least _plausible_ that he would say something like that if the bill were named after _himself_ rather than after a deceased relative. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/733 "2021-05-01T22:11:31Z")
I think the real challenge is in making this a recovery that includes the people most impacted by the pandemic, such as small businesses and workers who depend on these kinds of jobs. I’m hopeful that we can get an infrastructure bill passed, not that it would get those old businesses and jobs back but it would potentially open up income opportunities for people who may not have a STEM or professional education or background. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/734 "2021-05-02T19:45:54Z")
Excellent article, and one I totally agree with. I wanted to add the observation that the total deterioration of any sort of “sane” opposition party made this possible. When your opponent has real and considered objections to your policy proposals, sometimes you have to consider them and, if the objections gain enough public traction, modify your policy. But if the only opposition messaging is RADICAL LEFT BLM SOCIALIST COMMUNIST GLOBALIST PEDOPHILE WORLD DOMINATION CABAL, you’re going to get that no matter how big or small you go, so you might as well go big. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/735 "2021-05-02T23:07:37Z")
Quite true. Why not do some good as you hear the same misleading, rabble-rousingly inevitable carping? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/736 "2021-05-04T13:50:04Z")
> **[U.S. to begin reuniting migrant families separated under ‘cruel’ Trump...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/03/border-families-reunited/)** > > “Today is just the beginning," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday. > [@](#): > > Four migrant parents who were separated from their children at the U.S. border by the Trump administration and sent home alone will be allowed to return to the United States this week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Monday. > > The reunions will start a process expected to stretch on for months and possibly years as separated parents are ferried back to the United States from around the world. > > More than 1,000 families remain separated, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The parents were deported alone, mostly to Central America, in 2017 or 2018. Their children have since grown up with relatives or other guardians across the United States. > Some children were so young when they were taken from their parents that **they barely remember them. Others have forgotten the Indigenous dialects in which they once spoke to their parents.** > … My bold. Jesus wept. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/737 "2021-05-07T13:15:46Z")
I knew the Trumans moved out of the White House for awhile while reconstruction work was being done; didn’t know the Coolidges had, too. > **[The 'headache' Trump left behind for Biden on the White House lawn | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/politics/white-house-construction-trump-biden/index.html)** > > The project that's currently tearing up the White House's South Lawn initially landed on Donald Trump's desk. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/738 "2021-05-10T20:40:14Z")
63% overall approval - suck it, Trump!: [Poll: Biden approval buoyed by his pandemic response](https://www.aol.com/news/ap-norc-poll-biden-approval-120231842-190255047.html) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/739 "2021-05-11T22:21:10Z")
> **[McDonald’s and Uber to help encourage vaccine-hesitant Americans](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/11/mcdonalds-promote-vaccine-information?campaign_id=154&emc=edit_cb_20210511&instance_id=30609&nl=coronavirus-briefing®i_id=35181819&segment_id=57778&te=1&user_id=e7ef30a42952da41e1799362ca85af83)** > > McDonald’s to promote vaccine information on coffee cups while Uber and Lyft to give free rides to vaccine sites > In the **U.S.** , McDonald’s is **partnering with the White House** [to promote vaccination information](https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/M0zAGbNACGbSuq_6o2rMSw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRifXyiP0T1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2J1c2luZXNzLzIwMjEvbWF5LzExL21jZG9uYWxkcy1wcm9tb3RlLXZhY2NpbmUtaW5mb3JtYXRpb24_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTU0JmVtYz1lZGl0X2NiXzIwMjEwNTExJmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTMwNjA5Jm5sPWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWJyaWVmaW5nJnJlZ2lfaWQ9MzUxODE4MTkmc2VnbWVudF9pZD01Nzc3OCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9ZTdlZjMwYTQyOTUyZGE0MWUxNzk5MzYyY2E4NWFmODNXA255dEIKYJKi95pgz5MIHFISc2FzaGE5OUBydW5ib3guY29tWAQAAAAA) on its coffee cups. My bold. Et tu, McDonald’s? I guess DJT won’t be serving Big Macs at state dinners when he ~~reascends to the throne~~ returns to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/740 "2021-05-15T22:09:31Z")
Not particularly related to President Biden but recently I watched a archival program on President Clinton’s re-election campaign and it is quite stunning looking back at some of the themes of 96’. I lived through it and voted for him but watching this ad it’s pretty clear how much things have changed. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pt-LDpxS5iQ/hqdefault.jpg "Clinton "America Back" ad '96") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt-LDpxS5iQ) Clinton was a very good president in my opinion and I think most people who lived while he was in charge would say so - hence even after impeachment his approval ratings were really high. You wouldn’t have him as a son-in-law but the feeling was he was smart at managing the government and had done a good job. But it was a different era because I can’t imagine Biden or a future Democratic president getting high marks for championing some of the things he did in 96’. Another point of change that is glaring is how that ad and the voiceover by Clinton is one of optimism and aspiration whereas the ads I saw run last year by the incumbent president were filled with negative fearmongering. I saw way more ads by Trump where footage of rioting was voiced over with “you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America” as opposed to positive hopeful messages about America under his leadership. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/741 "2021-05-15T22:18:18Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > Clinton was a very good president in my opinion and I think most people who lived while he was in charge would say so - hence even after impeachment his approval ratings were really high. You wouldn’t have him as a son-in-law but the feeling was he was smart at managing the government and had done a good job.- I wouldn’t mind him as a son-in-law. I have transgressed in ways similar to his. As have many of my friends. I can’t cast the first stone, and wouldn’t anyway. * * * I hope Biden is up to the strain and stress of the office. As all presidents do, he’s getting it from every direction-- attacks from the Republicans certainly, but I don’t feel he has the solid support from his own party that I’d like to see. Everyone expects him to do everything at once-- yesterday. Unless the Dems stick together, the 2022 mid-terms will bring this slowly recovering enterprise to a screeching halt. And that will be that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=38)