Washington Post opinion section publishes series of pieces defending, lowering expectations for Biden
Columns sought to downplay supply chain issues, push back on progressive Democrats and praise Biden's handling of the coronavirus pandemic
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The Washington Post opinion section went into apparent overtime this week to lower expectations for President Joe Biden over issues plaguing his administration and driving down his popularity.
Columns published Monday and Tuesday, including one from the Post's editorial board, sought to downplay the supply chain issues causing problems for American consumers, pushed back on progressive Democrats pressuring the Biden administration to enact polarizing left-wing policies and declared the state of the coronavirus pandemic was actually Republicans' fault.
Columnist Micheline Maynard made a call on Monday for "spoiled" Americans to lower their expectations as consumers and accept shortages in goods across the country stemming from supply chain disruptions.
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"Time for some new, more realistic expectations," Maynard wrote after describing how Americans were used to fast service and easy access to consumer products until the coronavirus pandemic set off a ripple effect. "American consumers, their expectations pampered and catered to for decades, are not accustomed to inconvenience."
"American consumers might have been spoiled, but generations of them have also dealt with shortages of some kind … Now it’s our turn to make adjustments," she later added.
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The Post's editorial board followed Tuesday with the condemnation of progressive Democrats, claiming they should stop demanding a "revolution" because Biden didn't run for president to set the stage for one.
The board described how the Democratic party seemed unified after the passage of the final coronavirus relief bill in March on a party-line vote, but that things changed as it came time to address multi-trillion dollar infrastructure and spending bills.
"These dreams were never realistic, and they are now evaporating. But many progressives are having trouble accepting this, looking for gimmicky ways to enact broad structural change despite centrists’ objections," it wrote.
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The board refuted a letter sent from progressive Democrats to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., describing their desire "to fundamentally transform the relationship between the American people and their government."
"That is not what President Biden promised when he ran for president … He spoke about returning normalcy and competence to Washington, not renegotiating the social contract," it wrote.
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A piece by liberal columnist Max Boot rounded out the Biden defense, arguing it wasn't Biden's fault that the coronavirus pandemic was still an issue for the U.S.
"It is deeply unfair to blame the president for the recent [C]ovid surge (now waning). He has done an excellent job of dealing with the pandemic despite incessant criticism and outrageous obstructionism from the right," Boot wrote.
He praised Biden's efforts to get Americans vaccinated and described his vaccine mandates as "a bold and gutsy move" and a "gamble" that was now paying off.
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He, however, blamed Republicans in large part for the spread of vaccine hesitancy and condemned their attempts in some states to block any mandates.
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"There’s not much Biden can do about masochistic right-wingers … But the president is doing almost everything within his power to combat the pandemic — and his efforts are paying off," Boot wrote. "There are legitimate reasons to criticize Biden. His handling of [C]ovid isn’t one of them."