Wherever he is today, Joe Biden can exhale. He no longer carries the weight of the nation on his shoulders. Today and forever more, he is, like his predecessors, a ‘former’ president. The Biden administration is now history and for the first time in more than half a century, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., is now private citizen Biden.
Historians will comb over his political career and write volumes about his time in government as a public defender, state prosecutor, senator, vice president and president. The sheer length of his life as a public servant will cover both his brightest as well as his darkest moments.
Biden took office on January 20th, 2021. It was a dark time. The country was still in the throes of a historic pandemic and COVID was killing an average of 3,000 people each day. A new vaccine had been developed—an accomplishment of the previous administration—but there was no plan for getting it out to the nation. Biden delivered it.
There was also a nearly 15 percent unemployment rate and life, as we knew it, was upside down.
Countrywide, businesses and schools were closed, hotels, airlines and restaurants were on life support and normalcy had been replaced with a seething frustration. The rest of the world was in a similar place.
Today, while not totally back to normal, the country is moving in a positive—not perfect—direction. Unemployment now hovers at 4.1 percent, businesses and schools are reopened and COVID, while still around, has been tamed.
“If one looks objectively,” said former Cabinet Secretary and former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, “he (Biden) accomplished more in four years than most recent American presidents.”
In his last full month in office, more than 256,000 jobs were created. Under Biden, more than 16 million jobs were created during his administration. “No other president has overseen the creation of that number (of jobs),”Peña said.
While Donald Trump regularly spoke about ‘infrastructure week,’ none ever came to pass. But where Trump fell short, Biden delivered, passing the largest infrastructure bill in U.S. history. Called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it invests in airports, highways, roads and bridges. As President Clinton’s Secretary of Transportation, “I would have loved to have that support,” said Peña.
The infrastructure legislation doesn’t stop there. It also will upgrade the nation’s power grid, improve broadband, invest in clean energy and address environmental remediation, more specifically, reversing environmental damage.
“Trump,” said Peña, “will benefit from all those things.”
While the bill was bipartisan, many of those voting against the measure accepted the money for their districts and held media events celebrating the new projects it would pay for, including a number in Colorado.
In calling Biden’s presidency “one of the most productive,” Peña also saluted Biden for passage of the Chips Act, legislation enhancing U.S. competitiveness, innovation and national security in the semiconductor world.
The President, said Lily Griego, Region 8 Director for Health and Human Services, delivered. “(He) promised to grow the American middle-class, lower costs, get the nation moving again after COVID, and restore America’s place as a global leader.”
The Lakewood resident said Biden “pushed the most consequential health care gains in a generation,” including lowering prescription drug prices. She also credits Biden for creating “the most diverse cabinet,” and appointing a record number of federal judges. He leaves office “with the strongest economy in the world and a volume of success” that will be his legacy.
Despite characterizations by his detractors, Biden did engineer an effective foreign policy, securing new commitments from Australia, India and Japan and whispering to China’s Xi that America would stand against Chinese aggression in the region. He also stood firm with Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Just days ago, Biden also announced student loan relief for more than 150,000 borrowers. This, coupled with earlier debt forgiveness, means as many as 5 million college students will have their debt forgiven. Many of those who’ll benefit from this action were cheated or defrauded by their schools, including up to 60,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities.
But despite his successes—many landmark—Biden suffered the curse of all American presidents. Over this presidency, there have been failures or moments where different outcomes would not ring out with such resounding concentricity.
Biden, like his predecessors; fell short on addressing the immigration puzzle. While illegal border crossings plagued the Trump administration and were exacerbated by a spike in family separation, under Biden the numbers continued to climb and contributed to Democrats losing the House, Senate and White House last November. “He could have done a better job on immigration,” conceded Peña.
Biden was also pilloried for his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. As the U.S. prepared to evacuate Americans and Afghans who aided in the war, a terrorist bomb detonated at the airport killing 13 American troops and scores of Afghans. As America left its longest war, Afghanistan once again fell into chaos. The exodus also became an election issue Republicans regularly aimed at Biden.
In Biden’s steadfast defense of Israel, a growing number of Americans faulted him for not changing course as the bloody toll of Gazans rose. Since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, more than 45,000 Gazans have been killed.
Despite an impressive list of accomplishments one thing Biden could not address was age. While he certainly moved and spoke slower than even a Vice President Biden, President Biden’s age landed hard on him and his image. And never more dramatically than in his July 2024 debate with Trump.
He fell flat, answering in often meandering and muddled replies. He looked lost. It was the performance of a man no longer up for the job. Within a matter of days following the debate, Biden, encouraged even by those closest to him, announced he would no longer be a candidate.
But while a single moment may define him in the eyes of many, it should not and will not define a life of public service. Joe Biden served his state, his party and his nation with honor, respect and dignity. When he fell, he also rose.
Biden will also be remembered for his naming of an African-American/Asian woman, Kamala Harris, as his Vice President. His commitment to diversity will also long be remembered with his nomination of first Native American, Deb Haaland as U.S. Department of Interior Secretary, and Katanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Joe Biden put his imperfections onto a public stage for all to see.
But as the words of the Constitution said, he also worked tirelessly for ‘we the people…to ensure a more perfect Union.’
