Mark Ruffalo
Throughout his nearly four years in office, President Biden regularly consulted historians to measure his accomplishments against history, and did so again before stepping out of the presidential race. History will recognize among his many achievements his sweeping economic vision and legislative expertise, which quickly moved the country out of a pandemic recession, reduced wage inequality and created the longest period of full employment in more than 50 years.
Biden also brought about the most significant pro-worker policies in decades. He revitalized agencies that have aggressively moved to clean our air and water of deadly contaminants like toxic “forever” chemicals. And with the narrowest margins in Congress, he secured the votes to enact the first major law to combat climate change in U.S. history, which has created 330,000 good, safe clean-energy jobs so far.
Although Biden seems keenly attuned to his legacy, his foreign policy — like that of Lyndon B. Johnson before him — could forever haunt his record in history books and stain his standing among generations of Americans. Like America’s wars in Indochina, the bloody, nearly yearlong assault on Gaza has unleashed a level of carnage that has horrified the world. It has stoked resistance and division in America. And, like the wars of 50 years ago, it’s contributed to a one-term Democratic president who has, to date, been ineffectual at halting spiraling violence and brutality abroad.
With at least 40,000 Gazans killed by Israel’s offensive so far, seemingly constant reports of fresh bombardments of civilians with U.S. arms have made a mockery of the administration’s claims of concern for human rights. Preventable diseases such as polio as well as famine now threaten the blockaded enclave. Two million people remain trapped and denied adequate food and medical attention.
Israel’s provocative measures abroad — like its assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, with whom it was negotiating an end to hostilities and return of Israeli hostages — seem intended to sabotage cease-fire talks and draw the United States into a larger regional conflict. Such a war could be fought for years, with untold further civilian casualties.
It’s no wonder that Republicans seem to delight in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawlessness and aggression, as they criticize Biden for supposedly not backing Israel more firmly. They cynically believe that the nonstop devastation of Gaza will discourage some Democratic voters from supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in an election that could once again be determined by a margin of just tens of thousands of votes. Republicans might also hope to benefit politically from a regional war before the presidential election, if it contributed to a jump in oil prices and U.S. involvement in an unpopular conflict.
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