President Biden's first term in office

[alhoon]

NOTE: The title has changed to first year in office to better reflect the discussions taking place here

Yesterday, Joe Biden has been sworn president of the USA, that seem less united than any time in my memory. Biden started off his presidency with a speech calling for unity and I expect he will try to address this issue.

President Biden has presented his agenda for his first days in office, which includes opening the path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants (with good and bad things), trying to tackle CoVID 19, the rollout of the vaccine and trying to help with the economic fallout of the pandemic. He has signaled he wants to rejoin the Paris Agreement and takes climate change seriously and took steps towards those issues. He also took a progressive stance towards LGBT issues and signed executive order to expand protections for this group.

The first day in office, Biden signed 17 executive orders to deal with these issues or undo orders of President Trump when it comes to regulations etc.


It is customary that new governments push much of their agenda in the first 100 days and then spend the rest of their time in office trying to smooth those changes in and try to deal with problems as they arise. I.e. the first 100 days are the most "productive" of a new administration.
What do you expect from Biden's crucial 100 first days?
What do you think of the actions he took upon taking office? Are they symbolic or crucial? Are they good?



While I like Biden's efforts to bring unity, and I think he's honestly trying (and since he was a senator for decades he has contacts), I am appalled by some of his progressive moves.
Opening the path to immigration is not that bad but putting it in the first day of flurry + the "Please don't come, you won't be admitted immediately" approach of his administration towards the Honduran caravans is bound to create headaches for him when it comes to immigration and opens him up for broadsides from conservatives. The new administration is more than clear that they are much friendlier towards illegal immigrants than the previous administration. And the path to citizenship in 8 years sounds a bit like a votegrab for those that will be granted citizenship.

And then, we have Biden's symbolic but ridiculous moves when it comes to gender pronouns.
Sure, that will be useful to the 0.2% of people that do that, the 3% of ultraprogressives that demand we all change for the benefit of that 0.2% and piss off 20%-25% of conservatives. Not good for unity and I think a mostly symbolic gesture to placate the ultraprogressive wing of his party.


I expect Biden's 100 first days will be a bit banal compared to Trump's or even Obama's 100 first days but still interesting. I expect he will have to fight for unity between the moderate and progressive wings of his own party and he will make some attempts towards the moderate-and-centrist part of the Republicans. You know, the adults in the GOP that are aware that Biden won the election.
And I expect him to fail to placate everyone.

Whether he will be someone nobody really likes but most can live with or whether he will simply make everyone angry as he tries to juggle the various factions is yet to be seen. I am not too optimistic nor too pessimistic. I expect Biden to get a solid B- when it comes to unity. And a B when it comes to his first 100 days.


EDIT: A good article on how the world has changed through Biden's life and where things stood at the beginning of his presidency.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/78-oldest...125520530.html