The good news just keeps coming lately for Joe Biden
So many people were ready to write President Biden off without giving him a fair chance. As is typical when Democratic presidents take over from a Republican president, they have a mess to clean up. President Biden had an even worse situation following faux president Donald Trump. Trump did nothing but pack the courts with barely competent conservative judges and create a racial divide this country has not seen in over 50 years. When people talk about Trump’s “legacy,” that’s about the size of it, and it is all negative. President Biden should have been given a little grace coming into office considering what he was up against, starting with the Covid 19 pandemic.
President Biden has continued to tackle the pandemic even as Republicans fight mask mandates or anything else positive to help us get through this crisis. Regardless, President Biden consistently posted good job numbers, and according to MSNBC, that trend continues. The recently released jobs report for February showed an increase in jobs by 678,000, decreasing the unemployment rate to 3.8%. According to Reuters, that is the lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. since February 2020. Inflation fears aside, our economy is doing well. Interestingly, many of the increases came from the industries that were hit hardest by the Omicron variant: the leisure and hospitality industries. When Reuters breaks these numbers down, payrolls in restaurants and bars went up 124,000, and hotel and motels added 28,000 jobs. Further, retail jobs increased by 37,000, and manufacturing-an area of President Biden’s focus-grew by 36,000 jobs. People have no problem laying problems at a president’s feet, and President Biden deserves any credit he is getting for these numbers.
According to the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, President Biden’s approval rating is up to 47% from 39% in February. These numbers include an increase in President Biden’s approval rating for his handling of the economy, which stood at 36% in February and is now at 45%. President Biden has also done well in his handling of the Russia/Ukraine issue. When asked about President Biden’s handling of the conflict, 52% approve while 44% disapprove, which reflects a large jump from the 34% who approved last month. One of the most important statistics from these numbers show an increase in independent approval of President Biden, who helped him to take the White House in 2020, and we need them to stay on his side.
President Biden has also fared well in imposing sanctions against Russia. A whopping 83% approve of those sanctions, including 79% of Republicans. Business Insider reported that because of those sanctions, the ruble has “tanked” and is causing economic problems in Russia. Many American companies are joining in those sanctions by either pulling out of Russia or refusing to sell Russian products. What Putin is doing in Ukraine is wrong, and it is good to know that many in America agree that he must be stopped. President Biden is doing everything he can to help. No, President Biden is not perfect, but he has done well by us, and we should continue to support him.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years