Longacre: Working for common good has little entertainment value

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Poor, tired, old Joe Biden. His achievements are so forgettable: stuff with boring-sounding names like the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the infrastructure law. Other so-called achievements include keeping the unemployment rate under 4% for over 23 months, canceling over $130 billion of student loan debt, bolstering NATO and supporting Israel and Ukraine in their moments of need. Clearly, emphasis on the common good has little entertainment value and, hence, brings Biden little appreciation.

Now, for Mr. Excitement! Among other things, Donald Trump gave us a Supreme Court that abolished a 50-year-old right to an abortion; he gave us a tax cut that, if extended, could add $3.5 trillion to the deficit through 2033; he gave us a border policy that succeeded in separating almost 4,000 kids from their families, with many children placed in cages; he withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal; and he greatly understated the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, with lethal effect, contradicting top public health experts. But he wasn’t done yet. He was found liable of raping E. Jean Carroll and committing business fraud, and accused of paying hush money to a porn star. To cap things off, he was accused of inciting an insurrection, charged with 91 felony counts and set an impeachment record.

I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted just listing this stuff. Where does Donald find the time? And he promises more of the same, once he gets back into office. His latest is that he plans to encourage Vladimir Putin to attack NATO members who have not paid their bills. For Trump, entertainment, truth and the lust for power are now so intertwined as to be indistinguishable. God help us.

Frederick Longacre

Hockessin

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