Zogby: Win on coronavirus spending may be Biden’s last

But it blew the whistle on fake promises of unity, and the increased partisanship on Capitol Hill could stymie whatever he plans next.

In his weekly podcast, Democratic pollster and Report Card contributor John Zogby put it this way: “The president gave a speech, signed a major piece of legislation, arguably according to most pundits, this may be both the biggest and the last big victory of his presidency.”

Conservative Report Card contributor Jed Babbin highlighted the trouble at the border, the excessive spending on the COVID-19 bill, and Biden’s refusal to hold a press conference, arguing that the week “crashed and burned.”

John Zogby
Grade: A

This was simply a huge week for Biden. He won his signature legislation and signed it, addressed the nation, and used a memorable line about needing the people. He will be remembered for this forever — and his line will be quoted with Abraham Lincoln’s ‘better angels,’ Franklin Roosevelt’s ‘all we have to fear,’ and John F. Kennedy’s ‘ask not what your country can do for you’ quotes.

But he won it ugly with no GOP support. It makes no difference that Republican members of Congress are now shifting gears and bragging about how much money they are bringing in for their districts.

But the fact is, the rest of the Biden agenda is now a toss-up, and the president will now be forced to placate his Left, while focusing a lot of attention on keeping centrist West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and the soon-to-be very wealthy state of West Virginia happy. No one said the job was an easy one. But, for now, a great week.

Jed Babbin
Grade: F

What should have been a very good week for Biden crashed and burned because of the immigration crisis, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 “stimulus,” and his refusal to face the press in a news conference. We are now at the halfway mark of his first 100 days, and he’s still not had a presser. He’s apparently terrified of having to answer questions without a script to read.

Though illegal immigrants are coming into the United States at the highest rate since 2006, Biden and his team refuse to do anything to stop them or even admit it is a crisis. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, while denying the crisis, called for volunteers to help the overwhelmed Customs and Border Protection agency. Most border-crossers aren’t tested for coronavirus infection, but of one group that was, 25% tested positive for COVID-19.

A nation without enforced borders isn’t a nation, and Biden is compelling that outcome.

Early in the week, Biden, giving a short speech at the White House, couldn’t remember Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s name, even though Austin was standing in the same room. Biden called the Defense Department “that outfit over there.”

Then, there is the coronavirus “stimulus” package that has almost nothing to do with economic recovery from the pandemic. It’s a steaming mound of wasteful spending that includes bailouts of profligate states and cities (run by Democrats), bailouts of union pension funds, and other such waste. To top it all off, Biden said in his speech that if the public doesn’t follow government-imposed rules, economic restrictions may be reimposed. Those foolish restrictions have done virtually nothing to stop the spread of the pandemic but have kept children out of school and parents out of work. Biden wants to keep that record of failure rolling along. He ought to look at the successes in Republican-run states such as Texas and Florida (both of which have reopened) to get a clue about how to protect the population and get the economy running again.

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogby

Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin