Biden rises to the moment as Ukraine makes battle against autocracy real

[babylonsister]

Biden rises to the moment as Ukraine makes battle against autocracy real
‘I’m sure when Joe Biden was running for president, the last thing on his mind was a revival of the cold war,’ said one former adviser to President Bill Clinton.
A year ago no one foresaw a Russian invasion as the president’s top issue but US approval for his handling of the crisis is rising
David Smith in Washington
@smithinamerica
Sun 6 Mar 2022 02.00 EST
Last modified on Sun 6 Mar 2022 04.29 EST

snip//

Biden, who made no mention of Putin, Russia or nuclear weapons in his inaugural address, is discovering a truism of US history: American presidencies are often defined by crises that no one saw coming.

“I am old enough to remember [British prime minister] Harold Macmillan who, when asked what was driving his actions, replied, ‘Events, dear boy, events’,” said Bill Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. “I’m sure when Joe Biden was running for president, the last thing on his mind was a revival of the cold war.

“He was already focused, and has been for years, on the conflict between democracy and autocracy but that was more of a frame for looking at the world than it was an operational manual. Now here we are. It’s truly extraordinary when you think about it.”

Just as Biden’s empathy was seen as ideal for meeting the moment of the coronavirus pandemic, and just as his record of bipartisanship was thought to be well suited to healing America’s divisions, so his storied foreign policy experience and faith in multinational institutions appear to bode well for this test.

more...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/06/joe-biden-ukraine-autocracy-democracy-approval

[XanaDUer2]

1. We're so lucky to have him

[onecaliberal]

2. Fate kept him for us now.

We are so lucky.

[PortTack]

3. For all his great achievements none will come close to this. Born for this moment

[BlueLucy]

4. What do they mean no one saw coming?

We knew this has been brewing with Putin for awhile. We knew it was likely to happen very soon.

[Phoenix61]

5. I am so over reading how Biden botched the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The only reason people believe that is the media conveniently forgets to mention TFG is the one who negotiated the withdrawal. It seems people thought it was going to be like closing Disney for the night. It’s tragic we lost 13 service members but also a miracle that’s all we lost.

[Hekate]

6. 🌻🌻🌻🌻

🌻🌻🌻🌻