by Alyssa Ahn
Opinion
November 23, 2020
In a few interviews with members of the BUA community, some people said that they feel “optimistic” Biden will make a good president, while others stated that they believe he’ll only be “mediocre” or “okay” as a “step toward progress in wake of the previous presidency.” I myself believe that Joe Biden will be a good president because he has experience, he offers the stability and support Americans desperately need during the pandemic, and he holds moderately Democratic views that I believe are favorable.
Biden’s experience in politics and the United States government will serve him well in the highest position of power in the federal government, especially in times when we need a leader who is reliable and decisive. Biden’s political experience began in 1970. He served on the New Castle county council in Delaware until 1972, when he was elected to the Senate at the age of 29. He joined the Senate in 1973, just a year after a tragic car accident killed his wife and daughter.1 Biden went on to be re-elected six times, totaling thirty-six years as a senator, and then served as the 47th Vice President with then President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017.2 So before running for president, Joe Biden was involved in politics for about fifty years. He gained an in-depth understanding of the processes of the Senate and the problems facing America. He has had more experience in politics than almost any other 2020 presidential candidate, and the contrast between him and Donald Trump, who had no political experience prior to running for president, is especially striking.3
Biden’s views on important issues, such as the coronavirus, racial justice, and healthcare are favorable, as I and BUA students I interviewed believe. Some students whom I talked to were “optimistic” about Biden’s positions. Biden outlined his presidential goals in his November 7 acceptance speech, seeming to want to focus primarily on restoring America to health and financial stability, alongside working toward better health care, racial justice, and slowing climate change.4 Sally Jamrog ‘23 says, “I think he dreams big, and that’s really important especially now during a health crisis — I like what he’s proposing.” She supports Biden’s plans for coronavirus relief. And on Biden’s goals, Amelia Boudreau ‘23 remarks, “I’m really looking forward to [Biden’s] reversal of Trump administration policies, and [his] hopefully being able to soothe some of this country’s polarization.” But some BUA students do seem to only favor Biden because his positions are just a slight improvement from Trump’s. Jackson Phelps ‘23 says, “In terms of equal rights, I feel like we are not really taking any steps forward, but at least we are not taking any steps back, which would happen if Trump had been elected [again].” Biden’s approaches and aims are vastly different from Trump’s, and these differences are a key part of the reason he won the election against him.
All in all, Joe Biden will be a good president because of his incredible amount of experience in politics stemming from being a senator and a vice president, his plans for restoring and strengthening America, and his favorable, moderately Democratic opinions and goals. Although Biden is often viewed as just an alternative to Donald Trump, his reliability and the “wanting to do good” attitude that he demonstrates make him a dependable and caring leader and will make him a good president.
1 Nora Kelly Lee, “Joe Biden is Again Publicly Battling a Choice Weighted With Ambition and Tragedy,” The Atlantic, September 11, 2015,
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/joe-biden-is-again-publicly-battling-a-choice-weighted-with-ambition-and-tragedy/448386.
2 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “Joe Biden,” Britannica,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Biden.
3 Brian Duignan, “Donald Trump,” Britannica,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Donald-Trump.
4 Amber Phillips, “Joe Biden’s Victory Speech, annotated,” The Washington Post, November 7, 2020,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/07/annotated-biden-victory-speech/.
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