Some presidents in our 250 years have been great. Some have been meh. And then there is a short list of terrible United States presidents.
James Buchanan probably bottoms out mine. The only bachelor president, among other things, he completely missed the import of the slavery debate. He saw it only as a constitutional issue. And as one direct result, the country drifted into the Civil War, the deadliest contest in our history.
Buchanan came just before Abraham Lincoln and made him look even stronger and better by comparison.
However, Joe Biden has now surged near to the basement bottom of my personal Presidential Hall of Infamy. Not just because I personally endured his 1,461-day reign of cluelessness, as we all did.
Can any of us ever forget the terrifying sight of that open mouth and those beady eyes of emptiness staring out of the man who had access to the nuclear launch codes?
But because, like Buchanan, Joe Biden presided over an enduring era of error that stretches far beyond his tawdry days occupying the White House. Biden's profound offenses include, but are not limited to his wanton sponsorship of illegal immigration. Turned out great for him, though. The New York Times reported Biden got paid $10 million for his presidential memoirs, $1 for each of the illegals.
There were other areas of malfeasance for the man who never served and could construct a fable at the lick of an ice-cream cone. Spending five trillion dollars that we did not have is among them, and igniting the worst historic inflation since Jimmy Carter.
As was his ignoring and overruling the Pentagon on how to properly exit military engagement in Afghanistan. And turning an overdue recognition of pointlessness into a panicked, ignominious flight in the dark of night without even alerting valiant NATO allies, who had been by our side there since Day One of the 9/11 response.
Worst, I would argue, is erasing the southern border for four years and not only allowing more than 10 million unvetted persons to flood into our country. But actually aiding them to move into interior areas to help hide them from the deportation that President Trump has so rightly begun.
The goal of Biden and his well-paid puppeteers, of course, was to create an immense cohort of non-citizens who would, in gratitude, elect Democrats forevermore.
For the moment, set aside the historic implications of that political subversion. With his autopen and obliviousness, Biden condemned at least two generations of local taxpayers to carrying the financial burden of education, welfare, housing, and justice that comes with absorbing such unskilled millions.
Unbelievably to you, too, perhaps, while it is illegal for foreigners to vote in American elections, there is no standard enforcement mechanism. Congress these days is considering legislation to close this loophole and ensure that only Americans will be electing their representatives and leaders.
Republicans just passed the Save America Act in the House of Representatives, requiring proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote. Now, it's up to the Senate to approve that election protection and send it to the president for signature.
That is the subject of this week's audio commentary. Click here to listen:
You may have noticed there was a big NFL football game played the other day. It was the 60th Super Bowl. And the league's officials are going to keep doing them until they get it right.
This week's Sunday column examined the question of if perhaps, just maybe, the relentless hype for this annual February event, as expensive and lucrative as it has become, has come to surpass the actual alleged reason for the day.
That's a hopefully epic football game between two excellent teams that have successfully waded through a preseason, a 17-game regular season, and grueling playoffs.
Some of us think so, and the Comments there are now open to all.
