Dear President Biden: A Birthday Tribute From a Strong Supporter

I am one of the millions of Americans whose opinions about you do not show up in flawed polling, which is irrelevant one year before the election. Do I wish you were younger? Of course, and as you’ve noted, you do too.

But I balance that concern with the awareness that the remarkable achievements you’ve already secured as president—against great odds—are inextricably linked to your experiences, knowledge, and wisdom.

Though the vote I cast in November, 2024, will be against Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, it will be equally emphatically and more enthusiastically an endorsement of you and Vice President Harris.

Like the majority of Americans who have been voting for Democrats and against extremists in elections since 2016, I do believe our democracy is at a crossroads now.

I look forward to your campaign’s getting fully under way soon, so that the public will hear you and Vice President Harris articulating the dangers we face—even as you stress how much you’ve improved life for Americans through major legislation, some of it bipartisan.

Beating back Trump’s assault on all that we value—and on the imperfect progress we’ve made toward our more perfect union—is closely aligned with my hope for what we can accomplish if we the people are able to help you secure House and Senate Democratic majorities.

It would be wonderful to see passage of the package of family-friendly programs that you sought in Build Back Better, including a permanent child tax credit that ends child poverty in this affluent nation for good.

You have shown that such programs can be paid for and not increase the deficit by sensible rebalancing of our skewed tax system, which was far harsher for the wealthy in the Reagan years than it is now.

In addition, we now see the compelling need to secure legislatively the rights that have been weakened, battered, or removed by this radical Supreme Court majority.

I believe that you are a transformational president. Bidenomics is improving life for Americans.

I have seen the historic numbers of jobs you’ve created, the wage increases—notably among low income workers and people of color, but now more broadly with successful labor negotiations for which you can claim credit as the first US president to walk the picket line—the climate change initiatives we so desperately need, the lowering of drug prices through Medicare that should ripple through the entire health care system, the infrastructure improvements that Republican legislators are now touting though they voted against them, the student loan debt relief you continue to try to secure, and so much more.

Your personal characteristics—the physical courage that led you to enter two war zones in your quest for peace (I hope your campaign will show photos, as too many Americans seem to think the vicious coward you will likely run against is a “tough guy”), thoughtfulness, and empathy—have been demonstrated repeatedly in anecdotes recalled by those whom you’ve deeply impressed over the years.

Just days ago, I heard an interview that political strategist Simon Rosenberg did with his friend Amir Tabon, an Israeli journalist who–with his wife and young daughters–had survived October 7th by hiding in the dark for hours in a safe room in their kibbutz home on the border of Israel and Gaza while the terrorists were shooting outside.

Tabon recalled how much time you spent with grieving and shocked survivors during your trip to the war zone—how the Secret Service agents kept trying to move you out, but you had to touch more lives with your empathy and message of hope before you’d leave.

I have thought a great deal about how difficult it must have been for you to embrace Israeli President Netanyahu, knowing how far right his policies are and how strongly he’d aligned himself with Trump during the previous administration.

You have, I believe, been clear-eyed in the need to support Israel despite Netanyahu. I recognize the fine line you’re traversing, and I’m sure you’re as devastated by the loss of Palestinian lives as I am. I know you’re striving to help end this war as quickly as is feasible and work for a lasting two-state peaceful solution.

Tabon told Rosenberg in that interview that he believed your actions in warning Hezbollah/Iran not to act (“Don’t!” you said) with the placement of American ships in the area is probably containing a war that might otherwise have spread much more widely.

As a result, Tabon believes you, President Biden, are responsible for saving many thousands of lives throughout the Middle East.

Yet I haven’t seen that important insight repeated in any of the mainstream media.

I think it must be similarly difficult for you to meet with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia—and with China’s President XI–knowing the severe human rights violations/crimes these men have committed.

Yet your diplomacy has won widespread praise.

You’ve done what seemed impossible: bringing together the NATO allies in support of Ukraine, holding Putin at bay. (I am appalled that the MAGA extremists won’t pass aid packages for our allies in Ukraine and Israel. Their intransigence may well be, along with plans to impeach you without evidence and their determination to wreck this economy that’s the envy of the world, an indication of what a formidable president they realize you are.)

You and your fine secretary of state are doing your best to secure America’s national security and the world’s democracies, and I am profoundly grateful for that.

Unfortunately, I believe your successes are the reasons you’re being targeted so mercilessly—and not just by the right wing.

That’s why we see all this doomed-to-fail third party activity—nearly all financed by Republicans. I find the “No Labels” group particularly heinous, as they pretend to be bipartisan, yet you are the most bipartisan political figure in the divisive atmosphere the Republicans have created.

You have dared to take on the special interests: the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, the one-percenters with your IRS changes—all those who hate regulations of any sort. And you have won victories for the American people as a result.

So the lies about your mental acuity and supposed “radicalism” are perpetrated—and repeated in the mainstream media, now increasingly in the hands of those who are either indifferent to or foolishly supportive of the assaults on our democracy.

Obsession with sloppy, Republican-heavy polls evokes more commentary than solid electoral wins; and Biden’s age is an issue, but Trump’s age, obvious mental deterioration, and stated avowal to destroy our democratic institutions are barely discussed.

All the above makes me nuts, but you just continue—calmly and seemingly unruffled—doing the job the people elected you to do.

Fortunately, I am aware of millions and millions of Americans—Democrats, Never Trump Republicans and former Republicans, and Independents—who see their votes for you as essential for the fate of our nation.

Many are working hard at the local and state levels to ensure expansion of the rights the Supreme Court majority has unjustly removed—and they all know the urgency of reelecting the Biden/Harris administration.

“It’s never a good bet to bet against America,” you’ve said. The corollary to me is “Joe Biden is always underrated.”

In 2028, I trust you’ll be able to look back with satisfaction upon your hard work in behalf of all Americans and pro-democracy forces worldwide, as you hand the gavel—just as you planned with another very wise decision—to our first woman president: Kamala Harris.

May you traverse the years ahead with continued good health and vigor.

With profound appreciation and best wishes,

Annie