Triangulation possibly Biden's best re-election bet

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Assuming that he seeks reelection, President Joe Biden appears ready to implement former President Bill Clinton’s “triangulation” strategy in a bid to hold the White House. Which translates to convincing moderates that he is moving to the center. The administration’s apparent about-face on drilling in Alaska suggests this reasoning.

According to 19FortyFive: “This could become a Biden election strategy going into 2024. Progressives have hailed the Biden presidency as it stood up for the battle against climate change and codifying gay marriage to name two of his leftist agenda items. Now, he may be looking for ways to bring more right-leaners into his campaign.”

In short, give the impression that he is moving to the center long enough to win re-election, then return to his far-left agenda, called by some the most liberal in American history. Who knows? It might work!

Republicans point to Biden’s near draining of the strategic oil reserves prior to recent midterms. The goal was to create an illusion that gasoline prices were coming down. Once safely past the election, the prices returned to roughly double what Americans were paying at the pump when Trump left office.

Now a bigger problem is emerging: The war in Ukraine. Americans are increasingly skeptical over the massive spending on another undeclared war with an unclear objective. The question becomes, shouldn’t this kind of budget allocation be approved by Congress?

Neocons Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Mitt Romney position the war as a “defense of Europe.” Yet, as Georgia Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene recognized, there is no evidence that Putin intends to invade Europe.

Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn’t believe Putin plans to invade Europe, calls it a lie.

Greene: “I’ve never seen Putin actually show in any detail his plans to invade Europe. No one has shown me that. So I don’t believe the lies that I’m being told about this.” pic.twitter.com/2kSqyUy8jI

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 16, 2023

I recently asked this question to three gentlemen who were visiting from Holland. “John,” who appeared to be the oldest of the trio put it bluntly: “Everyone in Europe knows that Ukraine is dirty.”

Not to say that the Russians are necessarily clean! But should the United States be investing millions in a regional conflict when our own southern border has been intentionally thrown open by the Biden administration?

Perhaps the Biden camp concludes that its best hope is to use the war in Ukraine to distract Americans from the real issue: Crime. Since Biden took office, over 15 million have crossed the southern border illegally, bringing everything from COVID to Fentanyl with them.

There is hope that enough Americans are so enmeshed in apathy that they won’t read between the lines. The corporate media continues to equate former President Trump’s MAGA movement with racism. However, increasing numbers of people of color are putting this assertion under the microscope and finding holes in it.

Based on a survey of polling from CNN’s own polls and those of Quinnipiac University, the CNN analysis notes that the former president is maintaining a double-digit lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who has yet to announce his own bid, then added Trump is getting a “surprising” boost from voters of color.

According to Enten, “what may surprise is how Trump is ahead. An average of CNN/SSRS and Quinnipiac University polls released this week reveals that Trump’s lead may, in large part, be because of his clear edge among potential Republican primary voters of color. Trump was up an average of 55% to 26% over DeSantis among Republican (and Republican-leaning independent) voters of color in an average of the two polls.”

This reason, coupled with a Florida law that requires a presidential candidate to resign from their current position, may lead DeSantis to conclude that “2028 sounds great.” Also important to note: Accepting Trump’s invitation to be his running mate would not force DeSantis to resign.

These factors collectively translate to a problem for both Democrats and Neo-Cons. DeSantis would likely be easier for the latter to control. Donald Trump has already called them out, namely Mitch McConnell. Those who voted for his impeachment in 2021 can expect primary challenges in 2024 and 2026.

Democrats hope that DeSantis doesn’t find his way to the bottom of Trump’s ticket. He could prove to be Trump’s ideal contrast, namely due to age. Such a duo would force Biden to make a difficult determination on whether to drop or keep Kamala Harris on the ticket.

There is always hope that the “never Trumpers” might hop aboard the Biden wagon. But are their numbers sufficient? They do represent the donor class to some extent. The question becomes, “would Biden’s first two years of unparalleled progressivism stymie enthusiasm from these sources?”

No doubt, triangulation might be enough for a chuck of the masses. How big of a chunk is unknown. In a skeptical, cynical America the old axiom might prevail:

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

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