The George Costanza Presidency - With each expedient act, from climate policy to the Mideast, Joe Biden digs a deeper hole for himself.

[Geee]

WSJ

In a classic “Seinfeld” episode, George Costanza bemoans that every decision he’s made has been wrong. His life, as a result, has turned out the opposite of what he intended.

Joe Biden might relate. His presidency probably hasn’t gone as he’d hoped. Two wars, a border crisis and near-record inflation have erupted. A Gallup poll last week found that confidence in his economic stewardship is lower than for any president this century other than George W. Bush during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

But like George Costanza, Mr. Biden has only himself to blame. Both men create more trouble for themselves, as each poor decision leads to another. George’s schemes to woo women—say, by enlisting Elaine to take an IQ test for him—boomerang. So do the president’s ploys to win voters. Mr. Biden, like George, now risks getting dumped.

Consider the chain of expedient acts that led to the president’s threat last week to withhold weapons from Israel to appease his party’s leftists. Mr. Biden worries he’ll lose re-election if young progressives don’t turn out in November—or if they cast ballots for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Jill Stein. It isn’t an unreasonable concern. Young’uns never fell in love with Mr. Biden, and they increasingly resent being forced by party elders into a political marriage of convenience.

Yet Mr. Biden’s bigger problem is that the pandemic handouts that Democrats hoped would win them votes have backfired. Excessive spending has fueled inflation and led to the highest interest rates in a generation. Young people have been especially harmed because those who don’t own homes now can’t afford them. Mr. Biden boasted a 33% approval rating among voters under 30 in an Economist/YouGov poll last week. Only 24% of them said the economy was excellent or good. A mere 13% thought it is improving and 15% believed it will get better if Mr. Biden is re-elected.

By comparison, 36% believed it would improve if Donald Trump won in November. Young voters aren’t fond of the former president; they simply find Mr. Biden as attractive as George Costanza.