Episode 22: God Save The President

"If I keep on talking politics/my friends will dip/they're over it/if I keep on talking politics/I'm Hamilton/without the hits." 

                                                 -AJR, "3 O'Clock Things"

   This nation has had 45 presidents. 46 if you count Grover Cleveland twice. I have been alive for the presidencies of 5 of them, only 4 in full. I was born in June 2000, so I saw the last year of Clinton's presidency, all of Bush's, all of Obama's, all of Trump's, and all of Biden's so far. No matter who the president is at any given time, there are without a doubt going to be some people who like them, and some people who hate them. But what do I actually remember?

Bill Clinton

   Of course I don't remember Clinton's presidency, are you kidding me? I wasn't even a full year old when he left office. So yeah, that's all this section is.

George W. Bush

   Bush was president from when I was almost 1 up until I was almost 9. Obviously, I was merely a child for the entirety of his presidency. And, being a child, I didn't care who the president was. All I wanted to do was watch SpongeBob and play on my GameBoy. But, Bush is the first president I remember. I have one memory of him being the president. 

   It was when he was giving a speech and some angry guy threw his shoes at him. Video of it was playing on the news. I asked my mom who it was and she told me he was the president. 

   Yup, that's my first memory of a president. George Bush getting shoes thrown at him. Obviously, when your only memory of a presidency is him being assaulted on live television (Chris Rock can relate), you don't remember what American society was like reacting to him being president. So that's it for this section.

Barack Obama

  This is where it gets real. Obama was president from when I was almost 9 up until I was almost 17. So, his presidency covered a lot of my formative years. During this time, I was becoming much more aware of society and the government, and was formulating my opinions on all of it. At the time, I had decided I was a Republican and that I really did not like Obama.

   In the 2008 election, I was only eight years old and had no substantial actual knowledge of the candidates or what their platforms were or meant, but I decided I wanted John McCain (may he rest in peace) to win. I got really into the idea of this guy winning. My friend told me at lunch that he liked "the black guy", and I was disappointed he didn't like McCain. When the results came in and Obama had won, I got a little teary-eyed seeing McCain lose.

    Fast forward to 2012. I have actually gained knowledge of political stances and decided what mine at the time were. This was when I was calling myself a Republican. President Obama was running for a second term, being challenged by a guy named Mitt Romney. I, of course, wanted Romney to win. Of course, Obama won, and I was upset Romney lost.

    I remember Obama being a divisive president, but not on the same level as Trump or Biden. I also remember how big it was to have our first black president. He was also very much on the left, even for other Democratic presidents, and thus those on the right had some harsh things to say about him. I remember shirts being sold that depicted George W. Bush sitting on a bench, smiling and waving. The shirt read, "miss me yet?". Towards the end of Obama's second term, I kinda stopped caring. I didn't really have an opinion on him one way or the other. He was just the guy who was the president. He was president for eight years, so I guess after 6 or 7 I just got kinda used to him.

Donald Trump

   Ho, boy. Here we go. The 2016 election was hectic, with tons of people scrambling to be the next occupant of the White House, as Obama was due to leave it. This election was the first time I followed the primaries. For the Democrats, I liked Martin O'Malley the most. For the Republicans, I liked Marco Rubio and Rand Paul the most. 

   I lost a lot of liking I would've had for Trump after a lot of the things he said and the positions he argued. After he posited a temporary ban on Muslims, I abandoned any hope I had for him. I saw this as a blatant violation of the First Amendment, and coupled with the other offensive things he'd said and his too "out-there" ideas, I just couldn't see any world where I was behind him.

   But the Democrats had nominated Hillary Clinton. I did not like Hillary Clinton. I was all for having a female president, just not her. During the election season, I did not know who to root for because I genuinely disliked both candidates. But, if I had had to pick one, I would've gone with Clinton just because her views were less drastic and she was an objectively more mature person.

    When Trump won, I was scared. I saw riots happening. I was afraid of unrest for the next 4-8 years. Obviously it wasn't as bad as I feared, but I still did not like the president from 2017-2021. If you know much of my political positions, you know I do not like Donald Trump. I could go on about my reasons for this, but that could take up a whole nother blog. Maybe it will for a future episode. 

    Despite my disliking of him, I always had hope for him, and wished for him to do his best. I was not one of those "not my president" people. I acknowledged that he was my president, but being my president does not mean I have to like you.

    My respect for him pretty much entirely evaporated when he lost the 2020 election. He immediately claimed election fraud and that it was stolen from him, with no real evidence. He screamed and cried for months on end and even got himself banned from social media. He inspired his followers into this lie, and to this day he and his supporters insist that he actually won. He perpetuated this idea so much that he tried to compel his vice president into breaking the Constitution and not certify Biden's victory. He inspired his supporters to literally raid the US Capitol while Congress was certifying Biden's victory. Confederate flags were flown inside those walls, and literal feces were wiped on the walls. Personal information was stolen and offices were trashed. People lost their lives. If this doesn't outrage you, I don't know what to say. 

    Needless to say, I was glad Biden won. I couldn't stand to have Trump president for four more years. I honestly struggle to understand how anyone can still like Donald Trump at this point. But, my mercy prevails over my wrath. I choose to not put politics over relationships. I have friends and family who voted for Trump and still have good things to say about him. If you respect my beliefs, I will respect yours.

Joe Biden

   Now, here we are, at the current president. Biden is the oldest president ever elected, elected at age 77 and taking office at age 78. He is now 79. He is set to be the first ever president to reach age 80 while in office. Many people in history were lucky if they reached 78; a president being that age was probably unthought of to them. Biden's age was certainly a controversial thing during his campaign - many people thought 77 to be too old to be electable. People also questioned his mental state due to his age, as he sometimes struggles while speaking. But a quick Google search will tell you he has a stutter and he works against it by slowing his speech down. Even then, it's not like his opponent was much younger. Trump is four years younger than Biden.

     I think Biden only won because Trump is so unpopular. Biden didn't win because of explicit liking for him; he won because he was the answer to ending the Trump presidency. I think the amount of people who voted for Biden out of actual support of him is kinda small in comparison, even though I am one of those people.

    Biden is a divisive president because the passion for Trump is very strong among those who supported him, especially since he's eligible to run again in 2024 should he choose to. 2024 could very well just be another Biden vs. Trump rematch. But, it would also be hard for any president to not be divisive given the way today's society is.

    I honestly like what Biden has done so far. I think he's been a good president. He got us out of Aghanistan, has fought for and passed important bipartisan efforts, has helped with student loan debt, handled the pandemic much better than his predecessor did, and successfully appointed a new Supreme Court Justice. And it hasn't even been two years. I don't rank the incumbent president, but if I did, I'd give Biden a solid B. Maybe even an A.

See you next week!