Biden's defense of democracy, strong abroad, is struggling on his home turf
Joe Biden has made vindicating
democracy the central objective of his presidency. Improbably, he has found more success abroad than at home so far.
The
President's signal achievement has been uniting
Western democracies in defense of
Ukraine against Russian leader Vladimir Putin's authoritarian aggression. With coordinated flows of military equipment, economic aid and sanctions,
Biden and NATO partners have helped prevent
Russia from overrunning its smaller, weaker neighbor.
Yet
Biden himself stands to get
politically overrun within months by
Republican opponents at best indifferent and at worst hostile to preserving
America's own democracy. Facing an electorate upset by inflation, crime and the lingering pandemic, the
White House has watched the
President's approval rating fall to levels that almost guarantee the
Democratic Party will lose control of one or both houses of
Congress in the midterm elections.
