How many voters will stick with Biden?
By John Kenneth White, Opinion Contributor — 08/30/21 08:00 AM EDT
Responding to the deaths of 13 service members and the wounding of 18 others in Afghanistan, President Biden stated the obvious: “Been a tough day.” Eight months into his presidency, these are tough days. Our withdrawal from Afghanistan is “messy,” as Biden has ruefully acknowledged. COVID-19 is filling up hospital beds and intensive care units. The Supreme Court has reversed Biden executive orders on immigration and rent relief. Biden’s honeymoon, such as it was, is over.
Low polling numbers often show how many people stick with you through good times and bad. Back in 1992, Bill Clinton was beset by a series of scandals that pundits believed would surely end his presidential bid. In a 1970 letter to his draft board, Clinton wrote that people “have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military,” stating he would not serve in order to maintain his “political viability within the system.” Shortly thereafter, Gennifer Flowers divulged telephone conversations that appeared to confirm Clinton’s 12-year extramarital affair with her. On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton pleaded with voters to make the election about them, not him, promising, “I’ll be there for you until the last dog dies.” Clinton’s second place finish made him “the comeback kid.”
Being there until the last dog dies has become a political mantra for measuring presidential support. Barely into his first term, Clinton hit several low points. In 1993, he authorized the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays in the military. As Clinton recalled, “In the short run, I got the worst of both worlds — I lost the fight [to openly admit gays in the military], and the gay community was highly critical of me for the compromise.”
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https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/569947-how-many-voters-will-stick-with-biden
