To no one’s surprise, President Biden has announced that he will seek a second term. That announcement has stirred up oceans of talk about his ability to serve another four years, because he is 80 years old. Considering the fact that I’ve served in public life for over 30 years and have reached age 80, I feel comfortable expressing my views about his candidacy.
Biden’s decision to run for re-election was the result of many factors, which I understand and can easily explain. First of all, as difficult as the most important job in the world is, with its myriad headaches, it is impossible to just walk away from it. Is being president a boost to your ego? You bet it is. Having musicians play “Hail to the Chief” virtually every time you walk into a room has to be a pretty cool experience. Traveling on Air Force One is also hard to dismiss.
But putting ego aside, Biden has plenty of reasons to defy his biological clock and seek office again. Whether you like him or not, he has had a highly successful four years, and working with both Democrats and Republicans, he has gotten a number of major pieces of legislation passed that will have a dramatic impact on the lives of all Americans.
His infrastructure bill is responsible for the planned reconstruction or replacement of approximately 3,800 bridges. Billions of dollars have been distributed to local governments to rebuild their aging highways. Thousands of public buildings that are in dangerous condition are being rebuilt with infrastructure funding.
America’s major shortage of microchips will be attacked thanks to a multi-billion-dollar program to create American-manufactured chips. Think about the vehicle you drive, or your smartphone. Cars and phones need microchips, most of which come from Taiwan and China. Our country needs to make more of them, and the process to do that is happening thanks to the Biden administration.
Jerry Kremer was an Assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? jkremer@liherald.com.