Editorial: State of the Union; Give credit where it's due

Give credit where credit is due.

Despite the daily criticism and obstructionism faced by President Biden, the nation has weathered severe storms under his guidance and is navigating competently those that lie ahead. Inflation is easing, fears of recession are ebbing. The pandemic lingers but no longer controls our lives. We're no longer sending sons and daughters to the terror of Afghanistan, and we are buttressing Ukraine's borders and Europe's unity to defend democracy for the short and long terms.

Many have yet to acknowledge those positive developments. Polls reflect the persistent skepticism, fostered by disinformation campaigns of which the Kremlin would be proud. Those who hollered about $5 gas either don't realize it has dropped to $3.50 or don't care to credit the improvement. Some bemoan what they see as the terrible shape of the economy but fail to recognize the extraordinary reality of an unemployment rate as close to zero as we're ever likely to see it. To those upset at 6 percent mortgage rates missed the bottom of the market but put it in perspective: Not long ago homeownership required submitting to rates as high as 10 or 15 percent or more.

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In a conversation with The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board on Wednesday, the morning after the President's State of the Union Address, Congresswoman Lois Frankel noted that part of the perception problem is that many of the advances shaped by the President over the past two years and legislated by Congress have yet to work their way down the highway to us. Billions of dollars have been appropriated for infrastructure projects for which cities and counties are still applying for the grants, the West Palm Beach Democrat said. (And sometimes, when the money has arrived, our Governor has taken credit, but never mind that.)

Biden made clear in his address that Republican lawmakers, even those who fought the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill he signed in 2021, also would benefit from its investments in their districts. "I'll see you at the ground-breaking," he quipped. Even political arch-enemy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, has acknowledged the value of these infrastructure initiatives, making a recent, rare, joint appearance with Biden at the site of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, connecting Ohio with McConnell's home state of Kentucky. Who'd of thunk it?

Republican politicians' resistance to advance or acknowledge bills that benefit even their own constituents reminded Frankel of when the Affordable Care Act passed under President Obama. It came under withering criticism during its rocky start, particularly from Gov. Rick Scott and other Florida pols; then a public faced with soaring health care costs saw its value and signed up in droves. In 2022 alone, the state saw more than 2.7 million Obamacare sign-ups during open enrollment, among the most in the nation.

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Similarly the benefits of Biden's efforts soon will gain too much visibility to easily deny. Road and bridge projects will spring up here, as will more than $1 billion worth of Everglades replumbing projects in the pipeline, including the crucial reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Federal funding to address the state's shortage of affordable housing also is on the way, as are policies and programs to suppress the price of essential pharmaceuticals.

And while in Florida every day brings another skirmish in GOP-manufactured culture wars, with attempts to renew intolerance in minority and gender affairs and to dismiss concerns about social justice and academic independence, Americans should proudly acknowledge President Biden's insistence on forward momentum toward equal justice under the law. As he noted, he signed an executive order for federal officers that bans chokeholds, restricts no-knock warrants and supports other parts of the George Floyd Act. And he has consistently spoken up for LGBTQ+ rights and women's reproductive rights, positions that bolster Democratic results in elections but, more importantly, strengthen hard-fought democratic values that lift up and distinguish our nation.

Those who fail to acknowledge and participate in this important work risk falling victim to their own irrelevance. President Biden put it cogently Tuesday: "I think the people sent us a clear message: Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Editorial: Biden address shows need for bipartisan legislation