Reagan Showed Biden, Trump THE Dance

Does Biden have, as Lincoln would have said of failed Gen. McClellan, a terminal “case of the slows”? WSJ’s Henninger suggests as much, arguing Joe’s dithering is killing defense & security opportunities. Enter the Gipper’s play book.

Think Mr. Biden’s failure to deter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by stalling a decision on vital military aid & a belated passion to staunch the border crisis he ignored if not created. So, is it any wonder that one WSJ article reports “Israel’s Netanyahu Doubles Down on Plans to Fight in Rafah"? As columnist Henninger observes in a separate op ed, “America’s Enemies Don’t Fear Biden.” Nor do his allies, apparently. One case in point: Bibi is pretty much humoring Biden’s call for some kind of cease fire. As the columnist writes: “Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his 5th post-Oct. 7 trip to the Mideast. His goal, as before, is to negotiate an end to the war in Gaza that ensures Israel’s security and establishes a path toward the creation of a Palestinian state. And in the next half-minute, I will solve Rubik’s Cube.”

Meanwhile, Henninger says, Mr. Trump is also failing to throw fear in the hearts of America’s growing list of cynical enemies & skeptical allies since he’s “unwilling to talk about anything other than his years-ago first term.” If so, is No. 45 also missing an opportunity to contrast his leadership abilities with Biden’s? True, a majority of Americans back Trump’s stated policy of not wanting to get the US involved in “endless wars”. Well, neither did Ronald Reagan. But, as the Gipper saw, not fighting every war isn’t the same as preventing them. As Henninger recalled, “Reagan summarized [his foreign policy] before the 1980 election in his ‘Peace Through Strength’ speech at the GOP convention: ‘We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted.’”

Davd Soul