I did not vote for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

I wish our political system could produce real leaders, whatever their personal failings, as opposed to demagogues and political hacks.

But unfortunately, we have presidents like Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden – grifters, narcissists, sociopaths, and warmongers.

Today is Joe Biden’s last day as President of the United States.

Shame on Obama and the Democratic Party for pushing aside other candidates and allowing him to run a basement campaign that kept his senility (known since before 2020) hidden from the voters, and continued the deception through his term; and derision for a mainstream news media that demonstrated little interest in reporting his grift when he was Vice-President and were coconspirators in the coverup of his mental deterioration over the last four years.

Joe Biden had fashioned himself being a ‘historic’ president – like his purported role model, Franklin Roosevelt. He will be indeed; but it will be one of ignominy.

The Biden presidency has left the country and the world in a much more dangerous place, and it contributed to the deaths and suffering of millions of people.

Biden’s presidency was marked foremost by a foreign policy with a deliberate lack of diplomacy – refusing to meet with leaders from ‘hostile’ countries, and being unwilling to use his influence to constrain so-called allies.

Whatever one’s beliefs about the start of the Russian Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine, there was a peace treaty in work in April 2022; at least until Zelensky was told by Boris Johnson that NATO would support him to the end. There’s no way Johnson would have done that without direction or support from Biden.

The cost has been 1.5 to 2 million Ukrainian casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) and perhaps ten to fifteen percent of that in Russian losses.

Through this whole time, neither Biden nor Blinken met or spoke with Putin or Lavrov. That is criminal negligence. The risk of a miscalculation leading to nuclear war increased appreciably due to the lack of diplomacy and dialogue.

The Israeli genocide in Gaza was funded and fully supported by Biden, Blinken, Sullivan, and Austin – all of whom should be prosecuted as war criminals.  For it is genocide, notwithstanding Antony Blinken’s statement that it is only a matter of opinion.

And tragically, there was no check on the administration’s support of Israel by Congress, itself Israeli-occupied territory – as the commentator Pat Buchanan once observed.

The US ambassador to Israel admitted that Biden and his administration did not once put any pressure on Netanyahu as the Israelis destroyed housing, schools and hospitals; and murdered doctors and aid workers.

Even a temporary cessation in the slaughter was possible, as the recent deal between Hamas and Israel has shown. That it took Trump’s envoy one day to make it happen says all one needs to know about the Biden/Harris administration.

I have little to say about Biden’s domestic policies – most have been forgettable. as is true of most administrations. There will be no long-lasting achievements that remain after he is long departed.

He has left the economy in a worse condition than when he came into office – and his administration has done nothing to reduce the size of the debt.

Biden blocked a railroad workers strike that was focused on improving the working conditions of those workers. So much for “Joe from Scranton”.

The issue of the ‘open’ border and illegal immigration touch on both foreign and domestic policy – but would take a discussion far beyond what I’m interested in; but I will say, there’s something irregular in all of it.

If nothing else, perhaps his administration will be the last act of the corporate pro-war “New Democrats”, which had its origins in the administration of the despicable Clintons.

One hopes a version of the party will reemerge that focuses on improving the economic conditions of the majority of our citizens, i.e., real issues of class – as opposed to boutique issues of identity and protected groups.

I also hope that it returns to being a party that views the ‘national security state’,  ‘big finance’, and ‘big pharma’ with skepticism, rather than acting as their cheerleaders.

But those may be forlorn hopes – after any hand wringing, if you hear the Democrats and DNC talking about “messaging” and “a new generation of leaders”, you’ll know they’re just repackaging the same old shit and no real change is coming.

Donald Trump begins his second term today -half the electorate is ecstatic, the other half terrified.

The irony is that Donald Trump has an unprecedented opportunity to create a lasting legacy.

If he could bring about a peaceful resolution in Ukraine; if he could bring peace to the Levant and avoid involving the U.S. in a war with Iran; and if he could turn competition with China to one of economics and not armed conflict – he would be seen as a historic peacemaker, probably earning a well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize.

But it seems improbable – as it would be for any presidency, given the dark forces that provide the continuity of foreign-policy control from one administration to the next.

And the chances are even more remote for an administration that seems to thrive on apparent chaos and changing scopes of authority; with a mercurial President who thinks transactionally, rather than being guided by perspectives and philosophies beyond his own self-interest. And one who has filled his incoming administration with Christian Nationalists, Zionist neocons and billionaire technocrats.

While Trump pushed for at least a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, gaining Israel’s agreement likely required his support for their annexation of the West Bank and a restart of the Gaza genocide whenever Israel decides the ceasefire terms were “violated”.

It is beyond little doubt that in four years, in the final moments of the second Trump term, the general feeling will be a mixture of despondency and relief; despondency, given what has occurred; and relief, that is nearly over.

But at least for now – at this very instant – the record of his second term is still to be written. One can still dream of better outcomes.

As for Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., in addition to all of the above, his legacy will also include his now widely recognized corruption along with many members of his family.

He will face no criminal prosecution for his supporting genocide and mass murder or his other crimes. In that he joins a long list of his predecessors.

Biden likely will be soon forgotten by most, except by those mourning at the graves or rubble of the many victims of his administration’s decisions.

But for those who remember him, I hope it is with contempt.

Go away, you arrogant miserable bastard.