President can’t hide from shortcomings during second run

Joe Biden was elected president by the Democrats, who were clever enough to keep him in his basement and away from the public, off the campaign trail.

A fictitious Biden was elected. The policies enacted under his name reek of socialism and, at the very least, are more left-leaning than basement Biden was portrayed to be.

It looks like Biden will run for a second term; if so, the Democrats will not be able to put him back in the basement. They would have a fight on their hands after his recent State of the Union Address. Biden enjoyed the walk into the chamber, the clamoring for a handshake, the hugs, the cheering during his speech, and later the accolades.

He mistook a historical obligatory overly zealous reception as confirmation of his popularity and success. Biden read his teleprompter lines well, but when he went off script, as enjoyable as it was to him, the cringe factor of his misspeaking was a reminder of his octogenarian shortcomings.

BECKY SMITH, ROSWELL

Biden deserves credit, not disrespect

According to nonpartisan analysts and historians, President Biden has achieved more legislatively than any president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Yet, unbelievably, he is despised by many as a “do-nothing president.”

His record includes economic relief, a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, a U.S.-led NATO coalition to fight the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lower prescription prices, including insulin and a program to re-establish U.S. semiconductor manufacturing dominance which had been drained away by foreign manufacturers.

To me, there seems to be a complete disconnect by many Americans. Add to this the complete disrespect the president received from GOP House members in his State of the Union speech, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had to be shushed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was witnessing a British Parliament session.

Has the act of decency been replaced by incivility? I certainly hope not.

LARRY TAMBLYN, NEWNAN

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In this photo from 1997, then-U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga. (in wheelchair), and fellow senators (left to right) Bob Kerrey, D-Neb.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Charles Hagel, R-Neb.; John Kerry, D-Mass.; and Chuck Robb, D-Va. walk along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall behind the wreath they would lay to commemorate the 15th anniversary of groundbreaking for the memorial. All six senators served in Vietnam, and Cleland lost both legs and an arm in that war. (Rick McKay/Washington Bureau)

Credit: Rick McKay

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com