What roles does a VP have that front and center for policy though? Fundamentally a lot of the roles with in the executive branch are kind of invisible to the general public. Unless your neck deep into politics (and I don’t mean the cable news network… but more along the lines of reading stuff from federal register and CRS reports, and straight up political science research papers.)
unless your that deep into things what the VP does might as well be invisible
The issue of abortion isn’t solely attributable to Biden. It’s the result of 50 years of GOP-aligned think tanks and policymakers strategizing for this outcome. One could argue that the Democrats missed an opportunity during their supermajority periods to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, instead relying on legal arguments, which, to be fair, were upheld by the courts. This issue wasn’t perceived as a political threat, and it was unexpected that the GOP would follow through on this. It’s akin to a dog chasing a car and actually catching it.
As for education and healthcare, these are primarily legislative matters. The executive branch doesn’t wield as much power as some might think, and any power it does have typically doesn’t extend beyond the current president’s term. Biden should be seen more as a check on the GOP rather than an initiator of change.
Criticizing Biden’s speaking abilities is somewhat unfair. He has a stutter that he constantly battles when speaking, and age has inevitably dulled some of his skills. Regarding his son, yes, he has made mistakes.
The Ukraine war involves complex geopolitics. There’s a genuine moral argument at play here. Germany and the EU are willing to take a significant hit by excluding Russian energy from the market, which speaks volumes.
The $100 billion deal is advantageous for the US. It effectively sidelines Russia from the geopolitical table. Russia has shown signs of wanting to reclaim most of the USSR borders, primarily for logistical reasons. The Russian military struggles to hold territory within its own borders due to the lack of natural chokepoints until you reach the old USSR borders. Ukraine was never the end goal, but a stepping stone. Russia, like the rest of the developed world, is experiencing a population decline, which means they won’t have the manpower or technical expertise in a few decades.
Stalling Russia’s plans in Ukraine now is a proactive measure to prevent future issues. This also serves to deter China and make them reconsider any plans with Taiwan.