Potemkin

The editors of Issue and Insights labelled Joe Biden's budding administration as "A Potemkin Presidency." No term could be more accurate. 

The new Democratic Party has veered so far left that the few adults remaining in the room recognized, wisely it turned out, that hard left or socialist policies would never appeal the the broad American electorate. Sure, they might be well received in CA, OR or WA. They might even do well in MA, DC and a few other big cities, but that's about it. 

So Joe Biden, a cognitively disabled "moderate" became their version of a Potemkim village. On-line dictionaries provide three definitions for the term, all apt:

-- Something that appears elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lacks substance.

-- A false front or facade.

-- (idiomatic) Any false construct devised to disguise a shortcoming or improve appearances.

Bathing the naive and willfully ignorant in broad platitudes that provide the appearance of moderation, Biden's handlers have already set about constructing an administration that is hardly moderate. A facade of moderation is there, but behind that there's hard-left intent that will be moderated only if the GOP holds a majority in the Senate.

During Donald Trump's presidency, I noted on many occasions that although his words were often bombastic, combative, and downright objectionable, his actions benefitted the American people in tangible ways and resulted in often moderate, middle of the road policies. When he did veer to the right (most notably in SCOTUS picks), it was to balance the increasingly leftist-tilt of virtually every other American institution—the media, the deep state, academia, the arts and entertainment, the broader commentariat, and a majority of the courts.

In comparison, Biden's words are often gentle and his requests for "unity" seem innocent enough. The problem is that Biden is like a Potemkin village—what you see on the surface is a false front—not so much because Biden is a hard core leftist. He is not. But because Biden will not be in charge—his cognitive challenges simply won't allow that.

So who will be "in charge?" His cabinet picks will provide a few clues, his Justice Department will give us a few more, but realistically, it will be the unelected people inside the west-wing—his close advisors and other party insiders—who will define the Biden presidency.

The editors of the NY Post note the potential for foreign policy missteps:

Will Joe Biden throw President Trump’s Middle East achievements in the dirt, betraying a host of US allies to fecklessly chase after the goodwill of the Iranian regime? If not, he needs to choose carefully as he names his Cabinet and White House staff.

For starters, many retreads from Team Obama will want to bribe Tehran back into that dangerous nuclear deal — a slap in the face to Israel and most Arab states.

They’ll also push for a return to anti-Israel policies such as funding the Palestinian Authority even as it pays off terrorists and their families, and to allowing anti-Israel UN resolutions to pass.

One potential bad sign: If Biden yields to pressure from far-lefties like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her anti-Israel Squad and brings back Obama’s worst idiots, such as ex-security adviser Ben Rhodes.

The bottom line—watch the people around the Biden presidency. If "far-lefties like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her anti-Israel Squad and  ... Obama’s worst idiots" hold sway, we're in for a rough four years.