Letters to the Editor: Joe Biden isn’t ‘reading the room’? Then why do his proposals poll so well?

To the editor: In his column criticizing President Biden for pushing a strong domestic agenda, Jonah Goldberg writes, “There is scant evidence the country is yearning for a new New Deal.”

This ignores that virtually all polls conducted on Biden’s proposals show the opposite. According to recent polls, 84% of voters want to expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision and hearing; 88% want Medicare to negotiate prescription drug costs; and 68% want the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.

Even the majority of Republicans agree with Biden’s program, while their “leaders” in Washington are doing everything they can to defeat it.

Exactly who is failing to read the room?

Biden is doing what the American people are begging for, and Goldberg and his ilk are too blind, or too disingenuous, to see it.

Anne Cox, Laguna Beach

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To the editor: Instead of misreading, “misleading” would be a more appropriate description of this administration, as evidenced by Biden’s denial that he was ever advised to keep a small contingency of American troops in Afghanistan prior to the chaotic withdrawal.

The fact that Biden tends to act by proclamation and perhaps impulse instead of deliberation is even more troublesome.

This behavior is exemplified by his abrupt troop withdrawal from Afghanistan without adequate consultation with allies who have risked blood and treasure in joining us; his declaration last month, before final decisions had been made by the Food and Drug Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that COVID-19 vaccine boosters would be available around Sept. 20; and his handling of the nuclear submarine agreement with Australia without consulting France.

For the sake of our country, the president should always think before acting.

John T. Chiu, Newport Beach

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To the editor: In his criticism of the president’s $3.5-trillion “human infrastructure” proposal, Goldberg notes that “adjusted for inflation, New Deal spending was a little less than $1 trillion in today’s dollars”

He should have mentioned that the population of the United States in 1933 was about 125 million compared to 330 million today.

He also might have mentioned that the lower and middle classes in the U.S. have been under assault from wealth interests for 40 years now, and Biden has a narrow window to address this indefensible trend.

Eric Carey, Arlington, Va.

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To the editor: Before I read yet another column on how the Democrats have failed us, Goldberg should write about the Republicans’ healthcare plan. Or their vaccine plan. Or their voting rights plan. Or any plan that doesn’t begin with another tax break for corporations and the rich.

Still waiting.

Jimmie Robertson, Dana Point