Cut through U.S. Press Corps shallowness to Discover Substance in the 46th’s Presser…

And my disappointment

I read the White House transcript and found these nuggets (promises) in President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr’s responses in the March 25, 2021 press conference (excerpt).

I

mmigration (and immigrant) Challenge

Root Causes: 

“The reason they’re coming (in January through March) is that it’s the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat in the desert. .
“…[T]hey’re coming because of circumstances in-country — in-country.

“The way to deal with this problem — (is to put) together a bipartisan plan … to deal with the root causes of why people are leaving (their countries).”

“Is it … because of earthquakes, floods, lack of food, because of gang violence…; (likely) … because of a whole range of things.  

“… I’ve asked the Vice President of the United States … to be the lead person on dealing with focusing on the fundamental reasons why people leave Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador in the first place.”

D

omestic Challenges 
In cold type, the president seemed to reserve his most passionate words for domestic challenges.

“I meant what I said when I ran. And a lot of you still think I’m wrong, and I respect that. I said, ‘I’m running for three reasons:

• To restore the soul, dignity, honor, honesty, transparency to the American political system;
• To rebuild the backbone of this country — the middle class, hardworking people, and people struggling to get in the middle class; and
• To unite the country

“… I’ve not been able to unite the Congress, but I’ve been uniting the country, based on the polling data. We have to come together. We have to.
…[F]rom my perspective, … it’s about …getting out there, putting one foot in front of the other, and just trying to make things better for people — just hardworking people. … Basic things.

“I’m of the view that the vast majority of people, including registered Republicans, by and large, share … that same view, that same sense of … what’s appropriate.”

“I want to change the paradigm. …
[R]eward work, not just wealth.
[C]hange the paradigm”

1. “[W]e’re going to invest in American workers and American science.”

In the 1960s we invested “a little over 2 percent of our entire GDP in pure research and investment in science; today it’s 0.7 percent. I’m going to change that. We’re going to change that. … (and) make sure we invest closer to 2 percent.

“[W]e’re going to invest in medical research — cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, the things — industries of the future — artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotech. [W]e’re going to make real investments. China is out investing us by a long shot, because their plan is to own that future.”

“I see stiff competition with China…We’ve got to prove democracy works.”

2. [W]e’re going to reestablish our alliances. (… …not anti-Chinese…).

3. We’re going “to rebuild the infrastructure — both physical and technological infrastructure … — so that we can compete and create significant numbers of really good-paying jobs. …China is investing three times more in infrastructure than the United States is.” 

“There’s so much we can do that’s good stuff, makes people healthier, and creates good jobs.”

“

Infrastructure (is) the place where we … significantly increase American productivity, at the same time providing really good jobs for people. But we can’t build back to what they used to be…; global warming has already done significant damage.” [R]oads that used to be above the water level — … now have to be rebuilt three feet higher.

Areas of concern

• · “Bridges: More than one third of our bridges — 231,000 of them — need repairs. Some are physical safety risks or preservation work.

• · Roadways: One in five miles of our highways and major roads are in poor condition. That’s 186,000 miles of highway.

• · Aviation: 20 percent of all flights … weren’t on time, resulting in 1.5 million hours lost in production.

• · Wells and Water lines: Six to ten million homes in America still have lead pipes servicing their water lines. More than 100,000 wellheads are not capped, leaking methane. … [W]e can put many pipefitters and miners to work capping those wells.

• · Schools and residences: In many schools, the kids can’t drink the (tap) water out of the fountain. Many schools are still in the position where there’s asbestos? Many schools haven’t adequate ventilation.

Many homes, buildings, office complexes with leaking windows or porous connections waste billions of barrels of oil over time because they can’t hold in the heat or the air conditioning.

My disappointment

B

ecause of the inferiority, poor character and caliber of the U.S. press corps, there was

• No mention of the America’s made-in-Washington globetrotting violence—relentless wars with impunity, relentless hostility, provocation, occupations against sovereign nations and peoples.
• No mention of America’s all-consuming war economy, the enrichment of war industrialists and politicians who pander to war industrialists.
• No mention of America’s disgracefully neglected (cavalierly accepted) tent cities, refugee camps, America’s people without permanent shelter, the homeless citizenry among whom are “thanks-for-your-service” U.S. military veterans   
• No questions addressing the compelling need to change the caliber, character, and ethos of U.S. leadership.

 

Source

White House • Speeches and Remarks East Room “Remarks by President Biden in Press Conference” March 25, 2021,1:27 P.M. EDT, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/03/25/remarks-by-president-biden-in-press-conference/

 

 

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