100 Days of President Biden

Topics Discussed

• President Biden’s Joint Address

• 100 Days into the Biden Administration

• Outside of Politics: Adult Friendships

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Episode Resources

• At the 100-day mark, has Biden kept his campaign promises? (The Washington Post)

• What Did the U.S. Get for $2 Trillion in Afghanistan? (The New York Times)

Transcript

Beth: [00:00:00] His demeanor, I'm here for that because as an American, again, I don't believe we're in an autocracy, so I don't feel like all is lost if I don't agree with every policy from the president. I did feel like all was lost when the president's temperament was so incredibly concerning to me and to me, so misaligned with the job that he had.

Sarah: This is Sarah

Beth: And Beth. 

Sarah: You're listening to Pantsuit Politics.

Beth: The home of grace-filled political conversations.

Sarah: [00:00:55] Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Pantsuit Politics. [00:01:00] Today, as we are recording Thursday, April 29th, is president Joe Biden's 100th day in office. That's what we're going to spend the majority of the show talking about. We're also going to share a thoughts on his congressional address and talk about what's on our mind outside politics.

Before we move to that section of the show, I wanted to share a little Patreon update. Okay. Lots of people moved over to Patreon because I moved the News Brief to Patreon, and I really appreciated that support and then we had all these video issues and I know some of y'all got frustrated and left. Well, let me share that after some tersely worded emails, we have the issue fixed. They opened up direct Patreon video, hosting to us, I sent so many emails. They're like you, I like to be invited to this program and I was like, Oh yeah, I would thank you so much. So it's pretty seamless now. I'm really happy with it. So if you left because of the frustrations over the video, come on back. The News Brief is back in full swing without all the video [00:02:00] issues and I'm so thrilled. 

Beth: [00:02:05] Me too. We all need you in our lives and Sarah is also including a link to her lipstick every day. I just feel like you need to know, because we get so many questions about that. Now you can just get it's just. 

Sarah: [00:02:15] That was just like, uh, I have to address this. I'm spending too much of my time on this. So now I just build it right on into the programming.

Beth: [00:02:21] One more housekeeping update, we are working on an episode about the international vaccine rollout. We have loved hearing from international listeners about their experiences. We just got an email from Jordan, we've gotten emails from Denmark. We just want to know what's going on with you. So if you would send Alise an email at hello@pantsuitpoliticsshow.com. We love your pictures. We love hearing everything about what your experience has been like. There is no detail that we arn't disinterested in on this front.

Sarah: [00:02:58] Beth did you [00:03:00] watch president Biden's address to Congress, which we are not supposed to call the state of the union? Which seems like a dumb rule that neither of us like, but we'll just, we'll we'll follow the norm. We're building the norms back up here in America in 2021. So we'll follow the norm. Did you watch his address to Congress?

Beth: [00:03:16] I did. I watched it live despite being very sleepy. I texted you right before to say, I need him to keep this nice and tight. He didn't do that, but I still thought it was a really, I thought it was a really strong, well constructed address. 

Sarah: [00:03:31] Yeah. I thought he walks that line between addressing a lot of things, some of which are pretty complex, but keeping the language simple and engaging emotional, I felt like it had momentum. I thought they did a really, really good job and I say they, because there was a whole team that went into this, we all know Joe Biden didn't sit down and write that speech longhand. But I thought that his delivery was great. I thought the way he sort of [00:04:00] moved through the priorities was wonderful. He definitely started with the successes. He inherited a crisis with COVID and the economy and listen, I think he's right. I think he has a lot of really significant achievements on those fronts to celebrate.

Beth: [00:04:18] I think you can tell that there's a team behind it because you know, they studied what time viewership drops off. That's when he got into the more like controversial, but activism driven, laundry list of things he would like to get done. He spent the first segment of the speech when probably the most people were watching on really like consensus driven priorities using language that I think most Americans would feel really good about. He really carefully avoided any kind of culture war subjects and I just, I thought it was smart the way they use the clock in this speech to do everything that he was trying to do and do it when the right audience was still there for it.

Sarah: [00:04:58] And it showed in [00:05:00] the snap polling. I mean, it was really high. It was like 89% thought it looked presidential. 79% were encouraged by what they heard and felt good about the future of America. I mean, he really leaned into that optimism and I think that the way to do that is to say, We did big things. Here's the next big thing that we have planned. Like, I love that. I think that saying, look, we delivered, we distributed the vaccines. We got shots in so many arms, we're starting to open back up. We sent recovery checks your way. 

Like let's let the government show up in Americans' lives in some very real and very basic ways that they can see and let's talk about it a lot. We need that. The trust is so low, the fear of big government and the narrative around big government that's been in our national consciousness since Reagan, which Biden was also there for is just, it's so implanted. Right. And I think chipping away at that is hard. It's big, [00:06:00] big work.

And I think he's doing it. I really do. I think those very concrete things, he can just keep pointing to over and over again. I really liked how he emphasized, like some of this investment is only the type of investment government can make. Government is the only institution capable of making investments on this scale, having impact on people's lives on this scale, because he's got lots of big government planned and so I think leaning all into, like, this is what's happened so far. Do you like what showed up in your life was a really good way to start.

Beth: [00:06:33] I enjoy it the kind of grace notes where he demonstrated a lot of respect for the Congress and I think his years in that body really shine through. Like, there was a moment where almost as an aside, he was saying, there's more, there's been lots of success, but there's more work to do.And he said, you all know this better than anyone. Like really I know a lot of the speeches where the American people, but I did feel that he interjected a lot that was for the Congress to say, I've been here. I get this. 

He [00:07:00] referenced, you know, people sitting on the intelligence committee, the foreign relations committee. He told that story about Mitch McConnell, encouraging him to name some of the cancer moonshot funds after his son and I really loved that he thanked the Senate for passing the AAPI hate crime legislation. I think that's part of the trust building process too. I recognize that I'm here as a co-equal branch of government and showing that respect to Congress, even when Congress, you know, doesn't always earn it was, was great to see. 

Sarah: [00:07:28] Yeah. And that's the hard part of these addresses, right? As he's talking to Congress, but he's, tousled talking to the American people and so doing both of those things at the same time can be difficult, but I, again, I think he, he struck that balance and then he definitely moved into a section of the speech that was really focused on his future plans. I feel like he just, I feel like he's like desensitizing us to trillion dollar plans.

Like, let's just get that word out there enough and often and I do, like I said, the other day on the news brief, [00:08:00] I think this is reflection of my age that often when I'm reporting something and I'll say billion, like I was reporting the investment and the IRS to beef up enforcement, which I'm here for and I said, 80 billion. And I thought, is that right? Is it million? And you know what? It's like never a million anymore. Like, it was just, that's not, that's not it ever, ever when I'm reporting something. And I think, wait, is it million? No, it's not. It's always billion. 

And I guess it's just because I'm 40 almost and a million needs to be a lot of money and now it's not anymore and a billion needs to be a lot of money when we talk about the government. And I think Joe, Biden's like, it's not anymore, guys. It's always going to be a trillion. We're a really big country. 

Beth: [00:08:39] Well, I do think there is a component of we're a really big country. You know, 330 ish million people is a lot of people and we know this about everything, right? You can't buy for a quarter, what you used to be able to buy for a quarter and that, that scales up to the millions, billions and trillions. It is a lot of money. And I actually particularly [00:09:00] hate that beefed up IRS enforcement, as part of this, I totally disagree with that as a route to go, but I thought his presentation made a lot of sense.

Here's what I want to do and why. Here's what I think that will do for you. I really think it is smart to wrap climate change in the jobs framing and I think it's true. I think it's both smart and has the benefit of being true. So while I have some disagreement with portions of where he's going here, I thought his presentation of where he's going was very coherent and smart and really spoke to a broad coalition of Americans.

Sarah: [00:09:34] Yeah. Now I don't hate that. What I do hate is that the first question after any one of these plans comes out is how are we gonna pay for it? How are we gonna pay for it? I said on the news brief, I really wish the first question reporters asked and the first pivot, once we talk about what's in the plan, is, is it worth it? Is [00:10:00] it worth it? Because that seems to be the important question. If you look around America right now and think, well, the biggest issue facing the country in 2021 is the deficit then I just, I don't know where to start, because that seems like you live on another planet to me.

 We have so many big giant issues facing us and I think he did a really great job of talking about them and how they all knit together. It's not an accident. That jobs was the word that he used the most, right. It's related to climate change. It's related to foreign policy. It's related to infrastructure it's related to childcare, community college, all these different things and to me, it's like, let's talk about, should we do this?

 Yes. I mean, that's my answer. Should we invest in childcare? Should we invest in education? Should we invest in infrastructure? Okay. If the question is yes, and these are our priorities, then is the price tag worth it? Is it worth [00:11:00] it? Because I just feel like when we just talk about the cost, it puts us in this mindset of like what I don't love, which is where, when we're consumers of the government, instead of citizens. Like we are citizens, we are participating in a system that we hold the power in that affects every area of our lives. We're not just buying a car and deciding it, the price tag is like, right, right.

 And I just, you know, I think the, the Republican party stance that like any government is bad. Is been really harmful and I really liked that he leaned all the way into this shift of no government is a, can be a force of good in your life, but it costs money. And so you, I'm going to lay out what I think this money can do, what I think these policies can do in your life and you tell me if you think it's worth it. I mean, the reason the Republican party is struggling with messaging is like, we all know the answer.

 It is very popular. It is popular to tax the rich to pay for two years of community college. It is very popular and this is the consent of the governed, [00:12:00] right? If it's popular, then we should do it because that's what the government is there, that's what the people in Congress are sent to do is represent our will and so I just feel like he shifted that conversation and I wish that so much of the media coverage would catch up to we're talking about policies and the impact on people's lives and the most important thing to me is not, well, how are we gonna pay for it? I'm not saying that's not important. It is important. Of course it's important, but to center the entire conversation around that really bugs me. 

Beth: [00:12:32] I think it's really hard for us to take in those numbers and assign them any meaning because they are so much larger than amounts of money that the vast majority of us are exposed to in life. I just don't know what $2 trillion means. If I'm going to be honest in my assessment of how much money it is, then I have to look at relevant points of comparison. For example, reporting that we've spent about $2 trillion in Afghanistan and so is it [00:13:00] worth it I think is a good question. If you know, this kind of money is flowing out of government anyway. Where do we want to put it that we're going to get the most return, I think is a relevant question. 

So I watched Senator Tim Scott's rebuttal to president Biden's speec which I thought was interesting. I watched both Senator Tim Scott, and I don't know how many people saw it, but a representative Jamaal Bowman also offered a rebuttal. He is a Democrat, but he offered a rebuttal from the working family party, sort of the really progressive caucus within the democratic party, which I thought was a choice, but Tim Scott rebuttal more directly addressed what Jamaal Bowman was saying than what president Biden was saying.

 So Senator Scott was talking a lot about, wow, I think the theme was, we shouldn't apologize for America. Things are pretty good here. We're not that racist. We aren't in dire straits. There's a ton of [00:14:00] opportunity here. If you work hard, you can have a great life here. It was interesting to me because I don't think that's super far from what president Biden actually said.

He did do kind of an American exceptionalism run in his speech and he did speak with a lot of confidence about where we are. I wish that we could get out of that framing of is everything the worst and falling apart and we need to spend all this money to fix it, or is this the best country on earth and nothing could possibly be wrong and so if government would just get out of the way and let us live our best lives, that would be true, into the space that I think president Biden is trying to occupy.

 I feel most aligned with him on this subject than just about anybody else that I hear, because what I hear him saying is America is a fantastic country and we are well positioned to be even better and so why wouldn't we be? [00:15:00] And if we want to be a world leader, as we have for the past, 50 years, at least we're going to have to invest in the next round of being a world leader and if we don't, maybe we're still a great country to live in, but we are a very different country relative to the rest of the world than what we've been.

I think that's correct all around. And that's why, even though these numbers are really big, I agree that only the federal government is positioned to invest in our infrastructure at the level needed to sustain our place in the world. That's a really different conversation though, than America is the worst or the most amazing and, you know, escaping critique.

Sarah: [00:15:44] Yes, his emphasis on opportunity and that we are in an inflection point, really spoke to me. I loved it when he lanes all into that. Like, we have an opportunity here. Are we going to take it? I mean, it's a choice. It's a choice. Are we going to take our [00:16:00] opportunity to continue to lead the world? And I thought his framing of the autocrats are making a case, right that they are better positioned because consensus takes too long in a democracy and in a lot of ways, we're proving their point you guys.

 We're fighting with each other instead of rising to the opportunity. So do we want them to be right? That an autocracy is the best positioned to lead in the 21st century because they don't have to depend on their own citizens coming to consensus. Like, do we believe that? Look, you don't want, you want me to tell you the truth? I think there are some Americans that believe that. I think there are some Americans that want to live in an autocracy. Now they want their people to be leading it, but they want to live in autocracy for sure. And so I think like framing it that way and just lay in the cards on the table and saying, these are the choices in front of us is really, really helpful and really, really motivating as we continue this conversation as a country.

Beth: [00:16:56] I think the trouble is that so many Americans already act like we live in an [00:17:00] autocracy. I think that's why we have this just brutal, raw power struggle and the idea that once you get power, you've got to put your foot all the way down on the accelerator because you'll lose it soon. And so you got to use it while you have it.

I think that's why you see people like Senator Holly, Senator Cruz, Senator Rubio, even at this point, wanting to like punish corporations for taking a position that contradicts theirs, because they can feel that tide moving in terms of support for their version of autocracy and, and look, I don't think that that position is limited to the Republican side of the aisle at all.

I think there are people in both parties who act like we're already there and that depends on one of those extreme framings of America. It's amazing just as it is or it's a disaster just as it is and if you believe one of those things, you're willing to sacrifice a lot of process to get what you wantduring the times that you can have it. And, and I [00:18:00] do. I think that's where my fundamental trust of president Biden comes in. 

I heard Jake Tapper before the speech talking about how he brought a bunch of reporters in to discuss what he was going to say earlier in the day and that the one takeaway from that conversation that resonated more than anything else was that he fundamentally thinks that this is about democracy or autocracy on the world stage and that where America goes, the rest of the world is going to go and so, in a way, it's about infrastructure or supporting American families but I do not think that is his driving motivation and, and I trust the underlying motivation here. 

Sarah: [00:18:39] How did you feel about the overall breakdown of the speech? I was not surprised to hear so much about COVID and the relief early in the speech. I thought he spent a substantial portion pitching the infrastructure plan and the families act, which didn't surprise me and then he kind of [00:19:00] moved through everything else at a pretty tight clip. Police reform, equal pay. There wasn't a ton of time spent on immigration, which is definitely his sort of weakest point if you're looking at polling. 

But I think that to me, speaks to their overall strategy, which is the more we talk about it, the worse it is. So. You know, we're going to try to fly under the radar, especially on things that are very controversial. And so in some ways I thought I'm surprised you didn't spend more time on it and then in other ways, I thought, no, this is the strategy. The strategy is not give them a lot of ammunition to use against me on things I'm already weak on.

Beth: [00:19:37] I think the strategy is a smart strategy. I also think we are in a moment that calls for prioritization. And I appreciate that he recognizes that and is doing it without leaving anything else off. I mean, he got in the things that people needed to hear from him. I was particularly pleased that when he waded into, I thought the most controversial sort of culture war thing that he waited into was bringing up the transgender [00:20:00] legislation. But I loved that he framed that so positively, the president has your back if you're trans gender.

 That would a perfect way to address that, frame it positively and move on. I thought that was beautifully done. I felt that way about most of it. There are populous notes that I think play really well from him and that's where I get the most uncomfortable. Like one of the biggest applause lines in the chamber was about sort of, we should build these wind turbines in Pittsburgh, not Beijing and that's where I kind of sit back and think, no, you've like, you've lost me here. This is not where I am. 

Sarah: [00:20:36] He loved that line though. He leaned all the way into it. You could feel it like when he talks about made in America and by America, like he's here, he's in for it. He's in it. He's in it to win it. Yeah. He loves it. 

Beth: [00:20:45] And my, you know, my disagreements with him though are always kind of quibbles instead of like, with president Trump where I just thought, like, I fundamentally don't trust where you're coming from. With Biden I think like, I don't want to spend a bunch [00:21:00] of government money on wind. I just `don't.

I think the place for clean energy investment by the government is nuclear power. That's where I think there's the most potential. That's where I think  only the government can bring the kind of research and development dollars to do it safely that is needed. And so I don't like, I don't want to talk about building wind turbines on taxpayer dollars in Pittsburgh when I think the clean energy investment from the government ought to go to nuclear. 

But like, that's the kind of thing that I think he would sit down and negotiate on. Yeah. He'd be like, Oh, let's talk, let's talk that through. We might not agree, but I think he would hear that, you know, that the tax stuff, the pay for. I always struggle with round numbers in federal policy, I feel the same way about the $400,000 commitment. So he said, I'm not going to put any more tax burden on people who make less than $400,000 a year which like sounds fine. That is a lot of money, but it is a lot more money to me here in Kentucky than it is to somebody living in California and facing the kind of home prices that are in California.

[00:22:00] I feel the same way about the $15 minimum wage. That's a, that's a great, sustainable living in some places and just not enough at all in other places. And so I think those round numbers out of the federal government are hard. The thing that I am most interested in around our tax policy. I have no problem with wealthy people paying more. None. I have no problem with paying more for myself to make some of these investments, because I do think they're that important and we're there. 

We, we need to spend more money. We are going to have to have more tax revenue coming in. I want a simpler tax code and the process. I do not want to layer those ideas onto the existing monstrosity of our tax code. I particularly don't want to give the IRS more enforcement money to go audit people within the confines of this ridiculously complex tax code and I just kind of start from the proposition that like, let's talk about raising more revenue, but to your point, Sarah, I don't think we have to wait to overhaul the tax code to make these investments.

[00:23:00] We do this all the time. We just spend the money as though it's there and try to figure it out later. So I would rather see them hammer out really good policy on how this money will be spent and then come back around and spend some time and real thought and energy on saying, now let's pay for it in a way that also tackles some things that we've known our problems for a long time.

Sarah: [00:23:20] You saying that he would hear you out on these things reminds me of one of the best tweets I saw, which was, you know, he, he started to like work the crowd afterwards, which is where like he lives and breathes. He loves it. Somebody heard him say to one congressperson like, well, how's your mom doing? Which just warms my heart.

And then a Congresswoman, a Republican Congresswoman handed him her card. And then somebody screenshot that like two seconds later, Ron Klain the chief of staff was following this Congresswoman on Twitter. I was like, that is perfect. That is perfect. And to me, it speaks to the fact that when he does [00:24:00] these big speeches, And he doesn't do them a lot, but like when this rolls out or when he says, like, this is an inflection point, this is an opportunity, I just don't feel like it's just words because he is building back up the government and its capacity to do these things.

 And he, like, I was reading how he build the cabinet quicker than any president. It's the most diverse cabinet. And I just feel like this team surrounding him is so good and so prepared to turn all these words into actions, which we're going to talk about next with what they've done so far. But before we do that, we have to talk about the team behind him, which was very, very special and historic. 

He was flanked by both the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi and vice president Kamel Harris. The first time in history that there have been two women behind the president when he's given one of these congressional addresses and you know what? I like it. I thought it looked good on America. I'd like to see it again sometime. 

Beth: [00:24:55] Well, I agree with that a hundred percent. I also was listening hard for how [00:25:00] he talked about vice president Harris during his speech. I think he's been so wise in including her in all of his meetings. There are reports that they spend about five hours a day together and I like those reports. That makes me feel comforted because of his age in part and also because I think that's what the role of the vice-president ought to be like, no matter what the president's age is. And because it makes me feel like she wasn't checking a box for him, but she was a partner that he wanted to govern with.

I also think he really cleverly - Alise and I were talking about this earlier. I think he really cleverly talks about her portfolio in ways that both raise her profile as a serious governing partner. And kind of answer that question that too many people, I think articulate of like, I just don't trust her. I think she's too liberal, whatever, because he says like the vice president is working on this and I've asked her to do it because I know she'll get it done and the, [00:26:00] it is rural broadband. Right. And the root causes of migration from the Northern triangle, you know? So he is really building a resume for her to help her if she runs in the future I think with the kinds of assignments that he's. Trusting her with, they don't sound like liberal priorities in a way that would alienate a lot of the population. 

Sarah: [00:26:24] I love the way he talks about our, I love their partnership. I don't envision a scenario in which former vice president, Joe Biden and the role he played. I'm thinking particularly about all the reporting recently with the death of. Walter Mondale and how they spoke about it. I didn't really know about Walter Mondale, his historic role in revamping, um, the job of the vice-president, but all of that, his mentorship with Walter Mondale, his role as vice president. Like I just can't imagine a scenario in which he'd just check a box. Like clearly from the beginning she was going to be a partner. 

And that's why that vision of [00:27:00] her behind him next to Nancy Pelosi is even more hopeful is even more fulfilling because you know, it's not just to placate, right? It's just like, let us throw you a ball and like it's, it's real it's we trust this leadership and look, you don't just see that in the visuals like that you see that in the numbers and the way that his team has been built out the way that he's using appointments, um, both within the cabinet and within the judiciary. So, I mean, it's clearly, it's not just a priority. It's not just a public relations strategy. It's a real representation of his values.

okay, Beth, we are recording on the 100th day of Joe Biden's presidency. So let's talk less about the words from last night and more about what we've seen over the past 100 days. 

Beth: [00:27:56] The headline for me is that I think Joe Biden is very good at president thing. I think he wants [00:28:00] to be the president. I think he wants to do the job. I think he is serious about it. I honestly went into the speech last night, very ambivalent about whether he needed to do it because there was a part of me that really liked the vibe of I'm busy. I'm doing my work. You guys can follow. 

Sarah: [00:28:16] Let me give you something to talk about and criticized. I'm just going to be over here 

Beth: [00:28:18] You know, read the stuff as it comes out and you do your work and I'll do mine here. We all go. Again, where I have disagreement with him. It's pretty marginal. I, I like the discipline of this white house. I know there are people inside it that are frustrated that feel micromanaged, that think everything is too tight and then it gets slowed down. I am sure there are people within this white house who want to go even bigger than what they're talking about and are frustrated by sort of the moderating forces.

I think he's got the right combination of ideological diversity in addition to demographic diversity around him to end up on these messages and these policies that I do think the vast majority of Americans [00:29:00] are pretty on board with. 

Sarah: [00:29:02] The Washington post has a rundown of where he stands on his campaign promises from the 200 million shots to rejoin the Paris climate accord to foreign policy, rejoining the world health organization, immigration, other topics like how he's appointed people to his cabinet and there are so few. I think the only two that have seen no action is sin legislation on gun control to Congress and create a national commission on police restructuring. 

But there are so many things that he talked about that he promised that he is either completed, that they're working on that they're in progress that the steps have already begun and what I see when I look through this list, because look, let's be honest. I'm a Democrat. I've been a Democrat for a long time, since I was 18 years old. I'm not going to quibble with a lot of the policy, but what I see is exactly what you described, this really fantastic balance of people who have been at, at it a [00:30:00] long, long time, including the president himself, but who have learned lessons, because experience is only valuable if you are willing to learn the lessons from that experience and people who are, you know, newer in their experience and see the world in a different way. 

And so not only do I see this team that lets their experience work on them, but also lets the current moment work on them. I could not anticipate a Joe Biden presidency that was willing to go in and go big and the ways that he has. I mean, I'm going to be real with you, the highlight of the first 100 days was the reporting that he sat down with a bunch of historians. I don't know what that says about me, but that moment when I was like, for those of you who haven't heard this reporting, like he sat down with all these historians, including of course, Doris Kearns, Goodwin, and talked about like, what do [00:31:00] you see right now in America? What do you see happening?

 Is there a scenario in which I could go too big right now? And I think there are, were sounding answer was like, no, you are facing an FDR, LBJ moment, lean all the way into it. And I'm just so encouraged by that. And I feel, you know, after four years of feeling not represented, like feeling like the president does not care, but it does not, not only does not care about me, but feels no obligation to care for me, watch out for me and my family, I cannot describe the relief I feel a hundred days in knowing that there is someone fighting for us watching out for us, dedicating their life in a way that's not about him, but it's truly about this country. 

And look, I think for better or for worse, a lot of that comes from his age. There is no calculation of his future career. This is the finale of his career [00:32:00] under every scenario, even a second term, like this is the finale, right? This is, can I show that this life people interested to me in public service paid off. Right and I just, I feel that in everything, when he talks his actions, when he chooses not to talk, the fact that he spends time and has his team spending time going around the country.

Like I missed that with Trump. Like I think that's such an important thing that president does is just show up in America. I'm here. This isn't about a press moment. This is about me showing up in this school or going to this factory and being on the ground, listening to Americans. I think that is so important. I don't think before Trump, we understood how much time they spent on that because it just like the press doesn't really cover it. It's not exciting. It, we don't spend a lot of time thinking about it unless he's in our town or in our community.

 But I still remember when George H w Bush came to my town, [00:33:00] it was hugely impact when he was president and I just think like that is so important. And to see him doing that again, it just, it makes me feel like, Oh, he like America is being cared for. 

Beth: [00:33:12] So the critique of him from Senator Scott, which I think was a hard thing to do. Look, let me start about Senator Scott by saying I can not fathom the complexity of being Tim Scott and I am very happy that the Republican party chose their lone Senator of color to deliver their response here for learning.

Sarah: [00:33:33] Good lord, it could have been Marjorie Taylor green and there would, where would we be then?

Beth: [00:33:36] And, and it did feel to me, like there was a decision here about what version of the Republican party to put forward and I am thrilled that that's the version that they put forward. So Senator Scott's main critique of president Biden in his hundred days of office is that he talks the moderate game and he governs very strongly from a [00:34:00] progressive stance that it, that does not have room for compromise. 

And I think that there has been some damage done in the relationship between senators who might have been open to working with him. Now that is a big might, and I can feel all of the eyes rolling from certain parts of our audience and I love you and I see you and I respect your eye rolling. I think, you know, I get the eye-rolling around that because I don't think we have had a moment to really test whether they would have worked with him.

 Um, I think going through reconciliation on that COVID relief package has done some damage. Um, in terms of those relationships, I don't think it is irreparable damage and I don't think it should be. And I liked the way he left the door open. I liked, I liked it when he said I applaud people who've put forward their own infrastructure plan. Good. Let's haggle. Let's talk. I think that's fantastic. And I think that will lead to a better bill ultimately, which, which I want.

 I want to say about that criticism though, that you can all day [00:35:00] say like the only reason a person like me likes Joe Biden is because of his temperament and I'm just not going to fight with you about that. It is true. His temperament is a big deal to me. I like his temperament a lot because I think in that job, his temperament matters. The president is not a legislator. His temperament is really important to doing diplomacy on the international stage.

It's really important to receiving the horrific phone calls about an embassy being bombed. You know, His demeanor, just being a moderate and temperament only, I guess that's what we're doing now like instead of rhino it's now you're moderate and temperament only, or something. I'm here for that because as an American, again, I don't believe we're in an autocracy so I don't feel like all is lost if I don't agree with every policy from the president. 

I did feel like all was lost when the president's temperament was so incredibly concerning to me and to me, so [00:36:00] misaligned with the job that he had and so I just, I felt like that fell pretty flat because I think America voted for his temperament even more than these policies and what I get to go back to your point, Sarah, about how he kind of ticked fast through everything outside of COVID relief and jobs, I think he knows that that's just the trust building process. If he delivers on all this stuff and it makes people's lives better, they're going to have more tolerance for other things that would sound controversial before he builds that trust. 

Sarah: [00:36:29] Well, and the reason I don't want to listen to this critique from Tim Scott. I mean, not take it, but I disagree with it pretty passionately because the other moment in the first hundred days I thought, Oh, is when they said bipartisan to us, means the American people, not Congress. Because the Republican members of Congress, the Republican party as represented by its leadership has forfeited all credibility on this.

You don't want to talk about policy and you [00:37:00] haven't for years, you want to keep fighting the same fights that get you elected and the fact that he stood up and said, I'm not going to do that anymore. You know, we say on this show all the time, we fight the same fights and the world changed and I felt like Joe Biden stood up and said, the world changed. We're not going to do this anymore because these are moderate policies. 

Two years of free community college is a moderate policy. If you ask most Americans, that is a moderate policy and I mean, like what we find is a lot of agreement from people who are strongly Republican and strongly Democrat on like should come two years of community college be free. Yeah, it should. Is a high school enough anymore in 2021? No it isn't. And I just think like they're re formulating of that to say like, no, we're not, you don't get to pick this anymore because you weren't fighting fair. You don't get to define the battle because you were lying. That was never the battle to you.

The battle was purely about power and never about policy and so we're not going to pretend like it was [00:38:00] anymore guys, because you're never going to vote for it. I, you know, Lisa Murkowski getting all pouty last night, like, come on cause you're not going to vote. You're not going to join and get those 60 votes anyway. So what are we doing here? Stop. 

Like, I just feel like he had enough experience in Washington and had seen it from the front lines. And I think a lot of this is like, Ron Klain too just being like, Hey guys, no, like we're not going to pretend anymore. The game has changed. You changed it. And so we're now we're going to talk about pretty openly the new rules of the game and the new rules of the game are we let the American people define the spectrum, not Mitch McConnell. 

Beth: [00:38:32] And look, I don't, I don't love all of that because I don't want things to pass only because they're popular. I do want people who will say two years of community college is very popular. That is also going to be disruptive in ways that we have not even contemplated. And I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying let's talk through what that disruptive nature looks like. Let's talk through the effect on four year colleges. Let's talk through the effect on high schools [00:39:00] today and how they're delivering services.

Let's talk through the effect on people in this field who work in higher education and how disruptive this will be. I feel the same way about paid family leave. Conceptually. I am a hundred percent supportive of that in practice the current FMLA structure results in some really bad scenarios for employees. If you have a chronic illness, And your chronic illness leads you to not have to consistently be out for 12 weeks, but to have a doctor's appointment here and a day when you've crashed there and three days over here where you're taking a new medicine and it knocks you off your socks, you and your employer are going to get into horrific battles over FMLA and how it applies to you. 

Okay. So that's where I want the Republican party to be able to say, let us let's come in from the business angle and talk about how does this actually unfold because yes, paid family leave sounds fantastic. How do we do this in a way that encompasses some real-world experiences where the government getting [00:40:00] involved before has had really strong benefits and also some not so great things like policy needs to be worked on by people who have studied it, not just by everybody going yep, that sounds really great. 

Because on the other side of it, the people who experienced the one failure of the policy or the one hard thing will do what happened in the Reagan and Reagan era and say like, will government getting involved at all is terrible, right? Like we need that back and forth and so it makes me sad that that group of 10, 12 Republicans who might be well-suited to have this conversation are just walking around, like unwilling to earn some trust themselves, because do I think Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney have something and Pat Toomey to add to these discussions? 100% I do.

So like uncross your arms and do it cause he's trying to earn some trust. Why don't you do the same? And I think they should have taken that COVID vote as a way to say we're here for it. Now give us a seat at the table on trillions of dollars of infrastructure. Yeah. 

Sarah: [00:40:58] I mean, I think if, [00:41:00] if AOC was president, I would be more concerned. Right. But she's not, it's not just somebody who's like, that sounds like the right thing to do. And I'm not like I'm not dissing her. I love her. I think her vision is part of the progressive momentum in the Biden presidency. I think you need people with vision and I love that it's we have vision and we also have someone like Joe Biden, who is not just saying this is the right thing to do, but it's saying like, Oh no, I've seen this play out.

And we're going to deal with the complexities because, you know, I think with the Reagan era, it wasn't about government. It was about power. Like it wasn't about big government is, you know, we've seen big government play out in our lives beyond like, Oh, I don't know, desegregating schools that we don't like, and that we have to push back because we saw this play out and there was too much complexity for us.

Like I think it was not to be like painting with a very broad brush across a very wide section of the population, but I think that was, Oh no, we want the power for ourselves. We're going to [00:42:00] create fear around the government, but it's not like they even really shrank the government. They just put the government in different places where they wanted it to go.

Beth: [00:42:07] The way that era is held up among Republicans today and the way Ronald Reagan is particularly venerated is based on those quippy, like I'm from the government and I'm here to help are the most dangerous words in the English language. That idea that when government gets involved, things go awry and you know what they do. 

Like as much as I agreed with Biden, when he talked about, he did kind of a, we are the committee moment, right where he said, The people are the government, you and me, not something far away. I totally agree with that. And also I think it's important to recognize that there is an enormous power.

 The reason that he wants to bring the government to these problems is that the government is a little bit more than you and me. It's got a lot of power that it can bring to a situation. And so recalibrating on that, I do think takes two healthy parties and I wish we had them. 

Sarah: [00:42:57] What was the moment you were most disappointed in the Biden [00:43:00] administration the first 100 days? 

Beth: [00:43:01] Certainly the Southern border situation. It has been most disappointing to me and end even in like smaller ways. I was so delighted that he formed a commission to work on reuniting separated families, and that commission hasn't made a lot of progress. I understand that these are really hard things to do and it's unfair to judge a person on the mess that the previous person made, but that is a part of being the president and seeing the competence of the administration around COVID in particular makes me think I would like for them to step up their efforts to manage that situation as competently and effectively as they're managing other things.

And again, Like I recognize that's a tall order. That's an area that I think requires as much focus in some ways as what's going on with COVID because I so believe that what the Trump administration did at the border is going to haunt this nation for a long time. And, and I want that kind of effort being brought to bear.

Sarah: [00:43:59] Yeah, I [00:44:00] don't feel that as much because I think it's just reflective of how much damage the Trump administration did to the immigration system that we, that's probably hard for most of us in our everyday lives to comprehend and I think their slowness is indicative of just what a disaster it was. That's really hard for all of us to comprehend.

 I think my biggest moment of disappointment was in the press shop, there was a aide that was accused of sexually harassing. Pretty credibly, there was like text messages and emails, a reporte and the first response was an apology. He later stepped down, but to me it was not soon enough and I did not enjoy the, Oh, the apology is enough response, um, in that moment and I felt like it was, uh, like a pretty big disappointment, even though they, they fixed it later. I wished they'd done it correctly the first time.

Beth: [00:44:47] The weirdest feeling that I have today, as I think about the hundred days is just being kind of despondent over COVID because he has come in and made such a dent so [00:45:00] fast, given where we were and when he talked in his speech about American vaccine distribution throughout the world called, I just thought like, Oh my gosh, if our country had brought all of our tools to COVID, but instead of just our incredible scientific research and manufacturing and distribution skills, Like we brought those, right.

And, and the Trump administration played a part in that we brought some of our skills to the, to the COVID situation. If we had brought all of them and use more of our tools, what suffering could have been avoided here, how much more quickly could we be doing vaccine diplomacy in a way that's so restores trust in the world and so restores American leadership. You know, I'm just having a moment of real lament about the incompetence not just of the previous administration, but I, but I do think that if president Trump had from the beginning said everybody just needs to wear a mask, I can't even imagine how [00:46:00] differently this all would have played out and, and it makes m real sad 

Sarah: [00:46:03] look, I had a re a pretty heated conversation about the W Bush and the sort of cleaning up of his image which does not go over well with some of my, um, very, very liberal friends for what it's worth. But I think for a lot of reasons, including his history, with understanding the threat of a pandemic and with addressing the AIDS crisis in Africa, like if we had rolled from a George W. Bush presidency into a Biden presidency, through a global pandemic, millions of people, more people would be alive in America and around the world. 

I don't have any trouble saying that. I have no doubt about that. I think that's right. And I think that's indicative of the a hundred days. So much of the a hundred days is not about what Biden has done, but what this administration has been forced to clean up and I just think like they don't spend a lot of time talking about that because I don't think they don't want to talk about Trump. They don't want to be seen as like, sort of complaining or victimizing. And I get that. And I think that is the absolute right approach. 

And [00:47:00] also those of us who, you know, think and talk about these things a lot, like it's worth saying, like they had such a massive challenge in front of them, just, you know, in not even like from one administration to the next buck in the transition and how they got shut out and how it got slowed down. We all remember that like all of that? And to, to have overcome what they have and the amount of time is a true success story.

Beth what's on your mind outside politics?

Beth: [00:47:34] We received a question on Instagram that we wanted to talk about today. Someone asked us, and I think this is such a good question. How do you make adult friends?

Sarah: [00:47:43] I was thinking about this when she asked and looking around at my own friendships and I think the truth is so much of it is proximity and stage of life right now, for me. I'm very close friends with the people I go to church with. I'm also very close friends with the people I go to church with, who also have kids my [00:48:00] age, whose friendships in school, like we see each other at the same events we do.

 And like, I'll hear them talk about friends and I'm like, well, I don't ever hang out with them. I'm like, Oh, it's because their kids play soccer together like my kids don't play soccer. So I think so much of the adult friendship right now is about proximity to the stage of life for me. I mean, that's like, I have two baskets of friends. I have like my friends in my life in Paducah. And then I have the friends I've had for a lifetime who I talked to on Marco polo, a lot.

 My best friends from college and my best friends from law school and so I think, but to me, that's not like making adult friendship. The friendships you make in those like really formative ages of life when we have, uh, lots and lots of time to hang out and bond to me are like a totally different thing. 

Beth: [00:48:40] I think that it's really difficult. My friendships are drastically different post COVID than pre COVID and I think that's for a lot of different reasons, but I'll tell you that making some of those friendships, especially with people like in my neighborhood who I've become very close to during the pandemic, there are moments when I am as anxious about asking people over [00:49:00] dinner or something, as I would be asking someone to prom. It is hard.

I think it's hard when you are becoming friends with people to say like, would you, do you want to hang out? Like, it's mean it's it's just difficult. You don't want to assume anything. You don't want to impose on anybody. You don't want to seem desperate or something and I think it's really vulnerable and I'm grateful that the pandemic has just kind of stripped everything away enough to make me vulnerable enough to like say to people. No, I, I would like to hang out. I would like to play cards. I would like to make you dinner.

Sarah: [00:49:29] Well, that's funny. My anxiety does not show up in the asking. I will ask anyone for anything at any time. I do not hesitate. I'm just an asker. I know it just it's part of my personality. My anxiety shows on the back end, like after the event is over, I'm like, was I too rude? Was that T did I say that? Did I make them mad? Did they not like that opinion? Like then I'm like doing a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking and I have to remind myself everybody's doing that. 

They're not thinking about me. They're thinking about themselves. Did I make somebody mad? Did I hurt somebody's feelings? Like, to me that's the, my anxiety always shows up on the [00:50:00] backend. And especially like, COVID like being way more engaged with people and having longer evenings together, I just have to realize like, Oh, that's just a, that's, that's a thing that used to happen. And I need to like, remember that it's not helpful and anxiety lies and just get past it.

Beth: [00:50:11] And I think. And on the backend side, just the best thing is when someone texts and says that was really fun. Then all of that like moves my body and I'm like, woo okay. I thought it was really fun too. I'm glad everybody else thought it was really fun. 

Sarah: [00:50:24] But I think just leaning into the vulnerability and deciding that it's important to you and deprioritize it because I think the other thing about adult friendships is it just becomes like the sort of extracurricular thing that's nice if you can have it, but that's not really true. It is essential to, to happiness and good mental health and not that it's like this, like this productivity thing, you should check off your list, but to like care for your soul, you need friends and that takes effort. It's not just going to fall into your lap. 

It's going to take, you know, I have had fights with my friends. I think that's an important thing we don't talk enough about is like how to solve conflict inside of a friendship, [00:51:00] because the narrative becomes like, well, if there's conflict, it's not a good friend and you're out and I do not enjoy that narrative. Um, not that I don't think you should, you know, leave toxic relationships, but I think that any relationship inside a friendship is going to involve some conflict. It's two that you're two different people, no matter how much you're in the same stage of life. And so just like, I wish we had more conversations about that and that that happens and that's okay as a part of building these friendships. 

Beth: [00:51:24] And I think one reason that you have a lot of friends, Sarah is because the way that you will ask anybody for anything is a real gift. You will send me a Voxer note about something that's hard. It is not connected to anything else. It is not like part of a thread of conversation we've been having. It's just like, here's a hard thing I'm sharing it with you now. And that that's just a gift like that invites everybody else to bring their stuff to the party. And that's where like the real connection is.

 I love getting a text message. That's just like, how do you do this? Or like, what are you struggling with today? Or like, let me tell you about the spit that my child had. It's just is, it is so good and [00:52:00] so rich and so healthy and I'll tell you, like, The environment that I was in before I worked from home, the kind of work environment I was in, I didn't feel any space for that. I felt like all of my friendships also had an element of, and I had good friends, then I love them and care about them but I also I felt probably because there was a professional gloss in a really competitive environment that there was always kind of a jockeying for that who's, who's, who's doing the best at best at life. Yeah. And I really am feeling better now that I've let go of that.

Sarah: [00:52:32] Yeah, because friendship is to cure loneliness and so unless you're sharing things so that other body can, somebody else can say, Oh yeah, me too then what, what are you doing? You're supposed to be sharing, not just like your successes, although I think that's an important part, but the struggle so that someone can say me too, that's the joy. That's the gift. That's the blessing of a really good friendship. 

Beth: [00:52:51] 100%.

Sarah: [00:52:52] Before we wrap up quick, little quick Peloton update. I love it. I love it. You are all right. I did want to [00:53:00] share, um, because I'm getting many, many, many questions. My leaderboard name is Bluegrass Red, and we have decided that our Pantsuit Politics tags on Peloton will be Best Ride Available, is that not the best and Pantsuit Peloton, and we are working on a group ride. Stay tuned. 

Thank you for joining us for another episode of Pantsuit Politics. We will be back in your ears on Tuesday and until then, keep it nuanced, y'all.

Beth: Pantsuit Politics is produced by Studio D Podcast Production.  

Alise Napp is our managing director.

Sarah: Megan Hart is our community engagement manager. Dante Lima is the composer and performer of our theme music. 

Beth: Our show is listener supported. Special thanks to our executive producers. 

Executive Producers (Read their own names):  Martha Bronitsky, Linda Daniel, Ali Edwards, Janice Elliot, Sarah Greepup, Julie Haller, Helen Handley, Tiffany Hassler, Barry Kaufman, Molly Kohrs.

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