The ups and downs of President Biden’s first two years in office are profiled extensively in “The Last Politician”
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
Joe Biden hasn’t accomplished everything that he’s wanted to, and “The Last Politician” isn’t the only book in recent times to put a spotlight on it. Ever since the Trump era, political books seem to be their own titanic industry in a way they haven’t been previously, with many books highlighting the day to day grind of the Presidency.
“The Last Politician” is very much in the vein of any of Bob Woodward’s recent works. Trump himself doesn’t make an appearance or make a significant impact on the narrative, but his presence looms over Biden’s first two years, all the way up to the 2022 midterm elections.
Also explored perhaps even more in-depth than Woodward’s works are Biden’s struggles dealing with members of his own party, especially Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin, who is such a big part of the narrative that one has to wonder if he was a source for the author, was and continues to be one of the most powerful men in the Senate as a result of the thin majority his party holds. Manchin doesn’t exactly toe every party line, and he is often critical of some Democratic goals. His votes have the power to help Biden’s goals succeed or kill them entirely, and he relishes that power.
And Manchin relishes that power almost as much as Biden himself seems to relish the Presidency. The book makes the case that he is among the last of a dying breed in the political field, and that he’s attempting to leave a legacy fitting of that. That being said, Biden’s first two years were full of ups and downs, which “Last Politician” highlights, even parts where Biden himself was left out of the narrative.
And there were plenty of points where Biden appeared to be quite done with everything going on around him. For a book centered around him, it’s somewhat surprising how much of “The Last Politician” paints Biden in an unflattering light. He’s even described as “begging” the centrist Democrats to get on board with his agenda at one point, and the book makes no attempt to hide away his failures, or his inaction at certain points.
“The Last Politician” may seem like it’s Biden’s biggest hype man on the outset, but truthfully it’s not. It’s an examination of the current administration up to its mid-way point, and it’s definitely not the flattering look the administration probably would like it to be. It’s an honest look at the man himself, and all of the good, bad and ugly that comes with him.
But it is fair, and it is an important read for those looking to be informed for the next election cycle.
