(MENAFN- AFP)
The White House has been taking on water this week with President Joe Biden facing provocation from North Korea and Russia, stubborn inflation and setbacks on voting rights and the fight against the Covid pandemic.
On Friday, in an attempt to right the ship, Biden is holding an event to vaunt his giant plan to rebuild the country's crumbling infrastructure.
"The administration has made key progress towards implementing the largest long-term investment in America's infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century," the White House said.
On November 15, amid great fanfare, Biden signed a bill that calls for $1.2 trillion to fix bridges and roads, change out unhealthy lead water pipes, build an electric vehicle charging network, and expand broadband internet.
At his side was a smiling Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
On Thursday, the Democratic senator from Arizona, in a speech on the Senate floor, torpedoed the 79-year-old president's efforts to enact voting rights bills designed to protect minority voters.
To pass the bills, Democrats need the support of Sinema to change the rules of the Senate requiring a supermajority of 60 votes to bring legislation to the floor.
- Political capital -
Democrats have just 50 seats in the 100-member Senate and without Sinema signing on to do away with the rule known as the filibuster the bills are doomed.
Biden personally invested much of his political capital in trying to get the voting rights bills passed, warning in a pair of speeches that democracy was in danger and lashing out at his predecessor Donald Trump and Republicans in general.
Biden received another blow on Thursday when the conservative-dominated Supreme Court struck down his vaccination-and-testing mandate for large businesses.
That same day, his national security advisor acknowledged that despite America's diplomatic efforts, Russia continues to pose a threat to Ukraine.
And on Friday, North Korea carried out its third missile test of the year, thumbing its nose at the United States even as Washington imposes new sanctions.
- Bunny rabbits -
The dire week is a reminder that Biden, who took office a year ago with ambitious promises, has very little room for maneuver.
As shown by Sinema, his control of the Senate is tenuous, and the Supreme Court has taken a hard turn to the right.
On the economic front, inflation is at its highest since 1982 and shelves are distressingly empty in some supermarkets amid supply chain issues.
And then there's Covid.
There's a shortage of testing kits, hospitalizations are at a record high and the Omicron variant is rampant.
In the latest poll from Quinnipiac University, just 33 percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job Biden is doing. Other polls have his ratings slightly higher, around 42 percent.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki took a glass half-full approach from the White House podium.
"Let me give you a little bit of a different take on this," Psaki told reporters. "More than 200 million people are vaccinated. We've had record job growth, record low unemployment rates.
"We've rebuilt our alliances and our relationships around the world," she said. "But we also recognize when you have a small margin and threshold in the Senate, it's very difficult to get things done and to get legislation passed.
"Our effort is to do hard things, try hard things, and keep at it," she said.
"We could certainly propose legislation to see if people support bunny rabbits and ice cream, but that wouldn't be very rewarding to the American people."
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