If there is one thing Presidents Trump and Obama have in common, they both ran on a platform of being “outsiders.” In 2008 then Governor Romney spoke about an obstacle McCain and Clinton both faced. Romney stated that the American people did not believe an “insider” could bring true change to Washington. Romney was right, the public did believe this. After all, how can you be part of the solution if you were part of the problem, right? Trump and Obama both were elected on the delusion that only an outsider could bring about true change. As President Biden has proven, the exact opposite is true.


Earlier this year, Senator Sanders called for Democrats to create their own “Contract With America” to run on in 2022. As of this time, the Democrats have not done this. They did not have to. Democrats delivered something much better than a contract of promises: an actual achievement. They did something much more significant, they actually accomplished the passing of legislation that can create actual change. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is a sample of the kind of change this administration is capable of.


As President Biden, Senator Schumer, and Senator Manchin recently proved – an insider is what is needed to really accomplish things. It turns out only an insider can really engineer change because only an insider can get “inside.” President Obama made a call to “re-power” America, under the rallying cry “yes we can.” But while Obama claimed “yes he could,” no he really didn’t. At least not to the extent that was necessary. However, as for President Biden – yes he did. President Biden has signed the Inflation-Reduction Act into law and accomplished a type of energy reform that Presidents Obama, Clinton or Reagan never could. New York Magazine ran an article featuring a picture of Obama and Biden, featuring a caption that reads “Now Who’s The Agent For Change?”


It is usually the law of nature for the incumbent party to lose seats in the first midterms. Is it because in the past, we have had a lot of newly inexperienced Presidents? Or is it because the public always simply wants what it can’t have? As we head into midterms, voters need to ask themselves what political gridlock could possibly accomplish. It is more important than ever to avoid political gridlock. Even more important, voters need to think about what “change” really means. New leaders do not necessarily mean new ideas. And as of now, we have yet to see a new “Contract With America.” If the GOP wins, they would have won simply on a platform of blind anger.


When Presidents Obama, Clinton and Reagan suffered midterm losses, they had both made a series of blunders. The only major “blunder” Biden currently has on his hands is the Afghanistan withdrawal. While that was in fact, nothing short of a disaster, it was not entirely President Biden’s fault. And even if it were completely Biden’s fault, the Republicans are not currently proposing any solution. President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer are hardly “cool, Obama-like” agents for change, yet they still accomplished more change than Obama ever did. Sometimes an old-school political insider is exactly what the doctor ordered.