That was clearly the message Biden wanted. His White House staff created the event using the same stagecraft normally reserved for political conventions and campaign events. Flags from each state flapped in the background as Mr. Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and a union worker from North Carolina, strode to the lectern as “Hail to the Chief” played.
Now, the challenge for the president is to convince voters that passage of the legislation actually matters to their lives — that it is not just a Washington abstraction, debated in the halls of Congress but with little impact on them.
The Infrastructure Bill at A Glance
This effort must be made immediately.
The Monday ceremony will be followed on Monday by a burst presidential travel designed to show Americans real examples of how the law will boost the economy and create jobs.
On Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden will travel to New Hampshire to speak at a bridge that crosses the Pemigewasset River. This bridge is in dire need of rehabilitation. He will then visit a General Motors electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Detroit the next day to highlight the billions of dollars that will be spent on improving electric charging stations across the country.
“Now is an opportunity for the president, the vice president, our cabinet,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Monday, “to be out in the country, connecting the agenda, the impacts on people’s lives, moving beyond the legislative process to talk about how this is going to help them. And we’re hoping that’s going to have an impact.”
History shows that the president and his staff have a lot to do.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned around the country during his first term in office, telling Americans that the Affordable Care Act would “bend the cost curve” for health insurance and improve coverage. The law was made toxic by early problems in the Obamacare website, and opposition from Tea Party members.
Trump hosted a similar celebration after he passed tax cuts early in his tenure. However, it was without the bipartisan sheen and he failed to sell it to a wider audience. Throughout his tenure, tax cuts remained a largely political victory.
Source: NY Times
