Biden's Battered Legacy

Jimmy Carter spent nearly 45 years building a solid legacy following four years of an OK one-term presidency.

- By Daniel Henninger

Joe Biden is trying to cram his legacy redo into 45 days. While it's not quite true that Mr. Biden has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at shaping his legacy in the 11th hour, he has scheduled a ban on most gas-fired heaters that send hot water to the kitchen sink. He also waved forth a ban on oil and gas leasing in about 625 million acres of offshore waters surrounding the U.S. Against the recommendation of his national-security team, he stopped Nippon Steel's proposed merger with U.S. Steel to preserve his legacy as the most "pro-union" president ever, notwithstanding that many steel workers in Pennsylvania wanted the Nippon bailout. He commuted the sentences of prisoners on federal death row.

In addition to George Soros and Anna Wintour, Mr. Biden last week gave the Medal of Freedom to Robert F. Kennedy, who died in 1968, and Lionel Messi, an Argentine citizen who has played soccer in the U.S. for a little over a year. To his credit, Mr. Messi declined to show up for the absurdity. Just wait, there's sure to be more.

Every presidency is a combination of tough calls, good outcomes and defeats. A legacy, though, is how history chooses to remember a president, or, more cynically, it is what's going to be in the first paragraph of your obituary.

Every Biden first paragraph will include his abrupt decision not to run for re-election.

Then the heartless legacy writers will note the messy details of Mr. Biden's final year in office, culminating in his catastrophic debate with Donald Trump.