President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden’s name wasn’t on the ballot, but history will likely remember Kamala Harris’ resounding defeat as his loss too.
As Democrats pick up the pieces after President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory, some of the vice president’s backers are expressing frustration that Biden’s decision to seek reelection until this summer — despite long-standing voter concerns about his age and unease about post-pandemic inflation as well as the U.S.-Mexico border — all but sealed his party’s surrender of the White House.
“The biggest onus of this loss is on President Biden,” said Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden in 2020 for the Democratic nomination and endorsed Harris’ unsuccessful run. “If he had stepped down in January instead of July, we may be in a very different place.”
Biden will leave office after leading the United States out of the worst pandemic in a century, galvanizing international support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion and passing a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will affect communities for years to come.
But having run four years ago against Trump to “restore the soul of the country,” Biden will make way after just one term for his immediate predecessor, who overcame two impeachments, a felony conviction and an insurrection launched by his supporters. Trump has pledged to radically reshape the federal government and roll back many of Biden’s priorities.
“Maybe in 20 or 30 years, history will remember Biden for some of these achievements,” said Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University. “But in the shorter term, I don’t know he escapes the legacy of being the president who beat Donald Trump only to usher in another Donald Trump administration four years later.”
Biden on Thursday avoided directly addressing the electorate’s seeming repudiation of his presidency. Instead, he noted that Americans will feel the effects of the administration’s signature legislative efforts for years to come.
“Don’t forget all that we accomplished,” Biden said in a brief Rose Garden address attended by Cabinet members and top aides but not by Harris. “It’s been a historic presidency — not because I am president but because of what we’ve done. What you’ve done.”
He issued a statement shortly after Harris delivered her concession speech Wednesday, praising her for running an “historic campaign” under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Biden aides believe Democrats got caught up in a wave of anti-incumbency in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that upturned governments in democracies around the globe irrespective of ideology. Biden tried for years to counteract the trend before stepping aside to give Harris a chance, but in hindsight they view the headwinds facing the party in power as having been insurmountable.
Only about 4 in 10 voters in the 2024 presidential election approved of how Biden handled his job as president, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Roughly 6 in 10 disapproved, and Donald Trump won a strong majority of those voters who were dissatisfied with Biden.
Some high-ranking Democrats, including three advisers to the Harris campaign, expressed deep frustration with Biden for failing to recognize earlier in the election cycle that he was not up to the challenge. The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign in July, weeks after an abysmal debate performance sent his party into a spiral and raised questions about whether he still had the mental acuity and stamina to serve as a credible nominee.
But polling long beforehand showed that many Americans worried about his age. Some 77% of Americans said in August 2023 that Biden was too old to be effective for four more years, according to a poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs.
The president bowed out on July 21 after getting not-so-subtle nudges from Democratic Party powers, including former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Biden endorsed Harris and handed over his campaign operation to her.
Yang argued that Democratic Party leaders also deserve blame for taking too long to push out Biden. With few exceptions, most notably Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, Democrats shied away talking publicly about Biden’s age.
“Why was this not coming from any Democratic leaders?” Yang said. “It’s a lack of courage and independence and an excess of careerism, if I just keep my mouth shut, we’ll just keep on trucking along.”
The campaign was also saddled by anger among some Arab American and young voters over its approach to Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an ally of Biden and Harris, said in a statement that Democrats lost the thread on working-class Americans’ concerns.
“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” the Vermont independent said. “Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing?”
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison took to social media Thursday to push back on Sanders’ critique, saying that Biden was “the most-pro worker President of my lifetime.”
Harris managed to spur far greater enthusiasm than Biden was generating from the party’s base. But she struggled to distinguish how her administration would differ from Biden’s.
Appearing on ABC’s “The View” in September, Harris was not able to identify a decision where she would have separated herself from Biden. “There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris said, giving the Trump campaign a sound bite it replayed through Election Day.
The strategists advising the Harris campaign said the compressed campaign timetable made it even more difficult for Harris to differentiate herself from the president.
Had Biden stepped aside early in the year, they said, it would have given Democrats enough time to hold a primary. Going through the paces of an intraparty contest would have forced Harris or another eventual nominee to more aggressively stake out differences with Biden.
The strategists acknowledged that overcoming broad dissatisfaction about rising costs in the aftermath of the pandemic and broad concerns about the U.S. immigration system weighed heavy on the minds of voters in key states.
Still, they said that Biden had left Democrats in an untenable place.
Harris senior adviser David Plouffe in a posting on X called it a “devastating loss.” Plouffe did not assign blame and said the Harris campaign “dug out of a deep hole but not enough.” The post was later deleted.
At the vice president’s concession speech on Wednesday, some Harris supporters said they wished the vice president had had more time to make her pitch to American voters.
“I think that would have made a huge difference,” said Jerushatalla Pallay, a Howard University student who attended the speech at the center of her campus.
Republicans are poised to control the White House and Senate. Control of the House has yet to be determined.
Matt Bennett, executive vice president at the Democratic-aligned group Third Way, said this moment was the most devastating the party has faced in his lifetime.
“Harris was dealt a really bad hand. Some of it was Biden’s making and some maybe not,” said Bennett, who served as an aide to Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration. “Would Democrats fare better if Biden had stepped back earlier? I don’t know if we can say for certain, but it’s a question we’ll be asking ourselves for some time.”
___
Associated Press writers Matt Brown, Chris Megerian, Zeke Miller and Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

On Tuesday, an announcement came from federal prosecutors that after trafficking oxycodone, twelve people from Western Pennsylvania and a doctor from Indiana were indicted. Two separate charges were received through events that happened from 2019 to July 2024, which included Adderall being given away by Dr. Martin J. Maassen from Lafayette, Indiana. According to a news release from United States Attorney Eric Olshan, he notes that these drugs can be “addictive and deadly” and that they bring the Western Pennsylvania community down along with the remainder of the country. 

Investigations handled by The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which stops intense drug traffickers, gangs, thieves of money and criminal organizations across the world were added along with these prosecutions. 

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

A new report highlights the growth of Pennsylvania’s methane-mitigation industry, showing positive impacts on the economy, job market and environment. Pennsylvania ranks among the top five states for methane-mitigation activities, accounting for 8.5 percent of the total employee locations in this sector nationwide. Marcy Lowe from Datu Research says Pennsylvania’s state-level methane rules have led to a 22.2 percent increase in methane-mitigation companies over the past three years and sixty-five percent over the past decade.  

Source for Photo: FILE – A flare to burn methane from oil production is seen on a well pad near Watford City, North Dakota, Aug. 26, 2021. The Biden administration is ramping up efforts to reduce methane emissions, targeting the oil and gas industry for its role in global warming even as President Joe Biden has pressed energy producers for more oil drilling to lower prices at the gasoline pump. Biden was set to announce a supplemental rule Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, cracking down on emissions of methane as he attends a global climate conference in Egypt.(AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

After a drought watch was issued last week by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to thirty-three Pennsylvania counties, including here in Beaver County, Pennsylvania American Water is calling for its customers to use less water that is nonessential. According to a release from the company on Tuesday, people should reduce their used water by about ten to fifteen percent, which comes out close to a range of eleven to sixteen gallons each day. Here are some of the ways that Pennsylvania American Water suggest for water conservation: using both washing machines and dishwashers when they are full only, fixing house leaks, to water down your lawn only if it is necessary, replace a hose for cleaning your porch with a broom, and when washing dishes or brushing your teeth, leave the tap off.

(Reported by Beaver County Radio News Correspondant Sandy Giordano, Published on November 7th, 2024 at 7:22 A.M.)

Duquesne Light Company has opened a new center to assist veterans in Pittsburgh that are homeless or low income. According to a release from Duquesne Light staff member Alyssa Battaglia yesterday, the Duquesne Light Veterans Workforce Center was shown after a ribbon cutting on October 25th in partnership with the U.S.  Department of Labor and Veteran’s Place of Washington Boulevard. Battaglia also notes that Since 2021, Duquesne Light Company has contributed $325,000 to renovate the former two-story donation and storage unit into a facility that offers activity areas, meeting rooms and virtual training programs to help veterans navigate their job search. 

Battaglia also asserts that Pennsylvania is home to the fourth-largest veteran population in the United States, with more than 800,000 veterans living across the state.  

Even though Election Day is over, only one race has not ended, and that is the vote for the United States Senator in Pennsylvania between Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick. As of now, McCormick has a very slim lead, however there still remain some ballots that are mail-in and absentee that have yet to be counted, and provisional ballots have to still be determined. McCormick has a roughly 31,000-vote lead, which has been dwindling as outstanding votes continue to be counted. The roughly half-percentage-point margin between the candidates also qualifies the race for an automatic recount. 

McCormick overtook Casey with about 80% of the estimated votes counted just before midnight on Tuesday. Casey initially had a lead over McCormick when just about 40% of the estimated votes had been counted, propelled in part by mailed ballots that have historically favored Democrats. McCormick was doing better in votes cast on Election Day.

Source for Photo: FILE – This photo combo shows. Republican David McCormick, left, addressing supporters at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Sept. 21, 2023 and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaking during an event at AFSCME Council 13 offices, March 14, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa.. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, Marc Levy, file)

Two sweet brands will be collaborating as McDonald’s will get deliveries of the famous Krispy Kreme Doughnuts each day in Pittsburgh McDonald’s restaurants starting on Tuesday, November 12th. These fresh treats from Krispy Kreme include their iconic Original Glazed® Doughnut, the Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles Doughnut and The Chocolate Iced Kreme™ Filled Doughnut.

An announcement earlier this year asserted the doughnuts will come to Pittsburgh as part of a phased market rollout across the country with availability to become nationwide at participating McDonald’s expected by the end of 2026.