Joe Biden

Buck up, Joe. Poll after poll shows that our time-warped president suffers approval ratings in the same depressing neighborhood that were chalked up by his predecessor.

That’s because the 79-year-old commander-in-chief somehow thinks he’s still operating in the Senate of his “youth” that featured giants such as Ted Kennedy, Jacob Javits, Bob Dole, Fritz Hollings, Mark Hatfield, Lloyd Bentsen, Sam Nunn, Orrin Hatch, Strom Thurmond and Bobby Byrd.

A president could deal with those giants of the Senate.

Note to Joe: Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin and the gang of Republican obstructionists couldn’t hold a candle to any of the luminaries of the 1970s and 1980s.

If Scranton Joe wants to survive his remaining three years in office, he has to ditch the dithering with the Senate and direct his PR at the American people.

Nobody enjoys watching Biden get mashed by Manchin or smashed by Sinema. That diminishes both Biden and the office of the president.

Biden has to forget the Senate and pitch the tangible benefits that will flow from the Build Back Better program and how the push for voting rights will save America’s democracy.

He can take solace in a CBS/YouGov poll released Jan. 16 that showed 50 percent of Americans were “frustrated” with Biden and 49 percent were “disappointed” in him.

Heck, I’m frustrated and disappointed in Biden but I’m not going to write him off yet. The alternative to Biden is just too plain scary.

Get to work, Joe.

Boosting America’s sagging trust could be an ancillary benefit of Biden getting his agenda back on track.

The 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer shows the US trust index has declined 10 points to 43 percent since 2017.

That falloff, which began in Trump’s first year of office, makes sense.

His administration’s kowtowing to Russia, bashing of the media, disdain for science, coziness with autocrats in Brazil and Hungary, and dismal track record in handling the pandemic led many to lose faith in government, media, business and NGOs.

America's trust index is heading for the bulging dead letter department of the Post Office but Biden has a chance to turn things around by delivering on his promises.

White House accomplishments would boost America's trust in government, which in turn would generate a degree of goodwill toward business and the press.

BTW Joe, how is your plan to replace postmaster general and Trump political hack Louis DeJoy coming along? That is another one of your missed golden PR opportunities.

Let them eat cakeSales of Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Porsche super luxury cars surged during the 2021 pandemic year as high-rollers cashed in on soaring stock prices and cryptocurrency gains.

Bentley Motors, which is owned by Germany’s Volkswagen Group, charted a 31 percent rise in sales to 14,659 units.

Rolls-Royce, a unit of Germany’s BMW Group, sold a record 5,586 cars, up 49 percent from 2020.

Marvin Fritsches, president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars America, told the Wall Street Journal that customers for his cars that have starting prices of more than $300K were largely sheltered from the hardships felt by the rest of us during the pandemic.

The super luxury car market also benefited as the pandemic hit the international travel market, closing off many areas of flashy spending, according to the WSJ.

One percenters found that rolling down the road in a Rolls-Royce Ghost is a good way to boost one's spirits after being locked out of Bora Bora.

It’s a safe bet that bankers at Goldman Sachs were among those to trade up to super-luxury wheels.

Goldman’s Q4 earnings took a hit due to a 33 percent rise in salary expenses and a 31 jump in bonuses. Net income fell 13.6 percent to $4.4B, which was a bigger drop than what Wall Street had anticipated

CEO Dave Solomon sheepishly explained to analysts there was “real base pressure” on wages during 2021 while CFO Denis Coleman promised that the investment banker is committed to shelling out to retain/attract top talent in the competitive market.

Wall Street didn't exactly buy the pitch from Solomon and Coleman as Goldman shares slid following their pitch to analysts.

PR dunce of the month award goes to Antonio Horta-Osorio, the now former chairman of Credit Suisse.

The former Lloyds Banking Group CEO was recruited a year ago to salvage the reputation of Credit Suisse, which was rocked with scandals over its poor risk management policies.

Horta-Osorio was forced to resign Jan. 17 following a board probe that found he violated COVID-19 quarantine rules at Lloyds (to watch the Wimbledon tennis finals) and at Credit Suisse (for a vacation to the Maldives via the corporate jet). Fool me once.....

“I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally,” Horta-Osorio said in stepping down.

He’ll now have plenty of time to travel and catch up on sporting events.

The French Open kicks off in May though defending champ Novak Djokovic may not compete in the big match due to its vaccination requirements.

Will we see you at the Stade Roland Garros, Antonio? Tickets go on sale February 24.