Marion McKeone: Biden is discovering that the buck stops with him after a difficult first year

For every Biden victory during his first year as president there were unforced errors, unrealistic goals set and some sheer bad luck

Joe Biden: After an error-strewn first year as president of the US, he is facing a Sisyphean climb as he attempts to regroup ahead of the November 2022 midterm elections. Picture: Getty

As Joe Biden’s first year as president of the United States drew to its dispiriting conclusion, it’s unlikely there were too many champagne corks popping in the vicinity of the Oval Office. Or on the Democratic sides of the Senate or Congressional chambers for that matter.

Nor were the Democrats likely to be contemplating a stiff shot of hemlock. Biden’s curate’s egg of a year could arguably have been worse, given the viciously partisan climate.