Joe Biden in Politico.com

On Crime: 1992: pro-death penalty; 2019: congrats on ending it

But in a little-noticed remark earlier this month in New Hampshire, Biden seemed to offer a decidedly different stance on the death penalty.

Fielding a question from a voter aligned with the ACLU about how he'd reduce the federal prison population, Biden gave a long and winding answer: He defended his crime bill, advocated for reforms to the criminal justice system involving nonviolent and drug offenders, and said he was proud of his work with Barack Obama to cut the federal prison population by 3,800.

Then, unprompted, Biden added: "By the way, congratulations to ya'll ending the death penalty here." Biden's campaign would not comment on his answer, or shed light on whether he's changed his position on the death penalty.

On Crime: No police reform commission despite campaign promise

PROMISE BROKEN: (Politico.com, 4/11/21): The White House is putting the creation of a national police oversight commission on hold, nixing a Biden campaign pledge to establish one within his first 100 days. "The administration made the considered judgment that a police commission, at this time, would not be the most effective way to deliver on our top priority in this area, which is to sign the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law," a spokesperson said.

ANALYSIS: The White House said it consulted with national civil rights organizations and police unions. Both entities made clear to the administration that they thought a commission was not necessary and likely redundant.

On Free Trade: Reinstate Trump's 10% tariffs on aluminum from UAE

Why Biden acted: "The available evidence indicates that imports from the UAE may still displace domestic production, and thereby threaten to impair our national security," Biden stated. Biden noted that US importers can apply for a waiver from tariffs on products not available from domestic suppliers. "Tellingly, there have been 33 such exclusion requests for aluminum imported from the UAE, and the Secretary of Commerce has denied 32 of those requests," Biden said. "This indicates the large degree of overlap between imports from the UAE and what our domestic industry is capable of producing."

On Government Reform: Commission of experts to decide on expanding Supreme Court

PROMISE KEPT: (White House press release, 4/9/21): President Biden will issue an executive order forming the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court, comprised of a bipartisan group of experts on the Court and the Court reform debate. The Commission's purpose is to provide an analysis of Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals, within 180 days of its first public meeting.

ANALYSIS: The proposed reform, which critics call "court packing," would be to add 4 Supreme Court seats, to change the current 6-3 conservative majority to a 7-6 liberal majority.

On Energy & Oil: No drilling on 16M acres in Alaska; but other drilling OK

PROMISE BROKEN: (Politico, 3/13/23): Biden's decision to allow ConocoPhillips to build its massive Willow oil project on federal land in the Alaska wilderness is causing an uproar among environmentalists who not long ago were praising the president over the billions in climate funding in his signature Inflation Reduction Act. But a separate White House announcement that it would take 16 million acres of Alaska land and Arctic waters off the table for new oil lease sales triggered blowback from the fossil fuel industry, whose relations with Biden appointees had been warming as recently as last week.