As of November 7th, Joe Biden is our projected 46th President of the United States, and damn am I happy about that. Now, despite the fact that I voted for Biden and am overjoyed that he won, I’m not his biggest fan.

Personally, I don’t think anyone should be a “fan” of a politician. They’re not celebrities, so they shouldn’t be treated as such. The fact that Trump, for example, has such a large, cult-ish following unsettles me.

For Biden, though, I have not forgotten what he stood for earlier in his career. Although he is now an ally to the LGBT community and was throughout his time under the Obama administration, he wasn’t always that way. Back in 1996, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which blocked federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Earlier in that decade, he voted to defund schools that taught acceptance of homosexuality.

But the worst part of Biden’s history is his track record with the Black community. He voted against integration of schools and aligned himself with racist politicians. To generalize, although he may have had liberal-leaning viewpoints, those were thrown out the window so he could further his political career and make friends. The NAACP even called his proposal on busing “an anti-black amendment.” He was also very vocal on his support for mass incarceration for over two decades.

As for his stance on the ever-debated topic of abortion, he was quoted in 1974 saying, “I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body.” Yikes!

The Joe Biden of 2020 holds much different viewpoints than the Joe Biden of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. In 2012, he publicly announced his support for same-sex marriage during Obama’s campaign. In the mid-’90s, he co-sponsored the Violence Against Women act.

Do these things excuse his past actions? No, of course not. But the fact that he has actively tried to improve himself and help others is why I voted for him.

Instead of mocking people with disabilities, he supports and cares about them. He doesn’t openly talk about how he’d have sex with his daughter if maybe she wasn’t his daughter. He doesn’t call Mexicans rapists and drug-dealers.

Joe Biden has done things in his past that are absolutely inexcusable. But, despite all that, I would rather have a president who has come to his senses and evolved than one who hasn’t. That said, even if a golden retriever had run against Trump in this election, the dog would have had my vote.

Personally, I don’t think Joe Biden is a bad person deep down. I firmly believe that Donald Trump is a rotten person to his core and that is something that cannot be changed.

Biden has actually worked hard throughout his political career instead of having everything handed to him flat out. He persevered even after the tragic deaths of his wife and infant daughter in 1972 and his son Beau’s death in 2015.

Joe Biden may not have been the best candidate for our country, but he sure is better than the man who came before him.