Biden speech failed the moment
Joe Biden still has a pulse. And he proved in his State of the Union address he still can stand and rage for an hour without forgetting where he is or keeling over.
That and the fact he is not Donald Trump will be enough to soothe a lot of voters who’ve been concerned about the president’s age and mental acuity.
ADVERTISING
But Biden affirmed something else Thursday night: He is not a leader. Biden is a political weathervane, and always has been.
His poll-driven remarks played into the fears, anger and anxieties of the American people. A speech that was supposed to lift and unite the nation instead sought to capitalize on its suspicions and resentments.
He was Trump-like in his combativeness and determination to touch every raw nerve. Rather than appeal to our better nature, Biden urged us to the pitchforks.
It begged the question: Are we tired of demagoguing presidents yet?
The speech was the perfect depicter of the coarseness of modern politics, which has lost all traces of class and nobility. One of the lowest points of the evening came when the president scolded the Supreme Court justices, seated together in their robes in front of the podium, for their ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
“With all due respect, justices, women are not without … electoral or political power,” Biden snarled. “You’re about to realize just how much…”
Biden didn’t get to finish his veiled threat because he was interrupted by Democrats who sprung to their feet to cheer his breach of protocol. While he’s busy defending democracy, Biden, who bragged of bypassing the court’s rejection of his student debt relief plan, should remember our democracy rests on respect for separation of powers.
Biden intentionally baited Republicans into a heckling match and they foolishly swallowed the hook. And so, Americans were treated to the embarrassing spectacle of their president and their Congress taunting each other with insults. That couldn’t have inspired the people’s confidence in the competence of their leadership.
We have been through hell in this country over the past four years, with the pandemic, economic chaos and tremendous uncertainty in the world.
What we needed to hear from our president is that we are going to be OK, that he has a solid plan for making things better and is working on behalf of all Americans.
What we got Thursday night was raw politics, a speech with the sole purpose of abetting Joe Biden’s reelection bid.
His hyper-partisan remarks painted a picture of two Americas. The president all but declared those who aren’t on his side of the line as the enemy.
Biden again intends to run as the defender of democracy. But democracy isn’t defended by dividing the people. A functioning democracy depends on a modicum of unity among its citizens. Like his opponent, division is Biden’s primary skill.
It’s true Biden is not Donald Trump. But he is not enough not-Trump to offer any hope he will put an end to the hateful politics that have shredded our faith in the future.
We need a president who embodies America’s goodness and ideals.
What we don’t need is two angry old men on our presidential ballot.
