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| Image courtesy of Ken Swope. |
The American Spectator | USA News and Politics "Joe Biden, like Adolf Hitler and Axl Rose, arrived late. He entered the House of Representatives at 9:16 p.m. and began delivering his State of the Union nine minutes later. Unlike Christmas, it was not worth the wait.
"He addressed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine first and at great length. The invasion of America’s Southern border came later, precisely at 10:06 p.m. Citizens in McCallen, Texas, watching their city overrun, or in Roxbury, Massachusetts, seeing a local recreation center repurposed as a shelter for immigrants, did not enrich his family’s coffers as did the Ukrainian interests paying his son, after all.
" 'Freedom and democracy are under attack at home and overseas,” he said in juxtaposing the dual threats of Vladimir Putin with Donald Trump, who the president found, unlike Putin, so loathsome that he refused to say his name. President Biden called him “my predecessor” and “a former American president” and used pronouns. Republicans demanded he say murder victim Laken Riley’s name. He eventually did invoke “Lincoln Riley” — the head football coach at the University of Southern California — at heckler Marjorie Taylor Green’s instigation. But he never did say “Laken Riley” or “Donald Trump.”
"For different reasons he did the same with abortion. He referenced a woman in the audience who “had a fetus of a fatal condition,” whatever that meant, and needed to leave Texas “to get what she needed.” What she needed he did not say. He went on to euphemistically talk of abortion as the “treatment they need,” “reproductive freedom,” and the “right to choose.” Like the words “Donald Trump,” he could not say its name or accurately describe it. He instead characterized easier access to killing unborn children as a way to “stand up for families.”
"The president lashed out at “Big Landlords,” “Big Pharma,” and “Big Oil.” Left out of his tirade? Big Government. “I want to give public school teachers a raise,” “a future of paid leave,” “homecare and elder care,” “affordable high-speed internet for every American no matter where you live,” and “raise the federal minimum wage.” He spoke of “fiscally responsible ways” to pay for his wish list, including “making big corporations and the very wealthy finally begin to pay their fair share.” He would, presumably, determine what share amounted to fair.
“ 'My message to transgender America: I have your back,” he remarked in homage to diversity inspiring diverse interpretations. He name-dropped Native Americans. He highlighted African-American civil rights activists. It all sounded obligatory.
"The biggest lie of the night came from a woman who said nothing. Kamala Harris, whose office pursued almost 2,000 marijuana convictions when she served as district attorney in San Francisco, stood up and cheered Biden when he boasted of “expunging thousands of convictions for mere possession” of marijuana. One would need to expunge “thousands” just to undo what Harris did. A close second occurred when President Biden added the postscript, after pledging to ban assault weapons and impose other firearms restrictions, that “none of this violates the Second Amendment.' ”
"Biden displayed unusual energy and vigor early. As the speech progressed, he spoke with marbles in his mouth and read the teleprompter with an odd cadence. He appeared angry and shouted as much as talked. He attempted to bait the right-leaning contingent to his left, demagogued on wealthy Americans, and attacked the captive audience of the Supreme Court. The speech probably played well to his base, but presidents feeling it necessary to play to their base in an election year generally do not perform well in November.
" 'Let me close with this,” elicited the greatest applause from Republicans. One suspects the viewers at home cheered along with them. The speech ended, mercifully, one hour and 17 minutes after he entered the room."
