By Erick-Woods Erickson
Last night, Americans witnessed an angry old man hopped up on drugs yelling at them. Yes, let’s not beat around the bush, Biden had something in his system to keep him going that late after bedtime. And it worked. He did not become the Human Roomba on stage for everyone to see. That, of course, raises the question of why he’s not like that every day. Drugs. I’m telling you that whether it was a B-12 shot, caffeine, or Hunter’s cocaine, there was more than just Joe the stamina sex machine.
But it worked for what it had to do.
The purpose of last night’s State of the Union address was not to bring the nation together. It was to pointedly tell Democrats that there will be no other nominee. They are stuck with Joe Biden so get on board.
His speech was far more partisan than almost any previous State of the Union, including those of Trump’s. His repeated references to his predecessor were reminders that this State of the Union was a campaign speech to motivate Democrats.
Joe Biden started with Ukraine and then moved to potato chips and snicker bars before dealing with the issue Americans most care about — immigration. Then he got Laken Riley’s name wrong, dropped the word “illegal” to describe the man who murdered her, and then tried to turn her into just a statistic before moving back to partisan punches,
He then dealt with Israel.
You will note that he dealt with the issues dividing Democrats last and spent most time up front on abortion and “shrinkflation,” the issues Democrats care about. Again, this was a partisan speech designed to reassure Democrats, not persuade independents.
The Democrats’ theory of the race is that black and Hispanic voters will come home. White voters’ minds are made up. And if the Democrats turn out in their standard configuration, Biden wins.
I think Biden accomplished what he needed to accomplish for Democrats, but did himself no favors with independents who didn’t want to be yelled at for almost two hours. I also think Democrats’ theory of the race is wrong.
Republicans, hoping to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, put a female Senator from Alabama in a kitchen to give the response. What the hell was that exactly? A domesticated Tracy Flick isn’t really a great way to connect. The GOP should have had Trump give the response.
Reporters got an erection cheering on Biden attacking Republicans and not acting like a human Roomba. They’ll make this all about the comeback kid.
The actual honest take is this: Biden had to show Democrats he has the fight for a long campaign. He accomplished that. But that was all he accomplished.
Republicans needed to make as few mistakes as possible. They mostly accomplished that. And, to her credit, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s protestations on Laken Riley threw the man off a bit and forced him into an unfortunate ad lib.
Biden’s most solid point was at the beginning. He got the GOP to cheer on Reagan for his position against the Soviets, then pivoted to point out how many Republicans are now tacitly aiding Putin.
We’ll be on to new topics on Monday. The speech was partisan and not memorable and beneath the dignity of the office. “But Trump,” you’ll reply. Indeed. I thought Biden was supposed to be more than that.
