Joe Biden’ state of the union address, the first of his presidency, and the most important speech of his life, was a considerable let down, a success only for his Republican detractors who’ll use it to cast the Democrats and president as stubborn and bereft of new ideas.
Mr Biden delivered some moving words in support of Ukraine and its valiant fight to repel Russian invaders, as expected, but devoted relatively little of his speech – less than 20 per cent – to foreign policy at the time at time he had the whole world as his audience.
“We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever,” he said, offering only a largely symbolic ban on Russian flights in and out of the US in the way of new sanctions.
At a time of major global crisis, the president instead stuck closely to the failing Democrat political agenda from last year centred around programs that have been rejected by Congress, and which has delivered Mr Biden almost the lowest approval rating of any president since the second world war.
The speech offered very little new or exciting beyond a vague Unity Agenda for the Nation to beat the opioid epidemic, “end cancer as we know it”, improve children’s mental health, and support returned soldiers, laudable goals that the White House had already announced.
An American public increasingly weary of pandemic restrictions heard about the risk of “new variants” of Covid-19, and the importance of masking and testing.
Masks featured more prominently than China, America’s major strategic competitor, which only scored two mentions in the 6,500 word address lasting more than 1 hour.
He championed the “revitalisation of American manufacturing” in semiconductors, cars, and electric car charging stations.
The president reeled off far-left talking points about transgender rights, the “climate crisis”, “environmental justice” as if we were seeking preselection in a Democrat primary.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine offered a rare opportunity to signal a change in policy on multiple fronts: ending US importation of Russian oil, or perhaps suspending, even temporarily, lifting a ban on oil and gas exploration to bolster US production.
The world wanted Joe Biden to succeed, if not with rhetoric befitting a Kennedy or Reagan, at least with a first class speech befitting a man who’s been a politician for half a century.
The speech will do little to neutralise his detractors.
In a speech Mr Biden must have rehearsed, he still managed to invoke Iranians instead of Ukrainians, and fumble and mumble his way through.
If the Democrats were hurtling toward an electoral wipe out in November before he walked up to the dais of the House of Representatives, they still are.
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