Joe Biden accomplished his objectives in feisty State of the Union

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The “State of the Union” is something not done up here in Canuckistan.

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We have no equivalent. We have the annual budget speech, but that’s delivered by the Minister of Finance. We have the Speech from the Throne, but that’s read by the Governor General.

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But a “State of the Union”? We don’t do that.

The Americans do, however. Happens every year. The President of the United States makes an address to joint session of Congress – that is, Senators and members of the House of Representatives – typically at or near the start of every new calendar year.

It’s A Big Deal, or at least the media and the politicos treat it like it’s A Big Deal. The President is expected to talk about the state of the union’s finances, foreign affairs, achievements, and so on.

For President Joe Biden – for whom, full disclosure, this writer has volunteered in 2020 – the State of the Union was indeed A Big Deal.

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His country’s economy is going gangbusters. He’s got what economists call full employment. He’s gotten America through the pandemic. He hasn’t had a big scandal. There hasn’t ben a big 9/11 type of terrorist attack on his watch.

Despite all that, he’s behind his likely Republican opponent in a lot of polls. Not by much – not by more than the margin of error – but enough. So, for him, the State of the Union was pretty important. In the era of low-information voters, the State of the Union is one of the few occasions left when Joe and Jane Frontporch don’t pay attention anymore.

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Biden had five main objectives in his speech. Here’s how he did.

Look and sound younger than he is. The most persistent criticism of Joe Biden is one he can’t do anything about: like all of us, he’s getting older. Right now, he’s 81. He turns 82 on Nov. 20. Because of that, some Americans – and too many Nervous Nellie Democrats – think he’s too old (even though Donald Trump will be 78 in June).

So, Joe needed to look and sound younger. He needed to display vim and vigor. He couldn’t make a mistake. And he didn’t.

Instead of running away from the ageism stuff, he learned into it, making jokes about it: “When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever.” TV is all about pictures, not words. And, visually, he looked pretty darn good.

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Say the right things about Israel and Ukraine. On the far Right, Trump and MAGA Republicans are helping Vladimir Putin win his Hellish war on Ukraine. They’re refusing to authorize any support for Ukraine’s war effort. On the far Left, extremist Democrats are fighting any support for Israel in its war with Hamas. They’re essentially helping the terrorists.

Biden went after both extremes, reminding Americans that Ukraine and Israel must win their wars – not just for themselves, but for the civilized world, too.

“Freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time,” Biden said. “History is watching.”

Remind Americans they’ve got it pretty good. Because they do. Think about this: the United States of America has just a twentieth of the world’s population – but they generate a quarter of the world’s economic output. Even with China’s rise (which is now faltering, by the by), America has dominated the world’s economy for four decades.

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So, Biden needed to remind Americans that their economy is the envy of the world, and he did. He talked more about the economy than any other subject. Eight hundred thousand new manufacturing jobs added during Biden’s term in office; budgetary deficit cut by a trillion dollars; and, as Biden noted, Trump added more to the national debt than any previous president.

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Abortion, democracy, abortion. When knocking on doors in the U.S. for Biden and the Democrats, this writer heard a lot of concern about Trump trying to overturn elections (from men) and Trump trying to gut reproductive rights (from women). Biden therefore made certain to talk about both subjects, often.

On abortion, which has won his party unwinnable contests in red states, Biden assailed Trump and MAGA Republicans for turning back the clock on abortion, saying Trump has caused “chaos” for women and the country. Polls say American women agree.

Go after MAGA Republicans and the Mango Mussolini. Biden needed to show that he was up for the fight that lies ahead – and that he knows how to get up in Trump’s grill. He did, over and over, without once using Trump’s name. Even Fox News noted it: “President Joe Biden gave the speech of his life … he rallied the Democratic base … (smartly, he) went for the suburban women’s vote … he showed himself as vigorous.”

On all fronts, Biden accomplished his mission. He delivered his Big Deal speech, and it delivered for him.

Now, the real battle begins. And it ain’t gonna be pretty.

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