It’s the day after the day that Joe Biden addressed the nation and America’s spinmeisters and influencers have been busy trying to force public opinion to bend to their wills.
What emerges from all this fluff and froth is a reaction to a speech that failed to surprise or shock anyone and came up short in the inspiration department.
The most dramatic moments of the speech should have happened when Biden spoke about Ukraine. Any time an American president speaks of liberty, freedom, and self-determination, a hush usually descends on the country and people lean in a little closer to hear better.
So there it was; all set up on a tee for Biden to hit out of the park…and he hit a bloop single.
Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees to teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland.
In this struggle as President Zelenskyy said in his speech to the European Parliament “Light will win over darkness.” The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is here tonight sitting with the First Lady.
Let each of us stand if you’re able send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world.
She’s bright, she’s strong, she’s resolve. Yes, we the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people.
Not exactly “Give me liberty or give me death,” but this is Joe Biden, not Patrick Henry. And how much of an “unmistakable signal” is sent when the president reminds us not everyone is standing up?
At any rate, some Americans really liked the speech. A snap CBS poll taken right after the speech found that the speech made 67% of the people “optimistic,” 53% “proud,” but only 20% “safe” (check all that apply).
But enthusiasm was lacking:
A 71% majority of Americans who watched President Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address had a positive reaction to the speech, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with a more modest 41% reacting very positively.
That’s a less enthusiastic reception than Biden received for his joint address to Congress last April, when 78% had a positive reaction and 51% reacted very positively. Both Donald Trump and Barack Obama also saw higher enthusiasm for their speeches during their second years in office: 48% of those who tuned in for Trump’s 2018 State of the Union were very positive, as were an identical 48% of those who watched Obama’s 2010 address. Biden’s 41% on that metric matches the previous low in CNN’s speech reaction polls dating back to 1998.
You might notice this morning that there isn’t a whole lot of talk from the usual sources about how Biden nailed it, or saved his presidency, or saved the Democratic majority in Congress. That’s because he didn’t. When Biden turned his address to domestic issues, he lost focus and sounded like just one more talking head on TV.
This is probably what he’ll be doing when he’s retired in 2024.
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