{"id":5383,"date":"2022-03-02T09:38:19","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=5383"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:07:51","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T19:07:51","slug":"state-of-the-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2022\/03\/02\/state-of-the-union\/","title":{"rendered":"State of the Union"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Call it Out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s call this out up front \u2013 Joe Biden is not a great public speaker.  He\u2019s no Barack Obama, or Bill Clinton, or even George W Bush.  Joe Biden stutters, he gets in a hurry, he steps on his own applause lines.  The last ten minutes of the State of the Union last night were bullet points, each important, but each squashed in the hurry of presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he said Ukrainians over and over and over again \u2013 correctly.  But once, he did said \u201cUranians\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the same guy that got elected two years ago, the same Vice President and Senator who was known as \u201cMr. Gaffe\u201d.  My right-wing friends can sling together Fecebook posts about how much he staggered, and the right-wing media will put together YouTube clips of his mistakes.  It\u2019s inevitable in our toxic world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they watched the State of the Union last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embarrassing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

They say it\u2019s \u201cembarrassing\u201d that the President of the United States stutters.  Some claim that it\u2019s a sign of some form of dementia.  I guess twelve year-old Joey Biden was demented when he was practicing in front of his mirror.  It all comes from the place where it\u2019s \u201cOK\u201d to  make fun of disabled reporters, or the way people dress.  They are right about one thing, it is embarrassing, almost as embarrassing as Greene and Boebert \u2013 I\u2019m embarrassed for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To bend another famous Biden gaffe \u2013 \u201cit\u2019s not a f**king big deal\u201d.  President Biden communicated to the American people last night.  He demonstrated the leadership that united the free world (and some places that are not so free) against Russia.  And he went out of his way to NOT \u201cpush the buttons\u201d that disunite us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Unity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There was no mention of the January 6th Insurrection last night, nor mention of \u201ctruck convoys\u201d, either in Canada or Indianapolis (where the US version stayed last night, taking a break \u2013 probably so they could stay up and watch the speech).  In fact, there were very few references to the Trump Administration.  Biden made the point that when he arrived at the White House, NATO had to be rebuilt.  And he noted that Trump passed the trillion dollar tax cut that inevitably benefitted corporations and the wealthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the first and last thirds of his speech were about Americans working together.  With the exception of the extreme \u201cCarlsonites\u201d, most Americans, even Trump supporters, are backing Ukraine against Russia.  Sure there\u2019s lots of niggling about what Biden should have done differently to prevent Russia\u2019s actions (none of which would have worked) but the American people are \u201con-board\u201d to support Ukraine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at the end of his speech, the President went out of his way to press a \u201cfour point\u201d plan that most Americans (and both Parties in Congress) can agree upon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n