So Forgettable, In Almost Every Way

Isn’t it time for a new strategy for the State of the Union?

Time is ticking for Democrats to cut the crap.

I want to support Biden… I really really do.

He’s not a megalomaniac. He’s not a pu$$y grabber. He’s not even that cocky.

He gave such an epic inauguration speech. I reread it twice trying to pick one section to quote for this article, and it was impossible — it was that good.

I believed he would be significantly better; in many ways he has been.

He and his advisors do not make it easy.

Let me say clearly, this State of the Union was meh. Admittedly, it was my anniversary so most of it I read later that evening. Even so, I was not moved. In contrast to his January 2021 speech, the SOTU was depressing–rhetoric of war, made worse by the middle-road that followed.

As Walter Shapiro noted in The New Republic, Biden’s was like many State of the Unions before it — forgettable.

His vision for America was as sad in its banality as it was in its lack of bravery. He covered what he needed to, in order to appease his base.

“Despite pressure from reproductive rights groups to explicitly say the word “abortion,” [he] stuck to the kind of language he’s most often used in the past, referring instead to a “woman’s right to choose,” which he described as “under attack as never before.” — Sarah McCammon, NPR

I was not appeased. Avoiding the word “abortion” to calm voters who believe Christian piety is more important than body autonomy, is honestly boring and weak.

Equally weak: dancing around the impacts of our over-consumption and drawn out dependency on fossil fuels. Why not bring up the just-released IPCC climate report and its bombshells?

“…billions of people around the world are already suffering the impacts of climate change, but that reducing greenhouse gas emissions rapidly would save lives and reduce human suffering.

Instead of highlighting those high stakes, Biden focused on the potential savings for American citizens, laying out a plan to ‘cut energy costs for…