What Went Down During President Biden’s Speech To Congress

My takeaway is that Biden gave a relatively subdued speech that actually described a quite aggressive policy agenda. But that’s Biden in a nutshell, isn’t it?

Biden gave the usual optimism about the “state of the union” that presidents give. Many Americans don’t feel this optimism, but it’s literally the job to sound optimistic — even Trump was, most of the time.

The mention of the For the People Act at the end of this very long speech is quite a juxtaposition with congressional Democrats labeling it “HR 1” — as in, their top priority — for two congresses running. I wonder if that reflects diminished hope that they’re going to pass it.