What Went Down During President Biden’s Speech To Congress

My takeaway is pretty similar to Galen’s. You could imagine a situation in which this was a different kind of speech, which emphasized more systemic issues or the threats to democracy. This was a very standard format. But the content of the economic agenda was stunning: a strong defense of unions and a straightforward attack on inequality.

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.