Democrats had been worried. Very worried indeed.
Going into the State of the Union address, they worried that Joe Biden might fluff his lines, that he’d get heckled by noisy Republicans or that events happening on the other side of of the world might force him to devote less time to domestic issues.
As it happened, all three came true. And yet the president was probably not harmed by any of it.
Indeed, in a speech delivered in Washington DC as dawn – and with it the prospect for more Russian bombing - was preparing to break in Ukraine, Biden placed that crisis at the core of his address.
“Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated,” he said.
“He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined.”
He added: “He met the Ukrainian people. From President Zelensky to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world.”
The president came to deliver his speech with an approval rating close to an all-time low, with rising inflation eating into people’s ability to pay for things, and a Covid pandemic that would not release its grip.
Then Vladimir Putin ignored Biden’s threats of sanctions and invaded Ukraine. Was there nothing Biden could control, his critics asked?
The delay to the delivery of the speech – usually these things are given at the end of January or the early part of February – was a wise move.
As it was, Biden was able to speak confidently about how the US and the West had come together forcefully to confront Putin, something that did not appear certain just a week ago.
And the lifting of the mandate in Washington DC, just a day before, helped ensure a scene of faces, smiling or otherwise, that allowed Biden to argue his administration had made progress in combatting the virus.
“For more than two years Covid, has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of this nation. And I know you’re tired and frustrated and exhausted that doesn’t even count close to a million people who sit at the dining room table or kitchen table looking at an empty chair because they lost somebody,” Biden said.
“Tonight I can say we’re moving forward safely back to a more normal routines.”
He said the administration had launched a new initiative that would allow Americans to get tested for Covid, at a pharmacy and immediately receive free pills if they test positive.
He also said he understood the hardships that had been caused by inflation. He said he believed the problem could be helped by creating more jobs.
“We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer,” he said.
“I think I have a better idea to fight inflation: Lower your costs, not your wages. Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America.”
Those jobs could be helped by the Congress finally come together to pass a bill on on infrastructure.
“We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re going to have an infrastructure decade,” he said. “We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports and waterways all across America.”
Most pundits believe Democrats face a very tough fight not to lose control of both houses of congress in November’s midterms. One purpose of tonight was highlight some of the the themes Democrats can campaign on. Biden did that.
Biden will not have altered anyone’s perspective on who is or what are his strengths or otherwise. Critics leapt on a moment when he fluffed his lines, appearing to refer to Iranians rather than Ukrainians.
Supporters will have thought he reminded Americans of his most human side, and that he did so when he started to talk about losing US troops, including his son, Beau, to the effects of hazardous waste at war, to find himself being heckled by Republicans Majorie Taylor-Greene and Lauren Boebert, who yelled that he had put 13 American troops in coffins.
It was a reference to the suicide bomb attack that killed the troops, and scores of Afghans during the bungled withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan last summer.
As they sought to interrupt him, the president appeared to pause for a second, and flashed a stern glare.
He then continued: “One of those soldiers was my son, Major Beau Biden. We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops, but I’m committed to finding out everything we can.”
Biden is not the word’s greatest speaker. What people do appear to admire is his perceived authenticity – the mistakes, the fluffs, the long windedness even.
“So on this night, in our 245th year as a nation, I have come to report on the State of the Union. And my report is this: the State of the Union is strong â because you, the American people, are strong,” he said.
“We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today.”
