State of the Biden

I thought President Biden's State of the Union address was going to be a rote recitation of his accomplishments and his wish list for the new Congress, and for the most part it was.  Then it became a riot - and I don't mean on like the one that took place in the Capitol two years ago this past January 6. 

Biden referred to a plan proposed by Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a man Mitch McConnell despises.  The plan that seeks to have all federal legislation, including Medicare and Social Security, sunset after five years so Congress can decide whether to renew it as a way of reforming "entitlements" (they're called entitlements because we pay into it and so we're entitled to them!).  When Biden noted in his speech that only a handful of Republicans, not all of them, support Scott's plan, a gaggle of MAGAs - including the insufferable Marjorie Taylor Greene - booed and heckled the President, much to the chagrin of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who tried unsuccessfully to silence them. 

And with that, the President showed just how vicious Republicans can be when they're confronted with the evidence of how callous and uncaring they can be . . .  when they're confronted with the truth.  He may have ended Scott's political career, a political career that should never have made it past the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election.  And he boxed the GOP into trying to find ways to cut the budget and approve a debt ceiling increase without cutting Medicare or Social Security - all while Speaker McCarthy sat silently without applauding Biden Administration initiatives that poll well with the voters.  

Well played, Mr. President, well played.

Alas, Biden's age will still be a factor in the 2024 election.  If the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is younger than even Hunter Biden (like Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who turns 45 in 2024), the President is likely to face a grueling campaign with an opponent with much more energy then either he or Hunter has.  Which is precisely why Democrats are still a little skittish about renomainting Biden.  

Well, Democrats, you might not have had to worry about having to go with Biden without any obvious Democratic presidential possibility for him to pass the torch to after you let so many Democratic rising stars flare out and burn out or you ignored up-and-coming Democrats promising new leadership (*cough cough. Martin O'Malley, *cough cough*).   Just remember, you offered up 26 presidential candidates for 2020 and Biden was the only one who had any chance of defeating Trump.  You gotta dance with he what brung ya.

Union Rules

President Obama gave his 2011 State of the Union address tonight, and while I thought the speech was well-delivered and also measured in terms of what the United States needs to do to regain its edge, it wasn't exactly the rousing call to action I thought it might be. He was very specific in stressing the need for support for economic opportunity, education, and rebuilding infrastructure, and he declared the fact that Americans are falling behind as a wake-up call comparable to Sputnik. It didn't energize me to action, though. It only made me satisfied that he knows what needs to be done. Still, the spirit of cooperation seemed pretty genuine, if only because the attack on Gabrielle Giffords continues to reverberate among members of Congress.

Obama made it clear that he wants to push ahead to create jobs and get spending under control, and he threw in a few zingers - suggesting an end to tax breaks for oil companies, for example. The only problem, of course, is that he faces a Republican House that doesn't want to meet him halfway on anything. Representative Paul Ryan's official response for the Republicans - specifically on health care reform - was more incendiary than conciliatory. He hinted that vital social programs ought to be destroyed. He didn't suggest anything he might support Obama on. And, of course, he wrapped himself in the Constitution and the aura of the Founding Fathers.

At least Ryan, a congressman from Wisconsin and chairman of the House Budget Committee, seems to know a thing or two about history - unlike Michele Bachmann, the undistinguished not-so-gentle woman from Minnesota, who is giving a Tea Party response. Bachmann recently praised the Founding Fathers, particularly John Quincy Adams, for ending the scourge of slavery.

The Founding Fathers, of course, not only did not end slavery, they counted slaves in the Constitution as three-fifths of a person - though they did end the foreign slave trade with the ratification of that document (it was abolished in 1808). And while she was right to praise Adams for working tirelessly to end slavery - I assume she saw Amistad - she kind of confused John Quincy Adams with his Founder father, John Adams.

Bachmann's easy victory over Tarryl Clark in her House district in the November election suggests that not only is she stupid, but so are her constituents.

Time Out Of My Mind

In the spirit of Bill Maher, I'd like to propose the following new rule: Cable news channels should not have a countdown clock leading up to the start of a presidential State of the Union address. Hello? A State of the Union address? You're counting down to that? It's a constitutionally required annual message to Congress, not the liftoff of an expedition to Mars! If you want to count down to an end in politics, count down the days until Harry Reid is voted out of office!