Biden's Vacant Vision of the Future Just Might Pay Off

If the economy stays good, the sky (another term) is the limit.

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

President Joe Biden gave his third State of the Union address last night, his first to a divided legislature and his first to new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. State of the Union speeches are a grand tradition of the U.S.’ political theater; they’re treated with reverence and fanfare by the press and politicians alike largely because of the platform they provide — usually, the highest-profile public appearance a President will have in any given year. They are the biggest bully pulpit a President gets, a chance to address both Congress and the American people directly and lay out a vision for the future. After last night, it’s pretty clear what Joe Biden’s vision is: gamble that the economy stays strong and coast out the next two years while the GOP squabbles over their nominee.

Many people had more to say about Biden’s speech than this. “‘Dark Brandon’ shows up at State of the Union, mops the floor with lost Republicans,” a USA Today op-ed declared, saying that Biden parried GOP lawmakers who heckled him. “President Biden Is Not Backing Off His Big-Government Agenda,” was The New York Times’ “analysis” “His populist outrage sounded genuine,” Politico declared. And sure, there’s plenty of content to mine from a 7,200-word speech that was punctuated by Republicans yelling “bullshit” and Marjorie Taylor Greene walking around with a big inflatable balloon.