"Mr. Speaker, Madam Vice President, members of Congress, my fellow Americans. In January 1941, Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation. And he said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union”. Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe. President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary time. Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world. Tonight, I come to the same chamber to address the nation. Now it’s we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union. And, yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today."
These are the words that began Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address. The next hour entailed our 81 year old President engaging in an important ritual for the Cult of American Democracy. Many questions whether he would be able to speak, but he made it through with only a few flubs.
He's getting older
Unless you're a credentialed journalist in good favor, Biden's cognitive decline has been a topic of conversation for you. Despite this, he can still "bring it" more or less for important speeches and debate performances. If you haven't before read or heard my theory on this I will briefly explain. It's been shown that even patients with advanced alzheimer’s can remember songs from childhood or repeat stories they can remember. I'm not trying to diagnose the President of the United States, but I am trying to demonstrate that the human mind is a curious thing that scientists still don't fully understand. Given this information, we can understand that even if a person is in mental decine, they will still hold onto certain pieces of information and skills they have acquired throughout a lifetime.
A politician in the modern day needs to be a performer. Joe Biden was elected to public office in 1979 and never left. Over his career, he became good at giving speeches and memorizing talking points to deliver to cameras and crowds. Therefore, it seems plausible that despite the fact Biden may not be as quick on his feet when it comes to fielding questions from reporters that go off script - he is capable of practicing and delivering a speech in the right environment. Add in some "performance enhancers" and the man can get in front of the camera to read a script prepared for him by a room of professionals.
This brings up another point of consideration. If we assume Biden is not intimately involved in his speech writing the way past Presidents have, it removes that personal touch and instead exists as a representation of what "they" want him to say. Everything the President does is supposed to have meaning - especially a President like Biden who was elected to rectify the grave error of democracy, Donald Trump. Where Trump would fire from the hip, Biden is portrayed as carefully taking aim down the barrel. As stated above, the State of the Union is an important ritual. It's mandated in the Constitution, and has become something of an event for the politically involved and normal people alike in the age of mass media. The pundit watches to spin things for their side, and the normal consumer watches their pundit to know what to say. The purpose of this piece however isn't punditry - it's about making sense. Other outlets can fact check individual claims - there were of course numerous statements that were inaccurate and attempts to position the President as leading on issues he has been ignoring. Let's instead pay attention to the form and key points made that spoon-feed the ready viewer their dose of government propaganda.
It wasn't that bad
During the course of the speech you could tell he rehearsed the main sections, but he suffered during transitions. Anecdotally, this was the fastest I've heard the president speak. Normally I wait for a replay so I can speed up the video, but here he kept a fast pace that seemed to increase as he went as though he wanted to finish before the clock struck midnight. His delivery has been described by many media outlets as "fiery" and watching the speech you did not feel at ease - or at least I didn't. There were even well timed jabs that allowed him to turn the tables on Republicans. The following section stood out to me.
"THE PRESIDENT: The Democrats had clearly been told to engage in chants and over-enthusiastic reactions to the President. It was excessive. There were only a couple of times that Biden was able to goad the Republicans into reaction, and this was one of them. We have two ways to go. Republicans can cut Social Security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy. I will —
[REPUBLICANS GROAN/CALL HIM A LIAR]
THE PRESIDENT: That’s the proposal. Oh, no? You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut? I kind of thought that’s what your plan was. Well, that’s good to hear. You’re not going to cut another $2 trillion for the super-wealthy? That’s good to hear. I’ll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share."
It's a common refrain in the cult of American Democracy - stating the rich should pay their fair share, but in this moment where most people were passively watching the President they saw him "get one over" on the dastardly Republicans who only care about the rich. This morsel is enough to give the Biden administration a win. After all, in politics the edge goes to the side you already agree with.
Older voters (and women) count
The truth of the matter is that older people vote more. They are also more dependent on the government because they were fed the lie that the money paid into social security is "theirs." The reality is of course that money all goes into the same bottomless cookie jar of government spending and despite Biden's proposed 25% tax on billionaires that would raise $500 billion, that would still leave the US in debt totaling in excess of $29 trillion. But math has never stood in the way of government.
The reason why domestically Biden focused on older Americans and women is because they represent large voting blocks he can draw from. It's rhetoric that works, and it would be foolish to roll our eyes simply because we may understand the game at hand. There were plenty of signals that the Biden administration plans to do what they can to ensure no one has to prove they're a citizen to vote, and the same insecurities like drop boxes and ballot harvesting will become protected under the umbrella of "civil rights." After all, there is no reason to fight fair when you're in power.
A war on tradition and the people
While claiming to be a champion for women and older Americans, Biden simultaneously cast the right half of the country as enemies saying
“In a literal sense, history is watching. History is watching — just like history watched three years ago on January 6th — when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy. Many of you were here on that darkest of days. We all saw with our own eyes the insurrectionists were not patriots. They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power, to overturn the will of the people. January 6th lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election posed a great — gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War. But they failed. America stood — America stood strong and democracy prevailed. We must be honest: The threat to democracy must be [defeated]. My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here’s the simple truth: You can’t love your country only when you win.”
Of course every time a republican won in modern history many democrats cried their victory was illegitimate - but they are allowed. The breaching of the capital on January 6th happened because of a lack of security, provocateurs in the crowd, and most importantly because the Americans assembled in Washington D.C. had watched cities burn over the summer. They were doing what they saw their fellow Americans doing (protesting) and foolishly believed they could do something similar. Property damage was minimal, and Congress resumed their normal business of certifying Biden as the President-elect that very day. Not much of an insurrection, yet the narrative was forged. While doing this Biden also condemned tradition saying
“I know the American story. Again and again, I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation, between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy, a future based on core values that have defined America — honesty, decency, dignity, and equality — ; to respect everyone; to give everyone a fair shot; to give hate no safe harbor. Now, other people my age see it differently. The American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.”
You are forgiven for believing that the core American values that formed this country were “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” After all, that’s probably what you were taught in elementary school. This is the new America, the America that values progress over tradition, embracing the chaos and instability of a country with no peoples, no identity, and no chance to breath.
The message is clear to conservatives and the right - you can live like the “insurrectionists” still awaiting trial in violation of the 6th amendment, or you can bend the knee to the new world order of so-called “fairness.”
The Empire will continue
It's worth asking ourselves what "Union" Biden sees himself in charge of. Certainly he sees himself as over the 50 United States, but he also spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of continuing to support war efforts in Ukraine and Israel. He began by talking about NATO and it's importance in the world even highlighting the recent addition of Sweden to the Union of nations. Vladimir Putin of Russia was compared to Adolf Hitler, and a 2-state solution put forth as a solution to the conflict in the Holy Land. All of this will be funded by the American taxpayers and none of this will have material benefit to Americans at home. Too often in these discussions conservative pundits will take the position the the administration is choosing other countries over their own. The truth is far more sinister. The reason why The President will spend more money and effort defending the borders of Ukraine than the southern border of the United States is because the President views the world as his territory. Without taking this idea you will not understand the geopolitical game being played. The fall of the Soviet Union put America clearly on top of the world. Instead of investing that political capital - it was spent trying to shape the world in a image that does not match cultural differences found amongst a population of nearly 8 billion humans. Now, the American Empire is spending the last of that capital on more wars that can't be won to the detriment of American's standard of living, all in the name of democracy. Remember this simple adage to understand the geopolitical question - the borders a government defends are its external borders.
In closing
President Biden's greatest strength currently is ironically his perceived feebleness. So many words both written and spoken are spent noticing his mental decline that when he gives an OK speech people feel vindicated in their support for him. It's possible he will be replaced for the 2024 election, but it's just as likely he will coast to another victory. Time and again, the President demonized the right half of the country and the presumptive nominee Trump. While doing this his administration has started to address domestic problems his critics have lampooned him for. The border bill, fiscal responsibility, and being pro-capitalism gives him enough covering fire to point the finger back at the dutiful heel - the GOP. Reinstituting abortion at the federal level and protecting civil rights for "marginalized" groups gives his base the dopamine hit they so desperately crave. I'm not sure whether the State of the Union is as strong as he would have you believe, but certainly the grip of the current elites over Washington DC is.