Biden's State of the Union speech is a historic challenge

Nikki is out. The race is on.

For the second time in four years, it appears certain that Joe Biden will face Donald Trump in an election for the presidency. That’s right. Two senior citizens. One was impeached twice, faces 91 felony charges in four different jurisdictions and has been fined more than $500 million for fraudulent business practices and defamation. The other spearheaded the passage of a bipartisan trillion dollar infrastructure bill, but has sleep apnea and walks gingerly because he is recovering from a broken foot.  

At this moment it is a close race, which is a testament to the stupidity of the average American voter. Never in the modern era has a race been so seemingly pre-determined. Never have the stakes been higher.

So, stepping into Congress for the State of the Union Address tonight, Joe Biden faces a unique and inescapable moment in history. His speech may well be the most scrutinized, most important of any president in my lifetime. That’s not hyperbole. What he says has the potential of changing history for the next several lifetimes – and perhaps longer.

Polling data shows that democracies overseas are concerned if Biden were to lose his re-election bid they will see a rising threat from authoritarian rule, a lack of support for Ukraine and a lack of response to the existential threat of climate change.

Yet there are those who are just waiting for Joe Biden to stutter, mispronounce a name, and confuse a fact.

Just days after the Super Tuesday round of presidential primaries, Biden knows who his opponent will be this fall. He also knows that his appearance before Congress and everywhere going forward will be filled with MAGA supporters who preach hate. He faces a seemingly impossible task: unite a divisive nation and bring back into the fold an opposition party led by a man who claims that “Revenge is the Ultimate Victory” while at the same time claiming only he, Donald Trump, can unite the country – even as he tries to tear it apart. He can’t even be gracious to those in his own party who don’t agree with him. He’s called Nikki Haley a loser. As for his opposition, Donald Trump calls President Joe Biden “the enemy.” Not his opposition. Not a loyal American. Not the head of our government – but “the enemy.” This is the guy who claims only he had united us. He can’t even unite his own party. Only the members of the “MAGA” movement remain loyal to Trump. 

Biden further faces an opposition party that has demonized illegal immigrants, refuses to accept Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, and doesn’t want to continue backing Ukraine in its effort to remain free. At the same time Biden is also dealing with a dangerous war in the Middle East (that MAGA supporters blame him for) and an economy the GOP says is floundering – despite evidence to the contrary.

So Biden will stand tonight in front of Congress packed with the ultimate hecklers like the human stains of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Bobert. It should be a memorable encounter – considering the “relentless attacks” from Republican officials – according to Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre, who said Wednesday that Biden is ready for the scrap.

On the economy, Biden has to explain that even though the numbers “look good,” why is it young people are finding it harder to buy a home and why does every household not only have to have two incomes, but a couple of side hustles to make ends meet?

We aren’t lazy, but we are tired. 

On other issues, Jean-Pierre reminded us Biden has taken on “Big Pharma” and has led the way in making sure the richest Americans “pay their fair share” in taxes. That has to be part of his speech.

On immigration, Biden needs to explain the historical problem, put the current “crisis” in perspective and continue to hammer away at people like House Speaker Mike  Johnson who have blocked bipartisan legislation needed to help fix the problem. More importantly, it appears he has to explain to the American people the art of “half a loaf” instead of the “I get everything I want, or I burn it all down” attitude of the MAGA party.

But somewhere Biden has to do something far more important, and far harder to convey to an American public that is battered, bruised and very angry.He must be convincingly hopeful. 

Right now in this country, an overwhelming majority of voters on the right and the left do not have faith in the federal government. Because we elected the fools who’ve torn down the foundations of our democracy, we are unable to understand how far we’ve fallen, how desperate times are and how much we need hope. We are like frogs who sit in a pot of water and boil to death because we cannot recognize the change in temperature. Biden has to not only turn down the heat but cool the waters enough to make people feel good about who they are even if they don’t agree with him. 

United we Stand. Divided we fall. It’s the motto of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and I grew up being taught this meant we had a great deal of tolerance for those who think differently than us because we were all in the same boat. Today that’s rather forward thinking.

Jean-Pierre told us Wednesday that in his speech President Biden will “look back at achievements and successes,” and push forward on important pieces of legislation he wants enacted after his re-election. She also said he would “talk about his vision – he’s an optimistic guy.” 

Yes, we’ve all heard the standard stump speech where he stresses that we are the United States of America and there’s nothing we can’t do if we put our minds to it. 

But that’s not enough. Biden needs to give people tangible and simple reasons to feel better about themselves and this country. We need to at least accept others who think differently than we do. 

And Biden desperately needs to address education and the media. 

Jean-Pierre has often said Biden will “meet Americans wherever they are,” – whether it’s Tik Tok, in a parking lot I suppose, or at an ice cream store. Where Biden fails to meet us is in the briefing room. Americans are there, too. Biden sounds disingenuous when he talks about being transparent and accessible when he’s neither.

I recently spoke with a Trump supporter who is also a moon landing denier. The man had no basic understanding of science, which he called “just voodoo” because “scientists are always changing their mind.” He didn’t understand the principle of scientific theory. He didn’t understand vaccinations. He told me that “Polio was made up. We never cured it.” And millions lack the crucial understanding of science, history and civics needed to participate in a government “of, by and for the people.” 

Many Trump supporters cannot define fascism, democracy, socialism or communism, but they spit the words at you as insults. 

Our mass communication system desperately needs overhauling. Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos cannot be the standard bearers of news. There are three times the number of people on this planet as on the day I was born and a quarter of the number of reporters. Houston we have a problem.

In short, in order to defeat Donald Trump we have to have renewed faith and hope in the institutions we used to hold most dear – and helped build a national community. We need to have greater faith in government, public education, and our press. We also need to tax the rich and help the middle class and the poor – instead of using the poor, and especially illegal immigrants as a wedge to threaten the shrinking middle class.

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That’s a tall wall to climb, pun intended, for the president as he delivers the State of the Union.

But this is a time, more than any other, that calls for big thinking, big ideas, hope and strategy to reach our goals.

Think of John Kennedy in his inaugural address; “And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you –  ask what you can do for your country.”

Think of Martin Luther King Jr. when he gave his “I have a Dream” speech; “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.”

We are there once again at a crucial point in time when the United States can either fall to despots or rise to meet the challenges of a new century filled with hope and promise.

The alternative to Biden is Donald Trump – who every day spouts nonsense, divisiveness hatred and revenge. Those who follow him cannot be cleaved from him with anger, for it is anger that drove them to him. Anger and fear are Donald Trump’s stock in trade. After a lifetime of grifting, it is all he has left. He is a gangrenous pustule of pain. 

If this is to be a battle between two old white men for the soul of the country, then make the lines clear. Hope vs. fear. Unity vs. divisiveness.

As Martin Luther King Jr. so aptly put it, “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

For better or worse, Biden’s speech and the next few months will define him for history.

Let’s pray it’s a good showing – for all of us. We all need to see hope and unity; not fear and divisiveness.