Biden shines in State of the Union, but the GOP could benefit as well

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As U.S. President Joe Biden finished his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman shouted over at Senator Bernie Sanders: “Did you write that speech?”

Mr. Sanders, the hard-left Democrat, well could have. Mr. Biden, who used to be considered a centrist, served up a nanny-state plate, one of the most left-leaning State of the Union addresses since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It had Canadian progressivism written all over it.

The speech was a big hit with Democrats, not only from a content standpoint but on account of the President’s powerful presentation as well. This was a haymaker. Though Mr. Biden looked stiffened as he slowly entered the chamber, old Joe at the podium was a man in command: energetic, bold and surprisingly quick witted.

But Republicans could find a lot to like in his prime-time oration as well. For one thing, successful as it was, the performance increased the likelihood of Mr. Biden running again for a new term. That suits Grand Old Party strategists just fine. They’ll happily posit the question: Do you really want to elect someone who would still be running the country at the age of 86?

For another thing, Mr. Biden’s aggressive big-government activism slots the Democrats where his conservative opponents want him.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Republican Governor of Arkansas, teed off on the big left turn in giving her party’s official response to the address. Mr. Biden “has surrendered his presidency to a woke mob,” she claimed. “His administration has been completely hijacked by the American left.” Government “exists not to rule the people but to serve the people.”

Mr. Biden wants to bring the working class back into the Democratic fold. Thus, his rolling out of what he called a “blue-collar blueprint” for the economy: antitrust action against Big Tech giants, the expansion of child tax credits, a push for universal prekindergarten education, going after the rich with big tax levies, codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.

And on he went. His administration was creating big-paying jobs for those without college degrees, stopping Big Pharma and oil companies from raising prices on vulnerable consumers, confronting the “existential threat” of climate change, cracking down on abuses like airlines charging fees for families to sit together, and prohibitively high ticket fees for concerts and events.

While the odd phrase was slurred, Mr. Biden varied the pace and the pitch so as not to make his laundry list, most of which had been trotted out before, too tedious. And he was adept at handling Republican hecklers like far-right nutbar Marjorie Taylor Greene.

A highlight was his snookering of the Republicans on the question of maintaining social security and medicare programs, which GOP Senator Rick Scott had suggested should be sunsetted. When his opponents erupted in anger at his suggestion they would do such a thing, Mr. Biden pounced, saying: “So folks, as we all apparently agree, [going after] social security, medicare is off the books now, right? All right. We’ve got unanimity.”

Of concern to the Trudeau government was his doubling down on economic nationalism, which was a priority of the Trump administration. Mr. Biden wants new standards requiring all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made domestically. Past administrations have declined to enforce Buy American laws, he said. “Not any more.”

His State of the Union was made easier by the fact that on the economy, particularly job creation, he has a good story to tell. The U.S. unemployment rate is at 3.4 per cent, the lowest in half a century.

Sociologist Katherine Newman, co-author of a new book called Moving the Needle, which draws on 70 years of unemployment data, said in an interview that the jobs turnaround from the dire days of the pandemic has been spectacular. “Mr. Biden deserves some credit,” she said, and compared to what happened after the 2008 financial meltdown, when recovery took almost a decade, his infusion of far greater stimulus sums have helped turn the tide.

The Biden problem, however, is that Americans aren’t taking note. His approval ratings have been locked in well below 50 per cent. Polls depressingly show him losing in a rematch against Donald Trump.

While most everyone is saying Mr. Biden will run again, it’s no sure thing. His standing could well worsen by the end of the year, bringing challenges from within his own party. Old Joe could change his mind about giving it another go.