Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) describes President Joe Biden's delivery of the State of the Union address as, "In a good way, ... over-the-top, out of character."
In a good way, the delivery was over-the-top, out of character—Biden’s, of course. Katie Britt’s too. The media overreaction to hers not his tells us who liberals most fear as VP nominee.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 10, 2024
President Biden has been unable to provide answers for why the policy agenda he has pushed is failing, and he has been unable to provide answers for how he will govern differently to avoid the same policy failures in the future. Thus, an "over-the-top" State of the Union address delivery is the basic political element to which Biden's presidency has been reduced.
It is modern custom for presidents to from year-to-year address Congress and the nation about the State of the Union. A key aspect of the presidency is being able to sound the pitch-perfect rhetorical tone at exactly the right time. But a change in tone is only as effective as what is being said. President Joe Biden had the opportunity to recommend a new path forward, to explain how fiscal responsibility is the way to reduce inflation. A speech on the importance of freedom in the world at this moment would have resonated broadly.
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Cosmetically sidestepping politically hazardous issues is nothing inventive for Democrats. Former President Barack Obama routinely used his arsenal of political charisma to dramatically pivot away from issues that were unfavorable to his agenda.
Perhaps President Biden would have been better served to have waxed platitudinally eloquent, but raising the speech decibels to amplify a failing policy agenda is nothing more than lipstick on a fat political pig.
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