For the first time in a long time on today’s BradCast, we’re happy to feature a Special Coverage episode of something that isn’t actually horrible. In fact, it’s something that turned out to be an unexpected amount of fun to watch and cover, while including what was, as I described it on today’s show, “the greatest Rope-a-Dope Moment in the all-time history of State of the Union addresses.” [Audio link to full show follows below this summary.]
We’ve got full post-speech team coverage today of Joe Biden’s second SOTU as President (actually his third address to a joint session of Congress), and it was a humdinger! Both the speech and today’s coverage. In fact, as our panel appeared to agreed today, it was likely the most enjoyable SOTU any of us had ever witnessed!
We’re joined today by the great HEATHER DIGBY PARTON, award-winning columnist at Salon and founder of Digby’s Hullabaloo blog (which just celebrated it’s 20th anniversary!) and “DRIFTGLASS”, otherwise known as @Mr_Electrico on Twitter and as simply Bill at home, where he produces The Professional Left Podcast each week with his wife Fran/”BlueGal”. Like Digby and me, he too is a longtime, old-school progressive blogger!
Biden’s lively remarks on Tuesday — and his surprisingly brilliant off-the-cuff responses to jeers and obnoxiously inaccurate heckles from members of the new Republican House majority — cannot be described as delivered by “Sleepy Joe”. The 73-minute speech actually flew by, surprisingly enough.
During the address, he, justifiably, sang his Administration’s praises for what has amounted to one of the most successful first two years of any Presidency going back to at least FDR. (That, as we discuss, is particularly surprising given the narrowest of majorities he had to work with for the past two years in Congress. And is true, whether or not you liked his many accomplishments, had hoped for still more, or preferred entirely different policies.)
Snap polling following Tuesday’s SOTU revealed a whopping 72% of Americans who watched it reacted positively, with some of the most favorable reactions coming from those who, prior to the speech, disapproved of Biden or felt his policies would not move the country in the right direction. So will his remarks on Tuesday make any difference in his approval ratings moving forward?
We cover a lot of ground on today’s Special Coverage episode, including thoughts on Biden’s brilliant Rope-a-Dope / Jedi Mind Trick that resulted in Republicans yelling and screaming to insist they are absolutely not hoping to gut or cut or even sunset Social Security and Medicare(!); other details from the surprisingly populist and progressive speech; insight on why Biden’s approval ratings have been so low over the past year (and who is to blame for that); analysis of the bizarre movement by some in the supposed “Anti-war Left” to oppose support for the fight for democracy in sovereign Ukraine and against the authoritarian invasion by its imperialist neighboring Russia; and of the weird, creepy, dark, up is down/down is up GOP response to Biden’s SOTU by Donald Trump’s former Press Secretary and “prolific liar” turned new Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Lots of insight — and hilarity! — ensues during today’s ‘BradCast’ Special Coverage! Enjoy!…
Per a CNN snap poll, 72% of those who watched had a positive reaction to the SOTU.
The first real test will occur later this month via a VA-4 Special Congressional Election. Unfortunately, not everyone who votes in that election will have done so with the benefit of the SOTU. Early voting began on January 6.
Also, while I agree with the “rope-a-dope” description, I question whether it was “off the cuff”. I think that Biden and his outgoing Chief of Staff Ron Klain anticipated the crazies’ reaction to the truth about their intentions to sunset Medicare and Social Security.
It calls to mind the famous Harry Truman quip: “I just told the truth, and [the Republicans] thought that was hell.”
Ernie –
While the showdown on those points — the Rope-a-Dope — may have been hoped for, or anticipated (I don’t really know), the speech, as written and released before hand, did not include the several “so it’s settled then” and “looks like nobody’s gonna” off-the-cuff remarks from Biden.
In fact, I had a problem finding (and linking to above) a version of the speech that was based on his delivered remarks, versus what had been prepared in advance, as most of the posted transcripts today — even at the White House(!) website — read!
Re Brad @3
If you wanted to sucker-in the crazies to say something stupid that would allow you to spring the trap (or rope the dope), you wouldn’t telegraph it by including those words in the pre-released written speech.