Joe Biden’s speech to a joint session of Congress last night was Twilight Zone material. The White House has posted the text here.
As always, Biden himself looked like an escapee from Madam Tussauds, but he appeared to have had a touch-up for his appearance last night. Through the proliferation of falsehoods, clichés, and incredibly tired language, the theme was that too much is not enough and Biden’s head emerged as its expressive form. Even with the best efforts of cosmetic surgeons, no one would mistake Biden for anything but a superannuated politico who has stayed too long at the fair.
The setting was bizarre even by Twilight Zone standards. House seats were mostly vacant. Mask theater was the order of the day. Who among those in attendance is at risk of contracting Covid?
Despite the manifest fear of the virus communicated by the scene, Biden rattled on about his great vaccination success. As usual, he did so without any mention of the man who made it possible, thus giving us yet another opportunity to meditate on the smallness of the man and his minions. It would be to his benefit to fake a kind word about the contribution of his predecessor, but it is not in their playbook. That much I can tell you.
The speech should have worked its greatest effect on those who know nothing of LBJ and the Great Society, the Carter administration, and of American history generally. Other sorry historical episodes came to mind as Biden unveiled his big plans of free stuff for everyone, “good jobs” that are net detriments to productive economic activity, and the assessment attributed to the intelligence community: “[We] won’t ignore what our own intelligence agencies have determined – the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today is from white supremacist terrorism.”
Can we get a new set of intelligence agencies?
On the too much is not enough front, Biden also decried “systemic racism in our criminal justice system.” This combines generalized defamation with a global falsehood. Racial disparities in offending rates must be ignored and cannot be mentioned.
According to Biden, Vice President Harris is undertaking to resolve the “root problems of migration.” This was the euphemistic nod to the crisis at the border. It harks back to the liberal devotion to resolving the “root causes” of crime.
Biden expressed his “absolute confidence she will get the job done.” If you are prone to ask yourself why this woman is laughing, this must be one of the reasons.
Biden’s speech afforded Senator Tim Scott the opportunity to deliver the Republican rebuttal. Newsweek has posted the text here. He drew on his personal story to deny that America is a racist country and deliver a few more home truths.
Quotable quote (Tim Scott): “I’ve also experienced a different kind of intolerance. I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives by liberals. Just last week, a national newspaper [the Washington Post] suggested my family’s poverty was actually privilege. Because a relative owned land, generations before my time. Believe me, I know first-hand, our healing is not finished.”
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.