Almost every description of the speech President Joe Biden is scheduled to give beginning at 8PM ET has said it will address “Trump-led extremism” or “MAGA Republicans.” However, White House statements on Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” speech have indicated that this is “not about any politician or any party.” Don’t be surprised if in the course of this speech Biden doesn’t even mention the Republican Party, unless it comes as part of an appeal for Republicans to help end divisions and join in a search for common ground. It would not even be surprising for Biden to steer clear of the T-word, restricting himself to talking about specific statements, actions, and attitudes that are ripping at the fabric of America, rather than focusing on a single man.
In addition, it wouldn’t be surprising for Biden to use this moment as an opportunity to list accomplishments. After all, just 18 months into his administration, that list is already getting pretty long. The infrastructure bill, the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Infrastructure Reduction Act, and most recently the executive order to reduce the burden of student loans … those are only the highlights, and some of those pieces of legislation cover so many programs that the public has a very poor grasp of the scale of what’s actually been done. It’s probably not exaggerating to say that President Biden has seen more progress in less time than any president since FDR, and the level of recognition for that scope of achievement is miniscule.
Just the fact that Biden is speaking tonight, and that this is a prime-time presidential address to the nation rather than simply a political rally, has many conservative writers already pounding their desks. Over at The Washington Post, former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen is calling this a “disgrace” because Biden is giving the speech about a threat to the nation, rather than using it for one of the many, many failures his boss spoke about after failing to recognize or handle a threat. Multiple outlet are giving House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy time for a pre-buttal in which he is already giving a scathing critique of Biden’s speech without bothering to hear it. It’s a very good bet that both of them are wrong about what Biden will say. And that neither of them will ever admit it.
Come along and join us as we listen. (updates below the break)
Friday, Sep 2, 2022 · 12:07:05 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Biden begins with a paean to America, celebrating how the nation was founded and the history behind the place where he is speaking. Speaking to the “sacred flame” that has led America through so many turmoil in the past.
“But first, we must be honest with each other,” said Biden. “With our souls and with our selves.” And I’m already wrong, because Biden went straight to the threat represented by “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”
Friday, Sep 2, 2022 · 12:13:35 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Biden calls out to Americans to trust in elections, and in the principles that built the nation. “For a long time, we told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it’s not.”
Calls on all Americans to join behind the cause of defending democracy against the MAGA Republican effort to destroy democracy.
Friday, Sep 2, 2022 · 12:23:36 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
After that hard punching start, Biden is flying full speed now into a hopeful future, built on the foundation created in the last 18 months and what’s still to come.
“I believe the soul is the breath, the live, and the essence of who are are … the soul of America, that all are created equal in the image of God … and democracy must be defended, because democracy makes all these things possible.”
Friday, Sep 2, 2022 · 12:28:31 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Tomorrow, each one of the networks is going to try to reduce this speech to a few clips of Biden coming out against MAGA Republicans. That’s all that people will hear. That’s just a disservice to the president, but a basic failure of the press.
Friday, Sep 2, 2022 · 12:31:52 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
As Biden leaves the stage, those watching tonight saw a historic speech from an astoundingly accomplished president who is forcefully defending not just his legacy, but the nation. That so little of that will translate into the morning headlines, is also a failing of this age.
McCarthy’s speech, which includes the immortal phrase “the electric chord of liberty still sparks in our heart” while throwing every insult at Biden the limited Republican thesaurus can muster, reads as if cribbed from the back pages of The Onion.
Biden will do better. And don’t expect him to mention McCarthy. The White House sees this as part of his real purpose, the one that propelled him to run again in 2020. It’s going to be a speech directed at hate and fascism. It will only be about Republicans to the extent that Republicans make those things about themselves.
