Biden ditches teleprompter, finds groove

Count us among those Americans who have been dubious about our octogenarian president’s plan to seek a second term.

After Tuesday night’s State of the Union, count us among those who are happy to stand corrected. President Joe Biden proved to America he’s still got neon in his veins, as the late country crooner George Jones once sang in his song “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair.”

Sub the word “Teleprompter” in that title and you’d have a pretty good anthem for 80-year-old Biden who just answered the nation’s concerns about his age and mental acuity with a mic drop performance full of dynamism, gutsy ad-libs and cunning wit.

In short, it was good TV, the last thing we’ve come to expect from a rigid political ritual whose lofty rhetoric in these divisive times often rings hollow.

Biden was in his element, easing into an early groove: loose, folksy, gently ribbing. He ditched the teleprompter — on which his usual reliance draws frequent rightwing critique — and riffed with aplomb. He needled new House

Speaker Kevin McCarthy: “I don’t want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.” He poked fun at the shamelessness of Republicans who voted against his infrastructure bill, yet seek credit for the projects it funded: “I’ll see you at the groundbreaking.” He even challenged his opponents to repeal his agenda with a dad joke that few seemed to get: “As my football coach used to say: lots of luck on your senior year.”

You half expected Biden to pull the mic from the stand and start walking around the floor of the House chambers like Jerry Seinfeld doing a set at the Comedy Cellar.

Yet the climax of Biden’s Borscht Belt routine also doubled as one of the shrewdest moments of his presidency. It started with a reference to a wildly unpopular plan put forth by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, who proposed forcing Congress to reauthorize Social Security and Medicare every five years.

“Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” Biden said.

When Republicans in the chamber broke decorum, feigning incredulity with boos and raucous, cheap-seat heckling, Biden wouldn’t be cowed. He started politicking. With a knowing grin, he acted surprised that some Republicans had suddenly changed their position.

“So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now,” Biden said. “They’re not to be touched? All right. We’ve got unanimity!”

The crowd, much of it, at least, erupted in cheers. The president reaffirmed his reputation as a stalwart for his fellow seniors — a crucial voting bloc— while also effectively securing a public commitment from Congress to protect two of the nation’s most critical social programs amid a looming fight over spending cuts.

At a time when much of the public, including many Texans, are loudly raising concerns about Biden’s fitness for office given his age and dismal approval ratings, his speech Tuesday was a triumphant counterpoint — in substance as well as style.

In his most effective public address as president, Biden made a strong case that, on several fronts, he has been exactly the president that many thought they were electing. A proven dealmaker with several signature legislative achievements, from a sprawling infrastructure bill to new gun control regulations. The veteran Washington gladhander whose appeals for unity even had McCarthy applauding behind him at several key moments during the speech. An experienced head of state who has restored America’s reputation on the international stage and carefully navigated the war in Ukraine by leading a sturdy coalition of nations to levy sanctions on Russia while providing robust aid to Ukrainians. And, perhaps most importantly, an empathetic leader who has ably shepherded the nation through a global pandemic, pushed back against encroachments on women’s rights and civil liberties, and stood up for democracy amid an attempted coup and the reckless musings of his predecessor — and possible future presidential challenger — to “terminate” the Constitution.

Yet Biden was at his best when he allowed his natural empathy to lend authenticity to his political stagecraft. He softened his voice and gestured up to the balcony at Tyre Nichols’ parents, seamlessly transitioning from the raw emotion of an unjust police killing to urging Congress to pass policing reform.

“No words can describe the heartache and grief of losing a child,” Biden said. “Imagine if you lost that child at the hands of the law.”

While Biden’s speech was short on big ideas — though who among us wouldn’t sign up for abolishing airline fees? — he smartly emphasized his reputation for working across the aisle. He noted the more than 300 bipartisan bills signed into law, and made additional appeals to do even more. He outlined areas where Republicans can help him “finish the job,” including on immigration, health care, foreign policy and regulating Big Tech. We hope that even with Republicans in control of the House by a slim majority, he can continue to defy expectations.

There will, of course, be many who still judge Biden only by his failures. The nation remains sharply divided on crucial issues. There is at least some evidence that Biden and congressional Democrats’ profligate spending to get a handle on COVID-19 may have overheated the economy and sped up inflation. Indeed, for all of Biden’s talk on Tuesday of resounding economic success, that’s an easier sell when groceries aren’t 10 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. While he has thus far staved off a direct confrontation with Russia, Biden’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was disastrous, and gifted control of the country back to the Taliban who have proceeded to commit horrific human rights abuses. His mishandling of classified documents has raised questions about his judgment though his coordination with law enforcement to retrieve the materials still stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s buffoonish defiance to return his own stash of classified documents.

Biden’s optimism on the state of American democracy remains a laudable quality, particularly in an era where many politicians are increasingly rewarded for cynicism and fear-mongering.

“We must give hate and extremism in any form no safe harbor,” Biden said to close his speech. “Democracy must not be a partisan issue. It must be an American issue.”

Perhaps those who tuned in won’t come away completely swayed on Biden’s policies — indeed, the despairing distortions in the official GOP response from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders left us wondering if she’d even read Biden’s speech, or, for that matter, any economic news in these past six months. But we hope more fair-minded critics at least appreciate Biden for attempting to shape a hopeful message during these siloed times, for seeking common ground on things like cancer, job creation and supporting our military veterans when it often seems like we live on different planets, and if nothing else, for turning an oftenyawn-worthy, performative tradition into something worth talking about.

State of the Union may be his most effective public address to date.