The State of the Union

President Biden gave his State of the Union address last night. Even if I wasn’t the bleeding heart liberal that I am, I thanked my lucky stars that the 2020 election went as it did. My guess is there are some people with a more right wing bent that are glad too. There’s nothing like having someone the people can look up to in a time of crisis.

I watched the President and I saw a man who projected, “I’m here for all of you, not just the one percent. I’m not here for just the Democrats, or just the people that voted for me, but for all Americans.” With all of the uncertainty going on in the world, and at home, it was reassuring to hear the President say to everyone, “It’s going to be ok”.

As I watched, I was struck by the joy that Kamala Harris exuded from her spot behind the President. At one point she jumped up so fast and high to applaud that she almost slipped off the podium. The V.P. wasn’t the only one energized by the President’s words.

Republicans have been told to sit on their hands and voice their opposition to any plan the President proposes to better the life of average Americans. The Repubs couldn’t even rise to support stopping fentanyl at the border or the President’s actions against Russia in defense of Ukraine. Strange times indeed.

Speaking of the idiot Putin, and the invasion of Ukraine, how much better off is the world now than it would have been if the former guy had a return to duty? The Donald had publicly stated that he wanted the U.S. to pull out of NATO. It’s clear from his current fawning after the invasion that there is no wish that the Donald would have denied Putin. “Want to roll the tanks into France, no problem. Just don’t salt the earth. I might want to put a golf course up there someday.”

Of course President Biden doesn’t just have the threat of WWIII hanging over his head, he’s still got mop up duty with the worst pandemic in over one hundred years. Seeing the Congress without masks was a reminder of how lucky we are that Biden took over when he did. I forgot how old some of those people are. Just kidding./s They are old, really old and seeing them without their masks reminded me how desperately we need to enforce a retirement age.

Even so, wasn’t it great to see them acting social and friendly? Maybe being able to see each other smile will encourage congress critters from both sides to work on the President’s agenda. There’s still plenty to do even though Biden illuminated a healthy list of accomplishments so far. With that said, here’s some of the list:

* $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. Those pot holes aren’t going to fix themselves, or haven’t in the last couple of decades. Twenty years of kicking the can down the road has resulted in failing bridges all over the country. Biden has brought both sides together to finally fix them.

* The $1.9 trillion Covid relief deal. It’s hard to imagine what the vaccination program would have been like if left to the pharmaceutical companies. How many people would have gotten vaccinated if the shots were $500 a piece? The fact that the program provided financial relief for people affected by the crisis economy shows what a truly compassionate man Joe Biden is.

* Ended the war in Afghanistan. Was the withdrawal completely without issues, no, but we’re done with that hell-hole. No more American lives lost in vain.Trillions of dollars of American taxes will be freed up to pursue the challenges that need immediate attention like climate change.

* The American rescue plan. In Biden’s first year in office, the economy grew at the strongest rate in nearly 40 years. From beating back COVID to creating over 14.8 million new jobs, Biden has given the average American a path forward. The national unemployment rate has dropped to 3.7 percent from 6.3 percent when Biden took office.

* Appointment of federal judges. Biden has appointed 181 federal judges, the most since Ronald Reagan. He has also placed a moratorium on federal executions, reversing a policy that the Donald drug out of the closet.

Well, that’s just five off of the top of my head. I guess I could go on for days, but I won’t. Let’s just say that I think President Biden will be viewed very well by history, particularly with a look at the lack of cooperation he has received.

The State of The Union is stronger than it ever has been and will continue to get stronger, thank you President Biden.