Despite feelings of anxiety, I secured a pencil and paper to take notes and then tuned in to C-Span (which is free of commentary) to watch the State of the Union. I observed with interest the upbeat demeaner of the people milling about the chamber chatting. I watched the formal entry of the Supreme Court, absent three conservative members. I watched the Cabinet members making their way down the aisle, greeting representatives from both sides of the aisle. And then, I nervously watched the President’s entry and slow progress toward the podium as he stopped to greet multiple representatives. And not surprisingly, I was disgusted by the red MAGA hat-wearing Margorie Taylor’s Greene’s rule-breaking and her tasteless taunting of the President.
First, and most importantly, I was relieved to observe the undeniable vitality and strong mental acuity of the president. Even with signs of his lifelong speech impediment, his speech was coherent and full of substance. In fact, I counted 32 specific public policy topics that he covered in his speech. Of course, some received a lot of attention. Some he simply mentioned as topics for congress to address, such as artificial intelligence, a ban on assault weapons and reasonable gun regulations, the Voting Rights Act, the banning of books and history, funding for education at all levels, raising the minimum wage, and the Violence Against Women Act.
He spent more time on what he considered the most pressing topics of the day, including the existential attack on our freedom and democracy, not just abroad, but at home. He called out Trump’s acquiescence to Putin and the war in Ukraine as well as Trump’s lack of support for NATO followed by the announcement of Finland and Sweden to the NATO ranks. He then messaged Putin that we will not walk away, nor will we bow down. Without skipping a beat, he called out the lies leading to January 6th and how some seek to bury the truth. His strong statement, “You can’t love your country only when you win” resonated with many, including me.
He moved on to address the necessity of protecting reproductive rights, including IVF and codifying Roe v. Wade. I was surprised when he called out the Supreme Court to acknowledge how women can continue to exercise their political and electoral power to safeguard abortion rights.
He briefly highlighted his accomplishments including the economic comeback from Covid-19, the expansion of health insurance, narrowing of the racial wealth gap, the Pact Act for veterans, the expansion of manufacturing, the 46,000 new infrastructure projects, the Chips Act, getting inflation under control, cutting student loan debt for millions of public service workers, the price cut to $35 for insulin for seniors, and having corporations pay a 15% minimum tax. He called upon congress to do something about “shrinkflation” that affects us all. And he made a point of calling upon congress to make the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, again promising that no one making less than $400,000 a year would have to pay more.
There were promises made should he be re-elected and have a democratic congress to work with. He would lower the cost of insulin for all Americans to the current Medicare low of $35 and he would cap all prescription out-of-pocket cost to $2000 per year. He would make healthcare insurance savings permanent for the 100 million Americans on Obamacare. He would restore the Child Tax Credit that lifted 50% of children out of poverty.
There were a few new initiatives he announced such as appointing his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, to oversee a new women’s health research project, providing first time homebuyers with a $400/month tax credit for 2 years and eliminating title insurance, cutting red tape for home builders and helping them renovate 2 million homes to bring rent costs down, the new Climate Corp to employ young people to deal directly with the climate crisis, and reducing the credit card late fees from $35 to $8 and requiring junk fees related to purchasing tickets to be stated up front.
On everyone’s mind, including mine, were border security and the Israel and Hamas War. I was glad that he exposed how Trump squashed the bi-partisan bill that would have dealt with border security. He spelled out everything that was in the bill, including more border patrol, more judges, and the technological equipment to help detect and confiscate fentanyl. And I was glad that he expressed his empathetic condolences to the parents of the young nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela and then turned it around to remind congress to pass the border security bill.
Regarding aid to the Palestinians, he announced the building of a temporary pier to provide more humanitarian aid beyond the air drops and the few trucks Israel permits to enter. While desiring a ceasefire, he continues to support Israel’s effort to eliminate Hamas and the safe return of the hostages. In my opinion, this is a no-win situation between the leadership of two sides who are hell-bent on destroying each other. There is no position the president can take that will satisfy everyone.
There were many other highlights in his speech, but the one that stands out the most is when he addressed the age issue head on. He made the issue about whether the ideas were forward looking or backward looking. He made it about whether we would forge forward in pursuit of our aspiration for equality for all or return to the past.
I’m wholeheartedly voting for Biden, not only because my reservations about his age and fitness were dispelled, but because his values and his aspirations for this country most closely mirror my own. If the same is true for you, I hope you will join me in donating to his campaign. And if you are able to do more, I hope you lend your time and energy to supporting him as well. We absolutely have a vested interest in the direction our country moves in this year.