He's still not declared, but Biden's campaigning
But beyond that, the speech was likely Biden’s unofficial 2024 campaign launch. As such, it dealt almost exclusively with the high cost of living, with hardly a single reference to the culture wars, race, or gender. In addition, it was evident that the president came well prepared. There were hardly any verbal stumbles, and his appeal to Republicans to take action on the debt ceiling included some carefully laid traps regarding cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
Biden also spoke about the need for more factories, more jobs, securing the border, and lowering the price of fuel. In campaigner’s slang, this is called a “finish-the-job speech,” meant to give voters an impression that a great deal of work is going on — it hasn’t been finished yet, but it will be in the next term.
And in the absence of issues such as climate and race, and with foreign policy taking up no more than five minutes, we ended up getting a very centrist speech, which is surprising, given that Biden marketed himself to unenthused younger voters as “the most progressive president of all time” at the start of his term. Again, that’s how the president’s team tried to market him to the leftist wing of the party. Listening to Biden’s recent State of the Union address, there wasn’t a trace of that sentiment.
“I think the reason the president’s terrific — and very well-received — SOTU remarks were very disproportionately domestic-oriented is that, with the huge exception of Ukraine-Russia, which he addressed at length, that’s what Americans want most to hear about right now,” says Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic strategist and founder of Bluelight Strategies.
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