Somehow, the big question that often remains after the annual State of the Union Address is what the state of our union is, even though we might go in with the expectation of finding it out during the Address or deliberating it beforehand. Will the Union continue to be presided over by Biden in another term? That question still remains up in the air. What wild things will the legion of Speaker McCarthy put forth in the next two years? We have already witnessed some of it. What does lots of luck in your senior year mean? NPR concluded that he had been using it for at least a quarter century in various circumstances, not to mention our little president here on our turf will surely need it.
After a surprisingly fluent and factually true speech for his own standards and beyond, President Biden reinforced an element in the essentials collection known as composure. While things have certainly improved from the strange beginning of his term, things still remain far from the best possible scenario. According to FiveThirtyEight, Biden’s polling negative polling numbers swapped places with positive ones during the tail end of the summer of 2021, and things have remained there since. No poll is ever perfect, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored entirely. However, Biden has proven that he is a president capable of navigating a problem (or rather a series of them) and whether you like it or not, he is doing it to the extent the American system allows without carelessness.
McCarthy admitted last week that Republicans “took the bait” for scenes during the debate, such as social security. It’s up in the air whether Republicans were mad at being caught or mad for the sake of being mad. Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t worth too much prose, as she herself argued that she doesn’t get paid enough to work in Congress, yet shockingly enough has no desire to leave elected office either. Go figure. In less than a week after the union address, Senator Ron Johnson decided to argue this time around that social security is a Ponzi scheme, which is probably a code word for saying there are still too many trade unions in Wisconsin. Just wait until he finds out that he earns his social security before you do. Furthermore, no one is actually meant to live off of social security alone, which prevents it from being socialism—a stark contrast to some European countries where the ability to breathe oxygen simply earns you money. Social security obviously isn’t perfect, and Medicare even less so, but the latter stems from the healthcare industrial complex, which, ironically enough, allows half the people in Congress to be alive anyway.
Republicans appear to be hell-bent (or heaven-bent on evangelical terms) on a revenge tour for the rest of the term, which will certainly challenge the productivity of Congress. I can guarantee, like Joe Namath guaranteed Super Bowl III (while we’re at it, LVII wasn’t rigged), that Hunter Biden wouldn’t be a reason why America’s majority language will convert to Spanish or Chinese twenty years from now.
Federal agencies are by no means innocent, but at the same time, Republicans have opportunities to prove themselves, and the question remains on how long it will take for them to do precisely that. It’s only more ironic when one considers that the party has people in it that think they are better than everyone else yet refuse policy nuance to prove it. McCarthy’s fifteen round marathon is still fresh in mind, which probably means that there are fifteen weeks until something worthwhile happens—all the way to George Santos and the cohort of the weird. Thankfully, Senator Mitt Romney had the nerve to tell Santos at the address that he “doesn’t belong here.” On the note of Romney, his former idea of geopolitical threats from a decade ago remains true, and, more importantly, Biden remains the right person to continue to deal with Russia. Except rather than individual composure, this is now about the composure of the United States on the world stage, a reputation that desperately needed to be rebuilt.
There are more Republican troubles that I can name, and the Democratic Party requires some discipline as well, though not nearly as much in comparison. While he still exists, the party should still back Biden, but if there’s someone they really want to boot out, it ought to be Vice President Kamala Harris. There is little
substance to be impressed by Harris in such a tumultuous time in national politics and a replacement is warranted. A woman is fair game, but Hillary Clinton is not an option in that capacity unless there’s a blank canvas for 2024. Clinton’s former running mate on the other hand is a fair possibility, though Democratic thinking appropriately argues that his Senate re-election is necessary. Kaine has also previously said that he does not seek higher office. Staying in the realm of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe might be a fair choice, though he might want another round with Glenn Youngkin in 2025. There’s a large pool to select from and there are enough people with compelling governing parallels to Biden to want.
Ideally, Biden would maintain his momentum for the rest of his term. However, the current state of international affairs meant some kind of roadblock is inevitable, but, like anything, it would need to be dealt with when it happens. If Harris remains, so be it, as she still has time to prove herself—albeit a quickly narrowing window, as February is already halfway through. The current administration’s lingering weakness lies in immigration and if an effective turnaround can be developed, then there is even less combative substance for the other party. With both sides having classified document issues, so far it has been less problematic than the Clinton email scandal to Biden’s benefit. Ultimately, it’s Biden or bust.
In any case, one thing remains clear: the magic R is not going to cut it in 2024.