Presidential 'Race'? Biden Isn't Breaking A Sweat

Joe Biden hit it out of the park last week. His State of the Union speech, most agree, was pitch perfect. Even some Republicans, even some Fox pundits, even a toxic tool like Rick Santorum had to stretch to find something to quibble with, though not for lack of trying.

Biden eviscerated Trump without once mentioning him by name. He castigated the Supreme Court, with all the due respect they weren’t due. He finessed the Middle East. He stood up for reproductive rights his Catholic upbringing never allowed for. He taunted Republicans for their naked hypocrisy on immigration, called them out for their betrayal of Ukraine, and got righteously pissed off at what he’s too polite to call an attempted Christo-fascist coup.

All this while demonstrating, quite convincingly, that eighty is the new sixty.

What came through for me, most of all, was how much he gets off on this. You could see it in that stroll through the very venue that was his workplace for most of his life. He was clearly in his element, working the room, hugging old friends, shaking hands with old enemies, meeting new allies and assholes for the first time, face to face. He ate it all up, and at no point did I feel he was faking anything.

You could tell how hard he worked on that speech. He’s never been a natural public speaker, but it’s a skill one can acquire, and he’s had fifty years to acquire it. He even has his own style — clunky, with a twinkle — that he delivers with confidence and, dare I say, flare.

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