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President Joe Biden, at age 80, exited Tuesday night’s State of the Union address with enough gusto and vigor to go on to wipe the House floor with the deranged remnants of the Republican Party.
Touting populism and leaning hard on his remarkable skills as an empath-in-chief, Biden built on a speech that acknowledged the country’s struggles and remained an unflinching optimist. He regularly went off script, forgiving Republican lawmakers who heckled him, at one point sending the entire party into a corner and making them swear to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits.
I’ve never seen anything like it in a State of the Union speech – they ran up to him like a pack of lemmings, and with a wink and a smile, he politely pointed them toward the cliff.
Joe Biden’s State of the Union pap is likely to lead to re-election
Whatever White House cooks are feeding Biden these days, I want a plate of it myself. It’s like he’s suddenly hitting the benjamin-button. And as he mulls a re-election run and nervous Democrats eye a younger candidate, Tuesday’s speech showed he’s still got it when it comes to petty politics.
Biden, of course, will never be mistaken for a great orator. But his address relentlessly hits notes that most Americans would be happy with, leaving Republican lawmakers in a bind.
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How come Republicans don’t appreciate democracy?
“Our democracy remains humble and intact,” Biden said. Republicans remained silent.
Bidde discussed the boom in infrastructure projects. Republicans remained silent. “I’ll see you at the groundbreaking,” Biden said.
Biden said the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in decades. Some applauded while others remained silent.
If you’re not cheering for democracy, improved infrastructure and low unemployment rates, people will wonder whose team you’re on.
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Kevin McCarthy’s State of the Union experience was a long one
The reluctance of Republican lawmakers to appreciate popular accomplishments that help people, including repeated childish acts by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who sits behind Biden, has shown how weak and thoughtless his party has become.
![President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy listen on February 7, 2023.](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2023/02/08/USAT/26d33b28-f126-4c85-b0d0-d5217c4d11b8-GettyImages-1246876896.jpg?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Throughout the speech, McCarthy gave a clinic on squirming uncomfortably. At one point, Republican Marjorie Taylor Green shouted “Liar!” At Biden. When the President was talking about a man who lost his child to a fentanyl overdose, Republicans began shouting down BidenOne shouted, “It’s your fault!”
More Rex Huppke:Stop trying to make sense of Marjorie Taylor Green. She lives in a world of nonsense.
Dark Brandon distracts with Republican heckling strategy
Biden responded by asking Republicans to join him and launch a “major increase” to stop the production of fentanyl and provide border agents with “more drug detection machines to inspect cargo.”
![Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., shouts during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023.](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2023/02/08/USAT/8b19335a-d62c-4fa8-aaed-363cdf5eae95-XXX_20230207_News__President_Joe_Biden_State_of_the_Union_addre.1.jpg?crop=5616,3744,x0,y0&width=660&height=440&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
That, of course, turns Republicans off, because they don’t want to think about a solution, they just want something to mess around with.
The American people have rejected the efficient outrage of the Republicans
The midterm elections have made it clear that Americans are not buying the kind of performative outrage that Republicans are selling. But on Tuesday night, as the old man they regularly describe as “old” was energetically promoting hopes and ideas that could make the country a better place, all GOP lawmakers were once again in functional dismay.
You could see it in McCarthy’s face as he tried to silence the please-put-me-on-Fox-News loudmouths in his caucus. He looked defeated. He seemed to go home after the speech, write mournful poems, and enter a long goth phase.
At SOTU, Biden showed America who is normal and who is crazy
You don’t have to like or love Biden to see why he’s feeling troubled on Tuesday night. An 80-year-old from Scranton, Pennsylvania faced off against an opponent who couldn’t stop punching himself.
Come on, people. This is not fair.
In a Republican rebuttal to Biden’s address, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “The dividing line in America is no longer right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy.”
It’s not her fault. But I don’t think she understands what side Americans see as crazy. (Hint: This is a side that allows itself to be outfoxed on live TV by a president it calls old and incompetent.)
Follow USA Today columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk, or contact him at [email protected]
More from Rex Huppke:
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Voters have clearly told the Republican Party to change its ways. The GOP said, ‘No.’
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