Presidents often use their State of The Union address to announce new initiatives. Joe Biden has instead used his address to the nation to renounce the first year of his disastrous presidency—and roll out a gigantic policy reset that he hopes will avoid an electoral apocalypse come November.

Whether, like some political Houdini, he will be able to escape the political quagmire of unpopular policies and signature failures in time to avoid being drowned along with his fellow Democrats in a Republican Red Wave come the November midterm elections is, of course, yet to be determined. However, it was a peculiar experience to watch Joe Biden attempt to become a moderate Republican—on live TV.  It may simply be the case that Democrats hope the memories of voters are short enough to permit the sort of frantic rebranding that is now being desperately spun, but his speech was very odd indeed.  

The catastrophic failure of the Biden administration’s asinine withdrawal from Afghanistan, the consequences of which will be felt for decades, was left unmentioned, which is probably understandable.  No one is ever going to brag about their own incompetence.  With American citizens still left behind during the chaotic exit of our military and the Afghan people now subject to the tender mercies of the Taliban, it seems that silence—on the part of both Democrats and our mass media—is golden.

President Biden also avoided a discussion of a favorite Democratic hobbyhorse of the past year, the supposed insurrection on January 6th of last year during the certification of the 2020 Presidential election results.  Given the incredible time and resources that have been wasted on this matter, this omission might seem puzzling, but it is likely the case that any mention would simply highlight the fact that Democrats are still so fearful of the American people that they deemed it necessary to ring the U.S. Capitol with chain link fence and razor wire prior Biden’s speech.  Why bring any unnecessary attention to your obvious terror of a people whom you somehow presume to lead?

Two abrupt and incredible reversals of entrenched Democratic dogma by Mr. Biden were likewise equally stunning for their arrogant disregard for the truth.

Apparently, Americans are supposed to now forget the loud and damaging Democratic demagoguery on the topics of law enforcement and public safety.  “Defund the Police” has been a rallying cry used by Democrats to bludgeon the honor and integrity of police officers across the nation for over two years, and the consequences of this idiocy are now plain to see.  Crime rates have spiraled to dizzying heights, and perhaps at no time in recent American history has rampant lawlessness been so sickeningly commonplace in our cities and communities.  

This particular about-face is an obvious attempt to pretend that leading Democrats—which include both Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Harris—did not cheerlead the arson, riots, and looting of the summer of 2020, and apparently we are to believe that Democrats want nothing other than to back the blue as they struggle to take back our streets from the thugs, shooters, and robbers who are now being allowed to terrorize us.  Perhaps this bit of rhetorical slipperiness will convince some, but it is doubtful it will convince very many.

And speaking of law enforcement, are we now supposed to believe that the Biden administration is gung-ho about securing our nation’s borders? This is both outlandish and insulting.  Having abandoned all pretense of enforcing America’s immigration laws on the very first day of his administration, Joe Biden has presided over a flood of illegal entries and the capture of our borders by vicious drug cartels, who now operate with near impunity.  Having never even bothered to visit our besieged southern border himself (although he did once send Vice President Harris for a brief Photo Op) it is impossible to believe these insane lies represent a meaningful change in Democratic policies of national surrender.  Talk is cheap; your action (and inaction) tells the true story.

Two long time obsessions of Democrats—unrestricted abortion and climate change panic—each got a nod, but Biden and his advisors have obviously looked at the polls and realized that publicly advocating for abortion up to the point of live birth and energy policies that are pushing oil prices to the stratosphere are both extraordinarily unpopular with the vast majority of voters.  

Most Americans are still supportive of abortion rights during the the first trimester, which conforms to the intent of the original Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, but they are appalled at the cruelty involved in the late term abortion of viable fetuses—and even the most dogmatic Democrats can no longer ignore this fact.  We can also expect the Biden administration to—as quietly as possible—begin walking back the demented climate policies that are strangling businesses and bankrupting consumers.  Surviving the 2022 midterm elections will take precedence over the ideological purity demanded by the party’s extremist faction.

And then there is the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

Setting aside the obvious hilarity of Biden referring to the Ukrainians as Iranians—somebody should have put a big Post-It note on his lectern—he and the Democrats are clearly praying that economic sanctions and finger wagging will be an effective response to Russian tanks and infantry.  This plan conforms to the general outlines of the Biden foreign policy this far—which can be fairly characterized as “cut and run” when confronted with force—so the current attempt to beat back Russian troops with bureaucratic maneuvering is unsurprising.  However, sending out a blizzard of Executive Orders in response to the bombing of Ukrainian cities will only further embolden Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and every other enemy of America.  Weakness abroad always encourages international tyrants, and we may find out—much too late—that even the toughest diplomacy lacks the deterrent punch of fighter jets that are supporting combat-ready troops.

We live in a perilous time, and the self-comforting delusions of think tank leftists have hurt our economy, our national unity, and our military readiness.  How we will manage the damage dead ahead—what, for example, will we do if China moves against Taiwan or Iran tests a nuclear weapon?—is an open question given the denial and equivocation we have seen to this point from President Biden and his clearly overmatched team.

Whether Joe Biden can rebrand himself into the President that we will need during the dangerous and difficult days dead ahead is anyone’s guess, but I have my doubts—as do the majority of Americans who now disapprove of his handling of our domestic and foreign affairs.

Today we are a nation adrift in rough seas, and it seems that our Captain now has no idea which way to sail to find a safe harbor.