What Happens After the SOTU?

The chamber of the House of Representatives is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, where President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress and the nation. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)


Dan Pfeiffer
has what seems like a pretty savvy take on the upcoming State of the Union address:

“Biden will give an excellent speech that is well-received by the public and the pundits. The post-speech flash polls will be overwhelmingly favorable. There will be a renewed sense of momentum. Some reporters will even write stories about the President’s ‘comeback.’ And then, a week or so later, a new poll will not show a dramatic gain in the President’s approval. The same pundits touting the comeback will immediately pivot and declare the speech a failure.”

“Those folks will simply be revealing themselves to be ignorant of how modern politics works.”

“Presidential approval is a lagging indicator. The political goal of the speech is to strengthen a number of attributes and character traits that will serve as the foundation for winning back the voters Biden has lost in the last year. I will be watching to see if the speech improves public perception of Biden as a ‘strong leader’ and someone who ‘fights for people like me.’ Biden won in 2020 because the public overwhelmingly believed he had the experience and strength to handle the crisis Trump fumbled and, as the son of Scranton, would be an advocate for middle and working-class people. Those impressions have eroded amidst the neverending run of crises and the rise in inflation. This speech is an opportunity to begin the path back.”

Americans Dissatisfied with Way Things Are Going

21%

A new Gallup poll finds just 21% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going, and 78% are dissatisfied.
“Underscoring Americans’ recent concern about the economy, the percentage describing national economic conditions as ‘poor’ increased five percentage points to 42% in February, and the percentage saying conditions are getting worse ticked up three points to 70%. Both figures are tied for the highest they have been since the first months of the pandemic.”

Tlaib to Highlight Dem Rift After Biden Speaks

“This only highlights the real tension between the socialist far left and the common-sense moderate wing, which is focused on crime, costs, tax cuts and affordability and turning the page on Covid.”

— Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) compared Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) decision to give a Working Families Party rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight to “keying your own car and slashing your own tires,” The Guardian reports.

Robertson: Putin ‘Compelled by God’ to Invade Ukraine

“People say that Putin’s out of his mind. Yes, maybe so. But at the same time, he’s being compelled by God. He went into the Ukraine but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately.”

— Pat Robertson came out of retirement to declare that Russian President Vladimir Putin is following God’s plan by invading Ukraine, insisting this is part of an “End Times” battle. He elaborated that Ukraine was “a staging area” for a great Biblical army that will gather for Armageddon.