Biden Aims to Deliver Reassurance in State of the Union

“President Joe Biden is ready to offer a reassuring assessment of the nation’s condition rather than roll out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address seeking to overcome pessimism in the country and concerns about his own leadership,” the AP reports.

“His speech before a politically divided Congress comes Tuesday night as the nation struggles to make sense of confounding cross-currents at home and abroad — economic uncertainty, a wearying war in Ukraine, growing tensions with China among them — and warily sizes up Biden’s fitness for a likely reelection bid.”

New York Times: “Aides describe a process in which the president spends weeks reading drafts aloud, rejecting anything that smacks of Washington-speak.”