President Biden speaks at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Sept. 1.
Photo:
Hannah Beier/Bloomberg News
President Biden’s address Thursday night reminds us that there is nothing in Washington more overrated than a presidential speech.
We recovering White House speechwriters know that presidential speeches are mostly forgotten by the weekend after they’re delivered—if they’re even noticed in the first place. Of the thousands of speeches delivered by presidents since 1789, only a few are still remembered: Washington’s Farewell, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, FDR and JFK’s Inaugurals, Reagan’s Berlin Wall address, etc. That’s because the ultimate significance of a president’s speech is determined more by the moment and whether what was said rose to meet it.
To say this is to see immediately why
bombed in Philadelphia. FDR rallied the nation against Hitler and Mussolini, and Reagan did the same against the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union. Mr. Biden sounded like an overwrought sophomore by pretending that MAGA Republicanism presents a similar existential threat to democracy, and the next day he showed that even he didn’t believe his own claim that all Trump supporters were threats to the country.
Yes, it was full of nasty stuff. But in the end it was more Beltway bathos than menace. Surely it’s damning that what so many people seem to remember isn’t Mr. Biden’s message but the nakedly political use of the uniformed Marines behind him (calling Gen. Mark Milley)—and the neon illumination that made the stately face of Independence Hall look like the entrance to a bordello in some red-light district.
Even more striking was the tone. Gone was genial Joe from Scranton, the man who persuaded Americans that he would give them a calm and drama-free presidency. In its place was
Dark Brandon,
a superhero saving America from imaginary armies of…
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