This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

President Joe Biden appeared last night in Congress for his State of the Union speech and it was in a place – the U.S. Capitol – that he had called home for more than 30 years.

How well did Biden do in this important annual ritual?

Well, as you might imagine, opinion is mixed.

As one viewer and hearer, I thought he did a workmanlike job, though also it is true that State of the Union addresses tend to be as memorable for the atmosphere that surrounds them as for what is said.  That was true last night when Ukraine looming in the foreground, inflation in the background, and Covid-19 in retreat at least for the moment.

Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post produced different editorials to rate Biden’s content and delivery.

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST/

“Now, Putin’s effort to redraw Europe’s map by force has exploded not only Biden’s plans for a foreign policy pivot to China but also the entire global balance of power.  Dealing with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequences seems likely to consume a large part of this Administration’s attention for the next three years.

“In short, events have thrust historic challenges upon Biden, but also opportunities.  Tuesday night, Biden rightfully claimed that he had helped maintain, and indeed increase, the unity of Western allies in the face of Russian aggression and that his administration made innovative and subtle public use of its intelligence.

“Strong and swift U.S.-led sanctions, widely supported around the world, have indeed isolated the Putin regime andensured it pays a heavy price. “This has aided unity between the two parties; members of both rose to applaud Ukraine and its ambassador, who was present.  The Republicans among them were differentiating themselves from the shameful praise for the dictator voiced by their party’s presumed 2024 presidential front-runner, Trump.”

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/

Under this headline — Biden Misses the Moment in His State of the Union Address – editorial writers said Biden “had supportive words for Ukraine against Russian, but offered no domestic or defense policy reset.”

They went on:

“President Biden is no Olaf Scholz.  The new Germany Chancellor upended decades of center-left German defense and energy policy this week after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and Biden had a similar opportunity in his State of the Union address Tuesday.  He missed the moment. The President remained on the same policy course of his first year, albeit dressed up in new anti-inflation packaging.

“More defense spending to meet the threats from autocrats?  No.  A new appreciation for the contribution of fossil fuels to American and European security?  Not a word.  A note that government spending contributed to the highest inflation in 40 years?  Nope.  A word of praise for the private Pharma innovation that developed Covid therapies and vaccines?  He proposed government price controls instead.

“Biden did offer stirring support for Ukraine and its fight for freedom, which received bi-partisan applause. His Administration deserves credit for helping to rally Europe and other nations to impose sanctions and provide more military aid.  He was properly condemning of Putin.”

FROM COLUMNIST DANA MILBANK IN THE POST/ 

He wrote under this headline:  “Republicans are so eager to see Biden fail that they’d let Putin succeed.”

More from Milbank: 

“After her fellow Republicans booted her from party leadership last year, Rep. Liz Cheney posed a question:  “Do we hate our political adversaries more than we love our country?”

“Now, with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Republicans are answering that question — in the affirmative.”

For my part, I have heard many “State of the Union” addresses over the years, including when I lived and worked in Washington, D.C. for a couple years. 

I always thought it was tempting to make too much of them.  After all, the speeches are and were only expressions of a point of view at a moment in time.  On occasion, they offered an opportunity for a president to set a new agenda or call for a bi-partisan America, both good goals.

But, they often degenerated, as last night’s example did, into a round of partisan bickering.

For one thing, President Biden, for all his good, honest traits as a public figure, does not have the wherewithal to deliver soaring rhetoric in the manner of, say, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama or John F. Kennedy.  No memorable lines such as, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” or “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Nor, does Biden lower himself into the depths as Donald Trump was prone to do. 

If you listened closely to his speech, Biden managed to condemn Putin and Russia while, at the same time, outlining an agenda to combat inflation, thus, in a way, setting a new course for his Administration.  Not the huge “Build Back Better” agenda, but bits and pieces of that aspiration.

Apart from the list of policy proposals, Washington Post, columnist Max Boot captured what, for me, was the best assessment of yesterday evening’s speech:

“It is a great comfort in this dangerous time to know that, while Russia might be led by an unhinged egomaniac, the United States no longer is.”

The egomaniac in the U.S.?  Of course, it’s Trump.

Just imagine what Trump might have said if he was at the lecturn in the Senate.  He would have cozied up to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, whom he admires.

So, I, for one, am thankful this morning that Joe Biden is in the Oval Office and I wish him only the best as his Administration moves into near wartime footing.