Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
After listening to the State of the Union address, Americans know why the latest Reuters poll has Joe Biden at 41 percent approval.
Vice President Kamala Harris polls even lower—despite the obsequious efforts of the most biased media in history that has, in effect, merged with the Democratic Party.
The nation was reminded again why only 37 percent of Biden’s own party want him to run again.
Only a quarter of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction under his leadership.
Given all that, what could a president possibly tell a nation when he entered office inheriting a 1.4 percent inflation rate only to spike it to 7 percent? How did Americans’ 30-year mortgages of 2.7 percent soar to 6.5 percent in less than two years?
How does a president explain that eggs climbed to $7 a dozen, or a thin steak hit $15 a pound, or a sheet of plywood reached $95?
How does a president explain to Americans that gas averaged $2.39 a gallon when he took office and, even after draining the strategic petroleum reserve, it is still $3.50 a gallon—and recently spiked at $5 a gallon in many states.
Can Joe Biden explain why once affordable, or even cheap natural gas more than tripled in price in less than a year?
What can a president say when in his first two years, over 5 million foreign nationals poured into the United States—all illegally across a nonexistent border?
How could Biden explain the humiliation in Afghanistan? The draining of our arsenal of key weaponry? Or the inability to take down a communist Chinese spy balloon when it first brazenly floated above America—photographing military bases and missile sites as it crossed the entire United States with impunity?
We know the answers to all these questions.
Joe Biden simply did on Tuesday in his state of the union address what he always does: misinform, ignore, and attack!
Misinform. After sending inflation, energy, and interest rates to astronomical rates, and then seeing them momentarily taper off a bit, Biden declares that he “lowered” these indices that remain far higher than they were when he entered office.
He brags about a low unemployment rate. But Biden never discloses the better indicator of the labor participation rate that has declined under his tenure—or the fact he inherited a growing economy naturally rebounding on autopilot from a disastrous two-year COVID lockdown.
Ignore. Consider what he will never mention. China just violated international law and U.S. airspace. How did Beijing assume rightly that they so easily could get away with it?
There is no southern border. Joe Biden destroyed it.
He greenlighted over 5 million illegal aliens to enter the United States without audit or legality—even as smuggled Mexican drugs kill 100,000 Americans each year.
He never will concede he stopped the building of the wall. He omits that he demonized innocent border patrol officers. He nullified the immigration laws he swore to uphold.
Biden ignores the $4 trillion he has borrowed in just two years to inflate the national debt, now on its way to over $32 trillion this year. The middle class has bled 20-30 percent of their 401k retirement plans representing years’ worth of lost hard-earned savings.
Yet Biden promised hundreds of billions of dollars more in borrowing with no idea of how to pay back the already crushing national debt that will incur $450 billion just to service this year alone.
He skipped over how he demolished U.S. deterrence abroad after the greatest humiliation in modern military history, with the flight from Kabul and the abandonment of billions of dollars in military equipment.
He never mentions that Russia went into Ukraine because Vladimir Putin saw no downside after this debacle in Afghanistan, or that Biden’s own inept remarks about not worrying over a Russian invasion of Ukraine if it just proved to be “minor” probably played some role.
Attack! Remember, Biden comes to life only when he smears his enemies while calling for “unity” and “bipartisanship.”
Only then his voice rises, his brow furrows, and his face reddens. He claims that “the rich” avoid “paying their fair share,” even as he knows that just one percent of the country pays over 40 percent of all income taxes.
Biden somehow demagogued the lethal violence of black police officers against a black victim in Memphis into evidence of America’s supposed racism. He smeared all law enforcement—even as inner-city violent and hate crimes soared as never before.
He utterly lied about Republicans demanding a sunsetting of Social Security and Medicare.
He beat the dead horse of January 6 (while insanely connecting it to the attack on Paul Pelosi!), despite the stacked congressional investigative committee and the suppression of critical video evidence and email communications involving security lapses.
In sum, it was the same old, same old dishonest Joe Biden: misinform, ignore, and attack—and then call for “unity” as the country collectively slides into ruin.
Thank you for the summary , I could not stomach it to watch !
Thanks Victor for the clarity you use when assessing the biden disaster. I’m with you Wanda! I spent the evening cleaning up the yard after my Newfoundland dog. We had a brief thaw which exposed his winter “business”. Figured I’d shovel the same stuff biden was shoveling!
Next time, if you’re feeling puckish, you could group your essay around the stages of a narcissist’s response to criticism: Deny, Attack, Minimize, Move On.
God help us all.
Well summarized sir. The Dem party foisted a careerist upon us who just wanted “President Biden” to be in the history books. He’s that transparent. All of this is gravy to him and he smiles as he bludgeons the American Will. He’ll always be an American President.
From “Groundhog Day” :
Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?
Ralph: That about sums it up for me
This should be published loud and clear in every news and social network. Of course, only some conservative outlets will bother. Every conservative podcast should feature this perfect summary of the real State of our Union. Please Sir, keep it in circulation, and maybe, just maybe, some of our “Useful Idiot” friends and relatives will finally understand how close we are to losing our Great Republic. Thank you.
Pretty much sums it up…except for maybe the related topic of Republican “political malpractice” which somehow results in Biden and the like continuing in office.
The most spot on analysis of the mumbling bumbling disaster from the mouth of our national disgrace. This resulted from a few elites paying thugs to stuff ballot boxes in the middle of the night. The boxes supplied by a wealthy cynic who knew he could cheat and get away with it.
I have come to detest Biden more than I can say in proper Kings english.He and Garland and Myorkas should all be impeached.I don’t care if the cackler is in line.They resonate evil.
What is even sadder is that the Democrat party, along with the mainstream media supports and cheers this madness on with a straight face. This insanity will reach “critical mass” in the very near future and us peasants in the hinterlands have no recourse but to sit and watch the destruction of a once great nation. The citizens of this country showed the Patriots of this country how much support they would receive when the Jan 6 debacle occurred. I agree it was a sham of an attempt to get the ball rolling on changing course for this country but hardly anyone recognized their efforts. Now the DOJ is crucifying all of those even remotely involved. I’m beginning to wonder if we even deserve freedom anymore. We will tolerate the Devil and all his demons into our homes and businesses. My faith keeps me strong but my gut tells me that the solution is not going to be pretty.. Maybe more people should have paid attention to the so called “conspiracy theory” folks. They used to call them prophets in the old days.
Sam, I agree wholeheartedly with your reply.
I’m more concerned about a nation with 41% of its population thinking this incompetent grifter is doing a good job. Who are these misinformed members of our nation?
nice
He failed to tell us about the 40 million Afghan women he forced into servitude/slavery.
A real ladies man.
The real danger to the American people was letting that ballon fly over us. Could have been a biological, electronic weapon. Could have put something on our crops and caused mass crop failure.
You forgot Biden’s continued sanctification of of the woke folk’s sacrament of abortion.
Won’t waste my time and emotional energy even listening to his GARBAGE. It’s like watching a performance of The Wizard of Oz . . you don’t know who is actually speaking, but the outcome is totally predictable, same old BS!
I do not understand why anyone would want to listen to this so-called president. For decades, he has been a liar, a plagiarist, a braggart, a pedophile and probably the most corrupt politician we have ever had, who has used his position of power to enrich himself and his family. He is an arrogant jerk.
Even your common variety wackadoodle could see that Joe is a big fat liar.
Yet he got 80,000,000 votes in 2020. How did that happen?
The same way it was done then, will be implemented again in 2024.
Get ready for an 86 year-old President. They will wheel him out every 3-4 months to mumble a few confusing and indecipherable words pertaining to nothing in particular, possibly delivered in a red-faced, ranting style. All signifying nothing.
At least Jill appears to be enjoying herself, despite the fact that she is a full-time teacher.
Looking at your second to last paragraph, maybe we should start comparing Biden to Brezhnev as well as to Wilson. You know a party has reached political exhaustion when all they can do is wheel Brezhnev out for a hand wave. After that, it’s Andropov and bringing the “mafia” in to help prop up the state.
I can agree with that.
Cool! I’m gonna start using that in conversation then. Thanks for the feedback on my, uh, “test balloon”. 😉
We have long observed the general deterioration of civil society associated with relentless efforts to make all things proportional.. In doing so, merit was necessarily jettisoned lest progress be unacceptably slow. American cities were the vanguard of this ideology where resulting deterioration of governance is evidenced by
the recent killing of an unarmed black motorist by a squad of black police officers. One can only assume that this outrage is but another result of racism wearing lipstick delivering an an inevitable and proportional result.
He also lied about the numbers/rate of veteran’s suicide. He said the rate in 2020 was at 25/day. But no it was around 17.
I am baffled as to how Biden still has a 41% approval rating.
Richard, according to at least one pundit, 25% will always vote the stupid, crazy option. Over time, this seems to hold up pretty well. Do you think the ocean is blue? 25% would vote “no”. Is an informed public a good thing? 25% would vote “no”. Is the MSM biased in their reporting? 25% would vote “no”.
Therefore, of the 41% who approve of Biden, 25% are simply wrong, misinformed and dumb, as they always are.
That means the other 16% (41 – 25 = 16) are dangerous, true-believing lefty zealots. Possibly with green hair and some kind of bone through their nose, lip or both. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
Ok, I’ll say it. I’ve never seen an attractive, confident female with green, purple, or clown-like red hair. Nor have I seen facial piercings or facial/neck tattoos on otherwise good-looking women. Same goes for ear lobe stretching. That ear lobe thing, by the way, was once alarming and exotic.
Why do only ugly people disfigure themselves? Nothing wrong with ugly, either. It is a trait (for the most part) as immutable as race or gender.
I simply don’t know. Maybe if you hate yourself, you hate the world, also.
Again, spot on. No one bring focus and perspective like you do. Thanks VDH.
Accurate analysis, with perfect pitch.
I’ll be posing and endorsing “The Mess of An Address” Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on the “Mike Mulligan Show”, WVLT Vineland, 92.1, Vineland, N.J. which covers all of S. Jersey, Northern Delaware and SE Pennsylvania.
VLD don’t hesitate to call in (856) 696-0092. mike mulligan
Here’s a link to the video on my last show, for your vetting. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=2438271819664904
mike
I’m not sure Biden is, strictly speaking, dishonest. His performance has indeed been disastrous, but doesn’t dishonesty presuppose some awareness?
That’s a good one.
How does it work? Does Biden wield any authority over his staff? He has never fired anyone. Who charts the course? How is he briefed? Does Joe have any input, whatsoever?
Does Joe have any idea that millions of people have an intense dislike for him because of his policies? They hate Joe, despite the pravda press hiding his failures and promoting 100% “favorable” stories about him.
In contrast, The 45th president faced a steady stream of hate and lies from the MSM. Yet he still likely won the 2020 election.
Mr. Victor Davis Hanson,
I have friends telling me that the United States has participated in 90 of the wars since 1945 and is responsible for starting 81% of the wars since then. A quick search reveals all kinds of articles that seem to corroborate this statistic. I find these sources suspect as left-leaning sites that use lying statistics to prove the point. Can you address this in one of the podcasts or articles you write? I am suspicious of these claims, to say the least, and think they are the result of statistical manipulation and lying. This may be a true fact but I suspect that we are not responsible for 90% or 81% of all the casualties from wars since 1945. If anything, I think the USA has done more than any other country to reduce the number of deaths from wars. Am I wrong?
It depends on what you call a war and how you define “starting a war”. Also, it’s convenient to start with the date of 1945 since the United States was a middle-weight player on the world stage before then. They also seem to be ignoring the question of how many wars the U.S. ended or how many it helped negotiate an end to. Then there’s the harder to prove question of how many wars it prevented. So let’s start a list:
Chinese Civil War- Started by ???, U.S. aided the Kuomintang
Israeli Independence- Started by Jewish refugees, U.S. recognized Israel as a state
Korean Conflict- Started by North Korea, U.S. participated
Hungarian Revolt- Started by Hungary, U.S. sat on its butt
Six Day War- Started by Arab Coalition
Yom Kipur War- Started by Arab Coalition
Vietnam- Started by the French, U.S. became the next major player
Afghan War- Started by Russia, we aided the Afghan resistance
Irish Troubles- ???, lots of U.S. citizens sent gun money on their own initiative
Iran-Iraq War- Started by Iraq, we aided Iraq
Grenada- Whoever started it, we finished it
Argentine War- Started by Argentina
Gulf War- Started by Iraq, U.S. participated as Coalition Leader
Somalia- U.S. intervention
Rwandan Genocide- ???, U.S. talked words
Bosnian War- ???, U.S. troops sent as peacekeepers
Kosovo- Started by Serbia, U.S. bombed Serbia
U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan- Um, They started it…, U.S. led Coalition
Iraq War- U.S. ultimatum that Saddam obey treaty…, U.S. led Coalition
Out of Space…!
He isn’t very bright and shouldn’t be held to the same standards as competent citizens.
It’s so great that I can read your article’s and do it while using your voice and cadence in my mind. Thanks for all you do VDH and keep on with the good fight.
From ‘Day One,’ as Biden liked to brag from his basement on the campaign trail, feeble Joe cancelled the Canadian oil pipeline and thus signaled to all U.S. oil companies to cut back production. This single act, combined with additional regulatory restrictions on and gas drilling, instantly spiked the price of energy, causing worldwide inflation and disrupting the global economy. The entire world is still reeling from the hyperinflation and economic destruction that this babbling fool released on the world like a plague. Davos’ meat puppet then followed up by provoking Russia just enough to invade Ukraine. Further driving global oil prices and inflation higher. This led to economic sanctions on Russia that did little to harm Russia but crushed the economies of Germany and most other European nations. Anyone with common sense would have predicted that Biden would be a terrible President. But no one could have predicted the catastrophe that this ancient, irredeemably corrupt Washington lifer has unleashed on the world, let alone the U.S. It took a special kind of imbecile to destroy so much in so little time. It will take the better part of a decade to recover from the excesses of a purely evil cabal of deep-state/media/DNC power mad conspirators who installed this drooling fraud and his endless ruin on the world.
You just have to stick the whole “poking the Bear” myth in there! Ease up on the Strategic Narcissism and you’ve got a solid post here.
Mr White,
Solid post! Stay with it!
However, my journalism teacher would have flagged the following as biased:
Brag
Feeble
Babbling fool
Plague
Meat puppet
Irredeemably corrupt Washington lifer
Special kind of imbecile. (Good phrase, actually)
Drooling fraud
However, this is an opinion piece, so be as colorful as you please!
I enjoyed your writing and your thoughts.
My desire, as I believe most all the citizens of this country also desire, is that we may live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
(I have been reminded to take to heart the wisdom and admonition found below in the attached link.)
1 Timothy 2:1-8
English Standard Version
Pray for All People
2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
If you’re Anglican (I’m not), then this text is right in the prayers of the people every Sunday. It’s good advice. Can you tell us what prompted you to post it? How do you see it specifically applying to this conversation?
Americans are too good for their own good ……. except the serious liars amongst them.
For future reference, all leaders at any level, should be probed for their truthfulness
before being accepted in serious positions. That and the losing proposition of
living a serious social lie(such as wearing the wrong ‘bloodline’ name – stuff to be
blackmailed for – family history)
Has anybody checked GN’s head shape? His ‘namesake’ father’s? JPG’s?
The pelosi has quit the big job to place all her energy to get her nephew elected
and place her family on the power pedestal again before she goes to lalaland.
Citizens beware!