Biden State of the Union: A plea for unity in unusual times
The lawmakers were back; the masks were (mostly) gone; and the partisan banter that typically accompanies the president’s annual update on national affairs returned in force to the House chamber. But as President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to the nation Tuesday night, there were signs everywhere that the customary speech had found extraordinary times: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks the first conventional war in Europe since the Second World War, and no one knows how it will end. That somber reality hung over the outer fanfare of the occasion like an anvil dangling over a Macy’s parade. And even Biden’s allies acknowledged that the breach of peace had raised the stakes — and expanded the audience — of Biden’s address. “It’s really a state of the world speech, more than a state of the union speech,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.). A number of lawmakers, to show solidarity with the outgunned Ukrainians, wore the bl...