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It was clear from President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address that his staff was aiming for an upset victory in the style of President Harry Truman.
This was the message of the left-wing media after last night’s speech.
Unfortunately, neither Biden’s staff nor the elite media seem to be studying Truman. They have no idea what he did in 1948 to win re-election against all odds.
Biden attacks ‘predecessor’ Trump, Republican in partisan speech
The Biden team knows what was brutally reinforced in the recent New York Times poll. Their candidates are late. His policies are not working and his cognitive impairment is worsening.
At the very least, this State of the Union unified professional Democrats and made starting a Dump Biden movement virtually impossible. But this comes at a cost for Biden.
In 1948, the country voted to put a Democrat in the White House for the fourth time in a row (all four times against Franklin Delano Roosevelt). The transition from a wartime boom to a peacetime economy was extremely difficult. Truman’s civil rights efforts alienated much of the South. His commitment to halting the expansion of the Soviet Union also alienated the most liberal wing of his party.
Governor Strom Thurmond was running an independent racist campaign. Former Vice President Henry Wallace was running as a progressive dedicated to creating a more socialist America and placating Russian dictator Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. President Truman seemed destined for defeat.
In fact, by September, Truman had a comfortable lead over the Republican candidate, Tom Dewey of New York. Gallup has announced that he will no longer conduct polls since the presidential election is over.
Biden’s State of the Union address answered one big question.
But Truman had been ruled out before. During his reelection campaign as Missouri’s representative in the U.S. Senate in 1940, Democratic forces in Kansas City and St. Louis decided to defeat him. He was a reformer they could not control. Although Truman had virtually no money, he traveled across Missouri with a chauffeur. He beat the machine and made the election a choice between a brave independent senator and party officials from Missouri’s two largest cities. Against all odds and expectations, Truman won.
In short, Truman knew how to run an intense, aggressive underdog campaign, and he did.
Biden imitated this aspect of Truman’s mystique in his 2024 State of the Union address, and it helped him accomplish two goals.
First, it demonstrated that Biden is still capable of delivering a large, energetic, hour-long speech. (This was further emphasized by the way he gradually left the House chamber, speaking energetically with his supporters).
Second, the constant chants of “four more years” and standing ovations likely neutralized the emotions of Democrats who had been considering whether they could persuade Biden to retire or be replaced at the convention. At the very least, this State of the Union unified professional Democrats and made starting a Dump Biden movement virtually impossible.
But this comes at a cost for Biden.
Biden’s State of the Union address reinforced concerns about mental acuity and age, Republicans say.
The speech’s hard-hitting partisan nature also strengthened support among Republicans and independents for President Donald Trump and enthusiasm for defeating Biden.
There are four major differences between 1948 and 2024.
First, Truman simply had the task of rallying enough of the Roosevelt coalition to win by a narrow margin. There is no comparable trove of votes that Mr. Biden can draw from.
Second, President Trump is no Dewey. Mr. Trump will run an aggressive, passionate and hard-fought campaign aimed at reinforcing Americans’ disillusionment with Mr. Biden and putting us back on track for a better future.
Third, the country’s problems are far more divisive and hostile than they were in 1948. Just look at the left’s reaction to Biden’s use of the word “illegal” to describe the man accused of killing Laken Riley to see how difficult that is. For Biden, it will be dealing with his own political ecosystem.
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Finally, the State of the Union was the wrong venue for this scathing partisan speech. This should be the time for the president of the United States to address all Americans, not for Democratic candidates to address partisan supporters. After hearing the elite media tout Truman’s analogy, I reread Truman’s 1948 State of the Union.
Biden began his speech with his third consecutive attack on President Trump and the Republican Party on January 6, Ukraine, and abortion.
Compare Truman’s opening with the intense partisanship that turned off every Republican.
“We are here today to consider the State of the Union.
“On this occasion, above all, Congress and the President should focus their attention on the country, not the party, and not on what divides us, but on what unites us: the enduring principles of the American system. A shared desire for the future well-being and security of the American people.
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“America is great because we were able to work together as a people for a greater purpose, even though we differed on details.”
No matter what the elite media says, Joe Biden is no Harry Truman.
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