My mind was made up long before the State of the Union

Get the Point!

I was honored to arise this morning to see that I was tagged into several Facebook posts from real life friends, like Attorney Brandi Thomas, saying that they couldn’t wait to hear my interpretation of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

The POTUS greeting Members of Congress

Well, I failed!

I failed because the annual North Florida pollen dump has had my allergies going haywire over the last two weeks, so after dinner I popped a Zyrtec and was soon in a deep, coma-like sleep until my alarm rang at 5:00 a.m.

While I truly wanted to watch the rewind via YouTube earlier today, I didn’t—and still haven’t—and probably won’t now that I’ve had a chance to read through a transcript!

And I did get a chance to see a few excerpts online, enough to understand why journalists from my two favorite major media outlets, the NY Times and the Washington Post, lauded Biden for having the fire and presence of his much younger self.

Biden at the lectern

Fire and presence are important, particularly to combat the idea that Biden is senile—a smear that I’ve never believed. But elocutionary fire is easy to stoke for any experienced orator, and presence is easy to fake for actors, but when I measure the political man or woman, I do so by their policy positions and accomplishments—not pomp or circumstance!

Overall, in my opinion, Biden has delivered in those respects more than he has not over the past four years.

Now, there have been many times when I have watched every minute of a presidential address or debate through the years, even when sick or exhausted from the work grind. But perhaps I slept early and well last night because my mind has been made up for a VERY long time—and my vote will be cast for Joe Biden this coming November.

Ultimately, I will vote for Biden because overall, we align on issues that are important to ME!

As a middle class man, I worry about being overtaxed; as a proud Black man, I worry about the white-washing of Black History and the lingering presence of systemic racism across America—and I’m always fretful about some angry or reckless police officer ending my life due to some minor infraction like speeding; as a man with hypertension and diabetes, I worry about the costs of health care and prescription drugs—costs that run high because the Republican Party stays in league with the major pharmaceutical corporations worldwide; as a supporter of women’s rights, I fully support a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion—and a couple's right to in vitro fertilization.

I will vote for Joe Biden because I have no desire to go back to the daily NASTY social media messages from Donald Trump; as a middle class man, I worry about inflation that rose on Trump’s last watch, so much so that a 3 piece with red beans and rice costs $13 dollars at Popeyes; as a Black man, I will never forgive his calling KKK members “good people” or his hateful diatribes about “shit-hole” African nations; as a man with health issues, I could never support a Republican hierarchy that’s increasingly anti-science; as an advocate for women, I detest the way that Trump has treated and condescended toward women throughout his 77 years on Earth.

Then President Trump circa 2018

I will vote for Joe Biden because I trust his 50 years of experience with regards to foreign affairs far more than I do Donald Trump, a man who has a clear affinity for Vladimir Putin, King Jong Un, and other tyrants that he considers “strong” across the globe.

Putin and Trump—Best of Buddies

As I occasionally warn, and the President did to an extent last night, the Russia-Ukraine War still has the potential to turn into a global nuclear war, as does the lingering Israel-Hamas War that has the potential to escalate should Israel and/or the United States get into a protracted fight with Iran.

On that last point, I have been VERY critical of Joe Biden’s tone deafness about the plight of Palestinian civilians since the war began last October. But I am still willing to wager that Palestinians in Gaza have a far better chance at obtaining peace, reparations, and the long elusive goal of an independent New Palestine under a Democratic administration than they do under Donald Trump—the same man who agitated Muslims worldwide during his term in office with his unconstitutional “Muslim Ban” AND his encouraging Israel to move its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—a city extremely holy to Jews, Christians and yes, Muslims!

Last, Joe Biden may not move or think as fast as he once did, but he did an excellent job laying out not only his accomplishments and future goals last night, while distinguishing himself from his “predecessor.”

Not to mention for the umpteenth time that Biden hasn’t been indicted in four separate jurisdictions and is facing scores of years in prison. And of all the charges Mr. Trump is facing, the worst to me are those stemming from the January 6^th MAGA riots, a disgusting, morally repugnant, and utterly inexcusable moment in American history that threatened to end the Republic. Trump’s actions in stoking that rebellion made the Watergate Scandal from 1972 look like child’s play—but at least Richard Nixon had the common sense to exit the main stage after the truth of his bad acts came to light.

January 6th…

Donald Trump has no such common sense and because of that—and all of the issues raised herein—I will vote for Joe Biden without hesitation this November. Thus, as the President noted last night, the State of the Union is strong—as is the Biden ‘24 campaign!!!