Charles P. Pierce: "He took on hecklers like a veteran of a Catskills resort."

[kpete]

He smiled, he laughed, he bellowed when it was called for. He had the only microphone in the room, and he used it like a hammer.

Folks, Biden Gave a Hell of a Speech, Walking McCarthy and Crew into a Bind
Republican hecklers underestimated his appetite for bare-knuckle politics.

By Charles P. Pierce PUBLISHED: FEB 8, 2023

............

.....President Joe Biden freight-trained his whackadoo Republican opposition in his State of the Union address. He also flipped the very idea of the State of the Union address on its head by turning it into an American equivalent of the prime minister's Question Time in the British Parliament. He wrapped them in a bear hug so warm that they didn't realize they were being smothered. He took on hecklers like a veteran of a Catskills resort. He smiled, he laughed, he bellowed when it was called for. He had the only microphone in the room, and he used it like a hammer.

Predictably—and laughably—the Republican opposition walked right into every clout. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, dressed (as a friend of mine said) like the White Witch of Narnia, howled from the backbenches. Speaker Kevin McCarthy was on camera as often as the president was, and we could all watch as the vice grips got progressively tighter. As for the rest of the Angry Children's Caucus, they hit all their marks and delivered their lines perfectly as the president led them merrily over the falls.

...............

It was far from a conventional political address. There were very few oratorical bells and whistles. Instead, it was something akin to FDR's fireside chats: colloquial and intimate. So many sentences began with the word "look" and were addressed to "folks." More than anything else, its tone sounded like it had been drawn from a particularly energetic ward committee meeting down at the AOH Hall.

It was the best speech Joe Biden ever has given because it was the most Joe Biden speech anyone ever has given. It was all him, aimed right at all of us, addressed to all of us—you know, the folks.

.........

MORE:
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a42801446/joe-biden-state-of-the-union-hecklers/?src=socialflowTW

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=pkFWcpecDnUXdD2VL0tydA

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Wish it wasn't behind a paywall.

[crickets]

7. Archive link:

https://archive.ph/bJKHl

I've been reading so many reaction pieces since the SOTU. You'd think they'd get old after a while, but nope. It's still wonderful to read about, and Pierce's column is particularly entertaining.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Thanks.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Oh my, I've said it before,

but I think I’m in love!

[Torchlight]

3. A wonderfully descriptive excerpt from the article:

Marjorie Taylor-Greene, dressed (as a friend of mine said) like the White Witch of Narnia, howled from the backbenches. Speaker Kevin McCarthy was on camera as often as the president was, and we could all watch as the vice grips got progressively tighter. As for the rest of the Angry Children's Caucus, they hit all their marks and delivered their lines perfectly as the president led them merrily over the falls.

[PatSeg]

4. Very well said

Pierce certainly has a gift.

"He had the only microphone in the room, and he used it like a hammer."

"...the Angry Children's Caucus, they hit all their marks and delivered their lines perfectly as the president led them merrily over the falls."

"He wrapped them in a bear hug so warm that they didn't realize they were being smothered."

[scarletlib]

5. I thoroughly enjoyed the speech.

I laughed out loud when he corralled them on Social Security.

[Paladin]

6. Charlie Pierce says it all, as usual. (nt)

[Emile]

8. Dark Brandon performed a political rope-a-dope on live TV.

Pretty cool!

[lpbk2713]

10. Float like a butterfly.

Sting like a bee.