I've been watching U.S. Presidents give State of the Union speeches (and reading transcripts, which I generally prefer) for over forty years now. The president is, of course, required by the Constitution to present the state of the union as a report to Congress annually, and for many years, it was just that: a written report, delivered to Congress. 

After last night's dreadful performance by President Biden, I'm thinking it would be best to go back to that practice. This was unlike any State of the Union speech I've seen, and as I said, I've been watching them since they were being presented by President Reagan. This wasn't a proper State of the Union address at all; this was a one-hour campaign speech, delivered in an angry, hectoring tone, with cheap shots at congressional Republicans and even an attack on the Supreme Court. Here, from the transcript, are some highlights.

When talking about the COVID panic, the president said: 

A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care.

That is unforgivable.

Oh, the irony! This is a president who has utterly, intentionally failed one of the most basic duties of the leader of the executive branch — protecting the nation's sovereignty, the primary task being protecting the borders. Our southern border, in particular, is an open, running sore, and the Biden administration, since Day One, has taken steps to make sure that it stays this way — largely by undoing every Trump-era executive action that had this influx slowed to a trickle. President Biden has bemoaned Congress's lack of action, but the president has broad powers where the border is concerned; he has taken no action to address this.

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On the border, the president said this about an act making its way through Congress:

That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers. 

100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases.

4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years.

100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America.

Note that none of these measures he discusses will do anything to slow down the influx over our border. Aside from the drug-detection machines, which, if the border were properly managed, would be mostly unnecessary, all of these measures are intended to manage the people that they are allowing in, unscreened and unverified, before they give them a free plane ticket to a major American city. And — I know I keep saying this, but it bears repetition — we have very little idea who most of these people are, where they intend to go, or what they intend to do when they get there.

Not one word about, you know, closing the border, which the president could do with an EO.

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The worst part was the president talking about the economy. On taxation, specifically for the very wealthy, a common shibboleth of the left:

No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse!

That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%.

That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years.

It's unclear — a lot the president says is unclear — but this looks a lot like a wealth tax, not an income tax. It's important to note, and I'm pretty sure the president isn't aware of this (it's unclear what, in fact, he is aware of these days), but he can't do that without a constitutional amendment. But then, Congress and the executive branch are in the habit of ignoring the Constitution except when it serves their purposes — and have been doing so since about 1860.

Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair.

No. They don't. Social Security withholding has a cap; high-income earners pay a lower percentage of their income into Social Security, but working people do not pay "more into" the program. This is either staggeringly ignorant or an outright falsehood.

Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less.

That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing.

Never mind that the president, or Congress for that matter, has absolutely no authority under the Constitution to do any of this. Whenever a Democrat says "price gouging," you can safely substitute "reacting to market forces." This is Supply and Demand 101, and not only does the president have no authority to do this, but such rules would have a chilling effect on business. Markets, when left to themselves, usually get things right in the end; but when the government interferes in markets, it seldom ends well.

Worst of all was the tone. Joe Biden came to the stage and delivered an angry, squinty, at times incoherent "old man yells at cloud" speech. At no point in this speech would I have been surprised to see spittle flying from his mouth. He deteriorated visibly throughout the presentation, raising the question as to what cocktail of stimulants they pumped into him to make him marginally coherent for the one-hour speech. 

Congressional Democrats and Vice President Harris were no better. The president entered the House chamber, followed by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who was hunched with a weird, Joker-like grin plastered on his mug. Kamala Harris, every time the president delivered a line that was supposed to be a zinger, sprang to her feet clapping in a fashion that had me expecting a girl in a spangly bathing suit to show up and throw her a fish.

But the speaker — oh, dear, the speaker! Mike Johnson's facial expressions made the whole thing worthwhile. He grimaced, he rolled his eyes, and he proved to have some of the most mobile eyebrows in recent history. I don't envy Speaker Johnson's having to sit there and listen to all this without bursting out and shouting at the president, but he did, and he didn't tear up the president's speech afterward — which shows more class than Nancy Pelosi ever dreamed of having.

Now, the bright spot: The GOP's reply was delivered by a young up-and-comer, Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), who was everything President Biden was not: Measured, upbeat, and most of all, young. She delivered her reply from her kitchen, which was appropriate, as she discussed mostly kitchen-table issues. She was also passionate, in talking about American families, the cost of putting food on the table, and the education system that is teaching their kids. 

There is one other bright spot in all this: This will be the last time Joe Biden walks into the House to give a State of the Union address. With any luck, it will be the last time Kamala Harris appears in that chamber as well.

If you missed the president's... speech, you can view it here. I encourage it; the populace should be well-informed. But if you can't take it, I can understand that as well. Here at RedState, we are watching these things so you don't have to. And to see even more, you should consider a VIP membership! VIP status will open a plethora of stories and podcasts here at RedState, as well as all of our sister sites in Townhall Media: PJ Media, Twitchy, Hot Air, Bearing Arms, and Townhall. Use promo code SAVEAMERICA for a 50% discount.