Late Tuesday afternoon I got the word that Major League Baseball had cancelled the first two weeks of the regular season. That sort of set the tone for this political article with a bit of a philosophy of a famous novelist thrown in at the end. (He is my closer today.)

For political junkies like me Tuesday night was a huge deal. President Biden delivered the State of the Union address. He reminded me of a baseball star in his last season. He started out strong for the first ten minutes. It was Union Joe who showed up complete with fire. His opening topic was Ukraine and it got unity on display in the chamber which I’m certain was the intention. After ten minutes he shifted to outlining his accomplishments and proved he is not a salesman. The swagger diminished and he didn’t have the same zip on his fastball.

From there he quickly shifted to a progressive wish list (I’m sure that’s what the opposition will label it). While I support all of it, I don’t see much if any of it passing this Congress. That is where he really lost his stride. He reminded me of a great hitter in his last season who is no longer capable of catching up with a top quality fastball from a closer.

The difference between Democrats and Republicans was on full display. Actually, it seemed like the difference between Americans and non-patriots. The show of standing ovations gets old but it is part of the game on SOU night. Republicans didn’t stand for several lines including, “Make it in America” and “Cut the cost of prescription drugs.” What American is against either of those?

Any speech of slightly over an hour is bounds to have several good lines. My two favorites were: “Infrastructure decade” and “Lower your costs, not your wages”. The first delivered as part of a swipe at the former guy and his repeated but unsuccessful infrastructure weeks.

John Grisham is one of America’s most successful novelists. I think he was half joking, but I’ve heard him express a theory about writing a novel. In it you have to hook your reader in the opening chapter and you need a good ending. He claims you can put almost anything else in between. Biden (Union Joe) had a great start and his wrap up was equally exciting. In between it was a very ordinary State of the Union.

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