The Recurring Truths

Did Joe Biden Just Give a George W. Bush Speech?

President Biden and his new speechwriter.

In the past week, there have been two important statements on which I want to comment. One is Marc Andreessen’s “Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” which I will get around to in a few days.

Today, I want to say a few words about Joe Biden’s recent speech on Israel and Ukraine—which was good, but in a surprising way.

But first, a request to you: I am trying to grow the mailing list for The Tracinski Letter, so please recommend it to your friends. The recent reactions on the left to the attacks in Israel, combined with the disaster of House Republicans’ struggle to find a leader (see more on that below) remind us that reason and freedom are causes that could really use a boost right now, so help me reach more people.

There are certain basic truths that can’t be avoided. They can become unpopular for a while because they become associated with an unpopular person, policy, or outcome. But precisely because they are true, people will keep returning to them. They will find, particularly in a crisis, that they have to return to them.

Hence a few key excerpts from Biden’s speech.

[H]istory has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going. And the cost and the threats to America and the world keep rising.

And:

American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with.

And:

What would happen if we walked away? We are the essential nation.

Is…is this a George W. Bush speech?