Some interesting things emerged from President Donald Trump's speech to a Joint Session of Congress the other evening. And intentionally or not, most of them slipped through the attention of most media.
Trump has always been a showman. But this time, he looked like he was enjoying leadership, a marked change from his predecessor, who was clearly absent mentally.
Trump sounded and acted more comfortable and confidently in charge in his second term, less edgy and combative, despite Democrat provocations. That gets transmitted to the 37 million watching live, and millions more who see bits later.
These annual addresses are typically pie-in-the-sky to-do lists. Much of the theatrical blabber never actually gets done. It's like a slow PBS presentation with no plot. And the only action is applause. So, appearances tend to play an enhanced role.
This presidential address to a joint session of Congress was drastically different.
Usually, a president lists all the things he hopes to do in the coming year. Instead, most of Trump's speech revolved around the many scores of things the new president has already accomplished. So many things already done in barely six weeks.
Trump listed many of these accomplishments, including about 100 executive orders and scores of other actions, almost all of them emerging from promises and vows made during his two-year-long reelection campaign, the longest in U.S. political history. And only the second time in the nation's history that a commander-in-chief has won two non-consecutive terms.
It was also the longest such presidential address in modern times, just under 10,000 words. He had so many things to describe as being already completed. He was interrupted so many times by applause. And the audience was millions of viewers larger than the one that endured Joe Biden's State of the Union last year.
This was such a refreshing spectacle after four years of witnessing a commander-in-chief grow progressively dimmer, like a dying table candle at a marathon meal.
But there was something else that struck me about this presidential address. It was visible only to those who watched the speech closely and are familiar with Trump's ways. Victims afflicted with TDS should probably grab some Pepcid tablets.
That's the subject of this week's audio commentary.
Speaking of President Trump's mountain of activities completed in his first weeks, they have left Democrats and their enfeebled party at a loss for ideas, energy, and, to be honest, hope for the immediate future.
The volume and speed of presidential actions have overwhelmed his opponents, who spent the last nine years trying to sully, torpedo, and cripple Trump's political career, life, and finances.
Obviously, they were unsuccessful, which appears to have energized Trump and his team of loyalists in the early weeks of his historic second term. And amplify the frustrations and goofy actions of leftists, which can be rather entertaining.
That was the subject of this week's Sunday column, Reeling From Hurricane Trump, Democrats Struggle to Find a Leader, Purpose.
The most recent audio commentary examines a puzzling mystery that emerged from a new report on nationwide school testing.
Probably my favorite post this year (and coincidentally the most-read) so far looked at the fraud that so many of our national holidays have become now that a certain political party has started fiddling with the dates and reasons. I admit, it's a rant.
And some more good news: President Trump is righting one of the most egregious Woke wrongs committed by the administration of Joe Biden, or whomever was really pulling his strings.
Finally, here are some links for you that are cited during this week's audio commentary in case you want to pursue more information:
Complete unfiltered video coverage, unmarred by partisan commentary, of President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress.
Complete transcript of President Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress.
Link to RedState's coverage of the little-noticed 2017 meeting of President Trump with a six-year-old Marine at Arlington National Cemetery.
Link to RedState coverage by my colleague, Jennifer Van Laar, of President Trump's revealing encounter with a courageous future law-enforcement officer.
Link to the first State of the Union Address by President Woodrow Wilson, who in 1913 began the more modern tradition of delivering the annual report to Congress in person instead of by messenger. You'll notice how presidential speaking styles have drastically changed in the ensuing 112 years. (That was also the year Wilson brought back the federal income tax.)
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