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I don’t mean to be a downer, but as I record this commentary (on Tuesday afternoon), Joe Biden is set to give his second State of the Union address this evening. While there’s no way to predict the specifics of the speech, one thing I’m fairly comfortable predicting is that it will contain a few flubs, several lies, and tons of spin. To be completely fair, one might contend that’s true of most presidential addresses – at least as to the spin part. Flubs may vary depending on the speaker’s eloquence and lies seem to rest in the eyes (or ears) of the beholder.

Either way, I suspect few people look to a State of the Union address for education or enlightenment. Mostly, it’s a chance to either cheer your champion or jeer your opposition – perhaps an excuse to pop some popcorn and come up with a drinking game of some sort.

I would submit that far more important than the state of the union is the fate of the union because, these days, it doesn’t seem nearly so secure as we once took for granted it was.

Some of that I attribute simply to getting older and becoming more jaded. But it’s hard to take a clear-eyed look at present circumstances and not feel concerned about what the future holds, particularly with leadership that instills little confidence or cause for optimism. We could really use a dose of both right about now.

This “Moore to the Point” commentary aired on NewsTalkSTL on Wednesday, February 8th. Audio included below.