According to the folks at Nielsen, Joe Bidenâs big speech last Wednesday night â his first, if unofficial, State of the Union â was a ratings flop.
But if those who skipped the speech had known what theyâd be missing, it might have been a different story. This was the night in which Biden would declare an end to Reaganism â trickle down economics, Biden advised, never works â and a proposed return to New Deal/Great-Society-style politics.
It was a strange night, as the commentators kept reminding us, with COVID regulations leaving the House chambers more than three-fourths empty. But the setting â even with the promise of two powerful women, a vice president and a speaker of the House, sitting behind Biden â was the least of it.