that there's a backlash playing out in school politics. it's going to be shaping the conversations to some extent inside the white house about what to emphasize in this speech. russia, as a new element, into what needs to get tackled in this address. biden's ability to position himself as a world leader, not just a domestic leader. then i think like covid is still the big cloud that's hanging over everything. both on the health front and the economic front. and biden has to find a way to set expectations without repeating all the pitfalls of jimmy carter and malaise and it's going to be a very complicated speech. some of our reporting, my colleagues, hans nichols and jonathan swan over the weekend reporting on the discussions inside both the white house and the outside circle of advisers a about whether he needs a republican foil and who that foil could be. can't be trump. can't only be trump. we know that from the virginia race. can it be ron desantis or would that backfire?