Thursday on MSNBC, propagandist host Rachel Maddow (yes, she still has a show; who knew?) praised President Joe Biden’s address on the coronavirus pandemic as “very moving” and being “very good at articulating empathy.”
Maddow said, “We didn’t see the speech in advance, but it was clear that he was ad-libbing and emoting and speaking a little bit off the cuff in addition to what he had planned. At least that was my impression. I think it was very moving. The president is very good at articulating empathy, which has been said a million times, but these are the kinds of times when that becomes something that is incredibly utile for us as a country. ”
Frankly, grownups (i.e., conservatives) don’t need a president who is great at articulating empathy. We prefer a president who supports our rights and freedoms and inspires us to Make America Great Again. Democrats prefer a president, or at least a figurehead, who kisses their booboo and snuggles them while they have a good cry (behind the scenes, though, they like to have a ruthless ideologue like, oh, I don’t know, maybe Susan Rice fundamentally transforming the country).
Maddow added, “What we got from President Biden tonight was, ‘I need your help. I need your help. I need your help. I need you to get vaccinated when it is your turn, and you have the opportunity to do it. I need you to help others, your family members, and friends get vaccinated too… I need you to listen to Dr. Fauci. I need you to get vaccinated. I need you to know how this is going to work and if things go badly, we are going to reinstate restrictions. He’s asking for a whole of government and a whole of country response rather than talking about what he’s done.”
That’s because Biden hasn’t done anything about the coronavirus except take credit for what former President Trump had already done. For most Americans, threatening to shut our lives down again and condescendingly throwing us a bone like “if you’re good little boys and girls, I’ll let you have up to 3 people over to celebrate the 4th of July” isn’t exactly the comforting, inspiring message Maddow seems to have been moved by.