A tale of two Biden speeches

By Ryan Lizza

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

President Joe Biden's speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church was not devoid of political content. But it was fuzzier, more spiritual, more unifying, the kind of address that tries not to offend. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

In recent years, the legacy of Rev. Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. has become contested.

Conservatives celebrate King as a proponent of colorblindness. Their favorite King quote is from his 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The line is prominently leveraged in the case against race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that the Supreme Court will soon decide.

On the left, Martin Luther King Jr. Day has increasingly become an occasion to remind Americans of King’s more radical legacy. As Georgetown’s Sheryll Cashin writes in POLITICO Magazine today:

“On MLK Day, I suspect it is easier for many Americans to reflect on King’s words of love and harmony than on his radical agenda for American transformation. Associating him and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference he led with ending the old Jim Crow of the South is a comforting vindication of American progress.

“But a close look at King’s words and deeds in pressing his vision in the North and on the entire nation might render him a more dangerous or uncomfortable figure. And yet his ideas for radical transformation and reconciliation are more relevant than ever in our current moment of toxic division.”

With this in mind, we read President JOE BIDEN’s speech yesterday at the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta with interest. One of the hallmarks of Bidenism since his presidential primary campaign, when he ran and won as a centrist, is that he has integrated much of the modern progressive movement’s thinking into his policies — and that’s especially true on issues of race and social justice.

Last year, Biden used the occasion of the King holiday to make a fiery case for Democrats’ voting rights legislation and, if necessary to pass it, the abolition of the filibuster. (This was after a long campaign by activists who initially faced deep skepticism from some senior Biden aides.) Last year in Atlanta, Biden attacked opponents of the legislation as akin to segregationists and compared Georgia’s newly enacted election laws to Jim Crow.

This year — with the House in Republican hands and the prospect for passage of that legislation now dead — Biden had little to say about the legislation, and made no attempt to excoriate Republicans or compare those who vote against it to GEORGE WALLACE, BULL CONNOR and JEFFERSON DAVIS, as he did last year.

Coverage of Biden’s speech emphasized this shift. “A Year After a Fiery Voting Rights Speech, Biden Delivers a More Muted Address,” said the NYT’s headline. WaPo reminded readers that last year’s address, “in which Biden linked congressional Republicans with Jim Crow-era laws limiting the right to vote — invited ire from Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL, who called the president’s address a ‘rant’ that ‘was incoherent, incorrect and beneath his office.’”

Biden’s 2023 address was the first time a sitting president delivered a Sunday sermon at King’s former church. The speech was not devoid of political content. But it was fuzzier, more spiritual, more unifying, the kind of address that tries not to offend.

He dwelled on King’s legacy to him personally — “one of my only political heroes” — and to the country, but he did not help the left’s project of resurrecting King’s more radical strain of activism. Biden instead emphasized King’s religiosity and tied it to his own familiar campaign slogan.

“His mission was … spiritual. It was moral,” Biden said. “The goal of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which Dr. King led, stated it clearly and boldly, and it must be repeated again, now: to redeem the soul of America. I’m not joking: To redeem the soul of America.”

Biden is in a different place than he was a year ago. He had the best midterm for a sitting president since 2002. His popularity is on the rise, even as he faces the first taste of scandals — some more serious than others — that often start to bog down presidents after they lose power in Congress. And he’s nearing a final decision on whether to run for reelection.

Every Biden move in the coming days will be scrutinized for what it tells us about his decision on whether he’s running. The Atlanta speech didn’t sound much like a campaign kickoff.

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The Solution is Here. America has the energy resources, innovation, and skilled workforce to meet energy needs while continuing to reduce emissions. But we need the policies to make it happen. API has a plan to protect America from energy challenges together. It’s a plan in three parts – to Make, Move, and Improve American energy.

BUT, this afternoon, in a speech at the National Action Network’s annual MLK Day event in Washington, Biden will deliver a much more traditional political speech, especially for someone preparing a reelection campaign.

A White House official offered this preview: “He will discuss the progress we have made in the past two years, not only to rescue the economy from the pandemic downturn, but to lay the foundation for a stronger, more resilient, more equitable economy for decades to come. He will discuss how, as a result of his economic plan, Black unemployment is near record lows and small business creation is near record highs. The president will also discuss how we’re removing poisonous lead pipes, delivering high-speed internet and making a historic investment in our nation’s HBCUs. And he will discuss the work to deliver equal justice under the law, including by building a Federal bench with judges that reflect all of America — led by Supreme Court Justice KETANJI BROWN JACKSON.

“The president will also make clear that the work is unfinished — and he will defend our progress. The president will work with Republicans in Congress to lower inflation, create jobs, and build an economy that works for everyone. But, like many Americans, he is disappointed to see that House Republicans’ very first bill would help wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes. And he stands ready to veto legislation that hurts working class families.”

THE MOST USEFUL THING WE READ TODAY — “How to Focus Like It’s 1990,” by NYT’s Dana Smith. (It’s from Jan. 9, but resurfaced in one of the NYT’s newsletters this morning.) In 2004, a well-known study showed that “[p]eople spent an average of 2 min. 11 sec. working with any device or paper before they switched to another device or event.” Today that average is down to 47 seconds. Smith’s advice for raising your distraction average can be summarized in three steps: 1) turn off notifications on all of your devices, 2) use a version of the Pomodoro Technique when working, and 3) spend more time immersed in dead-tree reading. We would also add that twice-a-day meditation — we like TM — can also help.

Meanwhile, Gen Zers, who are showing signs of a Luddite revival, have their own solution: switch to a flip phone!

Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your anti-distraction tips: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Republican MATT DOLAN is jumping into the Ohio Senate race this week, the first GOP challenger to Sen. SHERROD BROWN, NBC’s Henry Gomez scooped from Cleveland. A state senator whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians MLB team, Dolan lost the 2022 Senate primary, but he carved out a distinctive lane as a DONALD TRUMP critic in the party.

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

API has a plan to learn more about how we can Make, Move and Improve American energy.

HAPPENING TODAY — Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY is in Germany today to see the new training program for Ukrainian forces, according to Milley’s spokesperson, Col. DAVID BUTLER. The program, which officially began Sunday, expands the pipeline of European- and U.S.-trained Ukrainian forces to roughly 500 soldiers a month and includes instruction on how to coordinate infantry maneuvering with artillery support.

“We’ve been working with and training the Ukrainians since 2014,” Butler told Lara Seligman. “The training that we’re going to observe is an extension of that. This combined arms maneuver training will help the Ukrainians further in their effort to push the invading Russians out of Ukraine.”

Milley’s visit is part of a weeklong trip to Europe that also includes a stop in Brussels for the NATO Military Chiefs of Defence Meeting on Wednesday. While in Germany, Milley will join Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN for an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, during which they’ll meet senior defense leaders from more than 50 nations and discuss how to support Ukraine. (Expect discussions about air defense and armor, per Butler.) For his final stop, Milley will travel to Norway to participate in meetings with chiefs of defense from various partner nations.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

At the site of a devastating Russian missile strike on a Dnipro, Ukraine, apartment building, rescue workers move the body of one of dozens of civilians who are dead or missing. | Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo

9 THINGS WE’RE WATCHING

1. HAPPENING TOMORROW: “Yellen, Top Chinese Official to Meet, Try to Smooth Economic Ties,” by WSJ’s Andrew Duehren: “Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN will meet with senior Chinese official LIU HE [in Zurich] as the two superpowers try to rekindle a relationship that accounts for much of the world’s economic activity but has grown tense over technology access, trade policy and Taiwan.”

2. TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES: “Will Ashley Biden’s Diary Take Down Project Veritas?” by N.Y. Mag’s Andrew Rice: “[T]he whole question of whether [JAMES] O’KEEFE is a journalist or a dirty trickster appears to be a nonissue to prosecutors handling the diary investigation. ‘Veritas is attacking this as a First Amendment case,’ says an attorney familiar with the diary investigation, ‘and the government is treating it as a stolen-property case.’ … O’Keefe’s attorneys have claimed that he believed the diary had been abandoned, not stolen … [and that] journalists cannot be held responsible for their sources’ crimes so long as they do not actively participate in them. That last bit could end up being the fatal catch.”

3. ON WISCONSIN: “‘The most important election nobody’s ever heard of,’” by Zach Montellaro and Megan Messerly: “Control of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is on the ballot this spring, and the contest could decide the fate of abortion rights, redistricting and more … There are four judges running for the position, which is technically nonpartisan, with two on either side of the ideological divide. … The split field raises the possibility that two ideologically similar candidates advance to the general election … But most observers don’t think that is likely. Still, the unusual primary dynamics have left many major players on both sides on the sidelines for now.”

4. THE TALENTED MR. SANTOS: “New details link George Santos to cousin of sanctioned Russian oligarch,” by WaPo’s Isaac Stanley-Becker and Rosalind Helderman: “ANDREW INTRATER and his wife each gave the maximum $5,800 to Santos’ main campaign committee and tens of thousands more since 2020 to committees linked to him … The relationship between Santos and Intrater goes beyond campaign contributions, according to a statement made privately by Santos in 2020 and a court filing the following year in a lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against a Florida-based investment firm, Harbor City Capital, where Santos worked for more than a year.”

Related read: “The Luckiest Liar in Politics,” by N.Y. Mag’s David Freedlander

A message from The American Petroleum Institute (API):

API has a plan to learn more about how we can Make, Move and Improve American energy.

5. MAN IN THE MIDDLE: “Thom Tillis emerges as a bipartisan dealmaker as lawmakers fear dysfunction looms,” by WaPo’s Liz Goodwin: “Over the past year, Tillis has muscled his way to the heart of nearly every major bipartisan effort to emerge from the evenly-divided Senate, taking a lead role in negotiating legislation on hot-button issues including gay rights, guns and immigration — all without drawing much attention to himself. … Tillis’s willingness to find compromise despite the political blowback is desperately needed, his colleagues say, as a wave of retirements has taken many more bipartisan-minded lawmakers out of the chamber … [But he] rejects the label of ‘dealmaker.’”

6. JUST FOR LAUGHS: “CNN is serious about getting into comedy,” by Semafor’s Max Tani: “CNN is considering hiring a comedian to host one of its prime time shows. The ‘news entertainment’ personality could fill the primetime 9 to 11 p.m. hours with a nontraditional version of the news … CNN executives have floated names including BILL MAHER, TREVOR NOAH, ARSENIO HALL, and JON STEWART … Stewart remains under contract with Apple. Maher is a potentially more realistic prospect … The discussions are aimed at turning away from the competition with MSNBC for liberal news junkies, and toward pulling viewers from HGTV, ESPN, and Netflix.”

7. HOSTAGE SITUATION: “American held in Iran launches hunger strike and writes to Biden asking him to do more for detainees,” by CNN’s Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood: “In a letter to Biden, SIAMAK NAMAZI called on the US president to think of him every day for the seven days he intends to carry out the hunger strike commemorating the grim milestone [of being held for seven years]. … ‘All I want sir, is one minute of your days’ time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the U.S. hostages in Iran,’ Namazi wrote to Biden. ‘Just a single minute of your time for each year of my life that I lost in Evin prison after the U.S. Government could have saved me but didn’t. That is all.’”

8. DOCU-DRAMA: In the wake of the revelation that more classified documents were found at Biden’s home, Republicans demanded visitor logs showing who might have been able to access them. But the Secret Service and the White House told AP’s Hope Yen and Aamer Madhani that there are no visitor logs maintained for Biden’s private residence in Delaware. The Secret Service said that “the agency does screen visitors to the president’s properties but doesn’t maintain records of those checks.”

9. LOOK WHO’S BACK: “Sorry, Not Sorry,” by The Intercept’s Sam Biddle: “MARCEL LEHEL LAZAR walked out of Federal Correctional Institute Schuylkill, a Pennsylvania prison, in August 2021. The 51-year-old formerly known only as Guccifer had spent over four years incarcerated for an email hacking spree against America’s elite. … This month, in a series of phone interviews with The Intercept, Lazar opened up for the first time about his new life and strange legacy. … Lazar said that, back then, he’d hoped not for celebrity but to find some hidden explanation for America’s 21st century slump … Instead, he might have inadvertently put Donald Trump in the White House.”

POLITICO’s exclusive interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will take place on Thursday, January 19 at 1:30 PM EST – live from the Davos mountaintop. Register today to join us online.

Lisa Blunt Rochester is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Mohammed al-Sudani doesn’t need U.S. forces to set an end date for their presence in Iraq.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled the first Martin Luther King Jr. talking bobblehead.

IN MEMORIAM — “Alfred T. Goodwin, Judge in Pledge of Allegiance Case, Dies at 99,” by NYT’s Richard Sandomir

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — James Guiliano is now director of government affairs at the American Investment Council. He previously was senior policy adviser for the Senate Finance Committee.

TRANSITIONS — Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) is adding Yuri Beckelman as chief of staff and Samantha Ramirez as comms director. Beckelman most recently was staff director for the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Ramirez previously was comms director for Charlie Crist’s Florida gubernatorial campaign. … Sen. Josh Hawley(R-Mo.) is promoting Abigail Marone to comms director and adding Patrick Wortmann as deputy comms director. Wortmann previously was a senior research analyst at the NRSC. …

… Hugh Fike is joining the Conservative Partnership Institute as director of government relations. He previously was chief of staff for Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas). … Emily Gittleman is joining Uplift Campaigns as a director, opening a new office in Denver. She previously was digital director for Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) reelect. … Emma Treadway is now scheduler for Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio). She most recently was staff assistant for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) … Iulia Gheorghiu … USAID’s Luke Knittig … Dan Hill … Maria Hatzikonstantinou of CRC Public Relations … Vincent Frillici … Bracewell’s Frank Maisano … Greg Polk … Matt Herrick of the International Dairy Foods Association … The Daily Beast’s Kelly Weill … Debbie Berger Fox … Genevieve Wilkins of Rokk Solutions … Cameron Poursoltan … POLITICO’s Jerry Gray and Theresa Elrod … Paolo Liebl von Schirach … UPS’ Dontai Smalls ... Jackie Huelbig … Ed Cafiero of Marathon Strategies … Kelley Williams … former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta … Cathryn Donaldson … former Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) … Maureen McGrath … former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen ... Norman Podhoretz … NYT’s Sheera Frenkel

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American Energy Leadership: As the world’s leading producer of natural gas and oil, America can advance an affordable, reliable, and cleaner future. API has a plan in three parts – to Make, Move, and Improve American energy.
Make: America needs a five-year offshore leasing program and new onshore leases as well as fewer barriers for producing fuels. Ending restrictions could add 77k barrels of oil equivalent/day through 2035, according to a Rystad study. 
Move: Current permitting policies are stalling vital infrastructure, with $157 billion in energy investment in the US economy awaiting approval. A two-year NEPA review limit could unleash needed infrastructure.
Improve: Reducing regulatory barriers will enable companies to accelerate carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), hydrogen and cleaner transportation fuels. America has the energy resources, innovation, and skilled workforce to meet energy needs while continuing to reduce emissions. But we need the policies to make it happen. 

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