Biden's Speech Did A Number Of Things Right

He outlined the lies about the election and the evidence they were lies.

He made it clear this was not tourists in the capital, but an insurrection.  

He talked about saving democracy.  

But I wanted more.  

As long as Democrats think of half of the population as deplorables, they will act that way. I wanted him to reach  out to those who didn't vote for him, and acknowledge their anger.  He talked about the Big Lie that convinced them.  

I wanted him to tie that Big Lie to the Republican/Conservative propaganda machine and remind people that we have the First Amendment so there can have free and open debate about how government is doing. But that in a democracy debate is with words, not swords or guns.  

And that free debate won't work if people only listen to news that tells them just one side of the story.  Or worse, only tells them lies.  That they have to listen to various points of view so they can better judge what is truly happening.  

And how those lies and the resulting conflict make it hard for people to even know what is true about other important issues.  

I understand that this was a speech focused on January 6, but again, I wanted him to show how it was connected, through the many big lies,  to climate change, to race relations, to COVID prevention, to immigration.  The same propaganda machine that brought these people to the Capitol spreads lies to divide the nation, to divide people with common needs and goals, so they won't look at the injustice of our economic system and how the profits of capitalism go disproportionally to the wealthy

He talked about the danger still there for the US democracy, but he didn't give people concrete steps they could take to help keep that democracy.  He didn't ask people to start with listening to the feelings and the beliefs of family members with whom they disagree politically.  He didn't tell his supporters they have to get politically involved and get as many people out to vote as possible.

So, yes, what he said was important.  But what he didn't say was also important.

And one little pet peeve I have as our nation has evolved from one single election day to a much longer period in which people can vote early in person or by mail.  

Biden said in his speech: 

"Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day."

150 million people didn't vote on that day.  The Pew Research Center writes:

"A slim majority of voters (54%) say they voted in person this November, compared with 46% who voted by absentee or mail-in ballot. About one-quarter (27%) report having voted in person on Election Day, and an identical share say they voted in person before Election Day."

News people and politicians have to wean themselves from the term "election day."  "Election period" is the first term to come to mind as a substitute."