2/7/2023

Feb 6, 2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

Are you ready for your big night? According to Jeff Nussbaum making big speeches is old hat for you. He noted that you have been “remarkably consistent over a very long career” in the way you articulate your values. He reflected on his time in the WH, “When you’re writing for Joe Biden, you’re a session musician for a band that has already released 20 albums.”  I wonder how he is doing with his new gig as an independent speech writer.

Katie Rogers writing in the NYT reminded me of your stutter & your grace in handling that challenge. She recounted the time that you pulled a kid aside & told him “your imperfections are your gifts.” I endorse that sentiment whole-heartedly & admire you for embracing your “flaw.”

Will you be discussing climate change as I recently recommended? According to Stanford prof, Mark Z Jacobson (MZJ)’s piece in the G, it’s easily solved with Water, Wind & Solar at low cost worldwide. I fear that MZJ may have succumbed to “human beings’ propensity to misapprehend the true complexity of the world around them.”

            BTW, that quote is from Paul Christeesen, a classist at Dartmouth, who argues that studying humanities can help us learn to be happy by illustrating the importance of community. You might want to include him on your 2024 SOTU team. He’s got a knack for turning a phrase & shares your belief that “the biggest problem Americans are currently wrestling is a commitment to individualism that has been taken to an almost pathological extreme.”

            Anyhow, back to tonight’s speech, even if solving the climate crisis is not as simple as MZJ suggests, it deserves attention.

            I will also be listening for a mention of Burma. A sentence or two on restoring democracy there would do wonders for the NUG & their followers.

            BYBS,