By Jennifer Rubin
Washington Post Columnist
March 12, 2021 at 7:45 a.m. EST

Ms. Rubin is a conservative, in case you didn't know...

Many Americans have almost forgotten what a normal president and a
normal White House address sounds like. You might remember: The
president uses his appearances sparingly to highlight the most important
events and issues — such as the passage of a landmark rescue plan. The
speech is devoid of insults, slurs and accusations, and it is sparing in
its use of “I.” That is what the country got Thursday night during
President Biden’s first prime-time address.

It was reassuring to tune in, not fretting (as so many have for the past
four years) about the next outrageous insult or abject lie. It was a
delight to see someone not reading the speech for the first time. (White
House press secretary Jen Psaki, during her daily news briefing, told
us: The president “has been providing line edits in order to ensure he
is striking the right tone and providing the right level of clarity as
he prepares to address the country this evening.”)

The speech itself was sober in retrospect and optimistic in forecast.
Biden recalled our “collective suffering” and the heroic efforts of
scientists and health-care professionals. He poetically announced,
“Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do. In fact,
it might be the most American thing we do.” As he is wont to do, Biden
commiserated with the loss of life and the economic turmoil, the
educational interruption and the missed family occasions. Ironically, he
said, we found unity in suffering. “While it was different for everyone,
we all lost something.”

He condemned the politicization of masks and anti-Asian racism (“It is
wrong, un-American and it must stop.”) But the president reiterated his
faith in truth and facts, and then launched into a brief review of his
whole-of-government approach to defeating the coronavirus, including the
purchase of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses, distribution through
federal centers and pharmacies, and deployment of federal employees to
administer the shots. It is easy to lose sight of the enormous
organizational effort; Biden was not going to let his team’s work go
unnoticed or under-appreciated.

True to his strategy of underpromising and overdelivering, Biden said he
would meet the goal of 100 million shots in just the first 60 days of
his presidency, not the first 100 days. He pledged to direct states to
make all adults eligible to receive the vaccine by May 1, a tantalizing
promise for hundreds of millions of Americans eager to return to the
pre-pandemic world.

Biden also said that a federally supported website and 800-telephone
number to find vaccination sites would be up and running by May 1. He
outlined how money from the rescue plan will be used to expand testing
at schools and allowing them to reopen, a blessing for millions of
parents who will joyfully wave goodbye to “virtual learning.” He also
promised new guidelines would be coming to expand the list of activities
Americans can do when fully vaccinated. With his promise to double the
number of pharmacies and federally-run facilities administering
vaccines, and to deploy 4,000 more National Guard troops to help with
the effort, this sounds doable. It would be a monumental accomplishment
just months after taking office.

“The fight is far from over. We still have a lot of work to do,” he
said. “But together, unified, we can defeat this pandemic and we can all
celebrate a more normal Fourth of July with families and friends.” He
urged us to listen to the experts, keep to health guidance on masks and
social distancing and get the vaccine when available.

The speech was well-crafted for the moment and lofty in tone. The CNN
poll released just hours before the speech showed a huge jump in
confidence that the worst of the pandemic has passed, from 49 percent in
January to 77 percent today. That’s a clear sign of the confidence Biden
already has generated. “Unity is what we do together as fellow
Americans,” he said. Even unity, as so defined, seems possible.

Those who wished for a normal, empathetic president and a competent
White House have been rewarded. It is easy to forget how hard it was to
get to where we are in just 50 days. Biden made certain we can envision
what our lives may look like 50 days from now. As he said, “There is
hope and light and better days ahead if we all do our part.” God willing.
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* Lock up Trump and his family of grifters. *