I fully expect for this address to resemble the one Biden gave last year. All members of Congress, and all others in attendance, will be masked and distanced. It will be a dystopian picture, and a reminder that we still haven't gotten out of the pandemic situation.
Dystopia is when mask
It is a dystopian picture. The sight would be stunning to anyone before the pandemic started, including you.
Anyway, what achievements does Biden really have to tout? His first year has been a disappointment, even if you are one of his foremost supporters or don't regret your vote for him.
I'm not sure about this. Probably the most substantive policy accomplishment of this administration was the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and that has already been forgotten by the majority of the electorate and by the media. And Biden "placing a renewed emphasis on masking" isn't going to win over those who are tiring of restrictions, who are opposed to mask mandates, or who have moved on. That comprises an increasingly larger section of the electorate.
This is a commonly held belief on this forum, but I'm not convinced this is how the public actually is thinking. At the CDC/FDA hearing last week multiple Republican senators criticized the administration's COVID response, citing the confusing messaging and the scarcity of testing. It's true logical soundness is not required for the opposition party to criticize the incumbent, but the logical conclusion of this criticism is not that the pandemic is over and COVID is not a threat. Also multiple Democratic senators sent the administration a letter calling for better testing resources. So there is bipartisan agreement that the administration needs to do something to effectively address Omicron. If on March 1, the test kits and masks have been sent out, and Omicron is in retreat (big if, but a reasonable bet right now), Biden could say that he took decisive action to effectively address Omicron without causing economic damage and gain points that way.
