It was a competent speech; but what’s the point?
The State of the Union address is perfect for President Donald Trump. His showmanship and sense of dramatic timing; the endless applause and moving stories, lovingly told; the pleasure he takes in enunciating truths no one could disagree with—it’s almost as if the whole cockamamie tradition were designed just for him.

In fairness, the president has delivered competent speeches and refrained from his customary ferociousness, both last night and in his 2017 address. He delivers a good set speech.

And there were some genuinely praiseworthy moments in last night’s speech. He rightly called for the end of a nonsense budget rule that shortchanges spending on the federal government’s most necessary