In past times like these, the character, personality and conviction of the president have been the necessary beacons of hope to lead the nation forward.

The transcript of the AP interview reveals in detail how Biden falls far short of that requirement. Instead of using the interview to signal a reset of his presidency, he lapsed into his desultory habits of digression and deflection, with no message of hope emerging from the verbiage of mush.

The reporter who conducted the interview, Josh Boak, didn’t have much to work with despite an earnest effort. He began his story of the interview this way:

“President Joe Biden said Thursday the American people are ‘really, really down’ after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging gasoline prices that are slamming family budgets. But he stressed that a recession was ‘not inevitable’ and held out hope of giving the country a greater sense of confidence.”

Feel inspired yet? Does having the president say there might not be a recession, without any evidence, give you confidence?