Biden Takes The Stage In His Dream Role, But The Pandemic Still Sets The Scene
The president laid out an ambitious agenda in his address to Congress, but in a chamber largely empty due to COVID-19 restrictions, he was reminded of the thin majorities with which he has to work.
As many times as Joe Biden must have imagined the moment, he never could have imagined it looking like this.
After two failed bids for the White House and a third that began with a series of stumbles, there he finally was on Wednesday, mounting the podium to address a joint session of Congress for the first time as president of the United States.
Yet what he saw before him could not have been as he dreamed.
Before Wednesday night, Biden had been on hand to witness seven new presidents make their first address to Congress since he was first elected to the Senate nearly 50 years ago.
But instead of reveling in his own moment of ritual glory, he had to manage as best he could
