Almost every description of the speech President Joe Biden is scheduled to give beginning at 8PM ET has said it will address “Trump-led extremism” or “MAGA Republicans.” However, White House statements on Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” speech have indicated that this is “not about any politician or any party.” Don’t be surprised if in the course of this speech Biden doesn’t even mention the Republican Party, unless it comes as part of an appeal for Republicans to help end divisions and join in a search for common ground. It would not even be surprising for Biden to steer clear of the T-word, restricting himself to talking about specific statements, actions, and attitudes that are ripping at the fabric of America, rather than focusing on a single man.

In addition, it wouldn’t be surprising for Biden to use this moment as an opportunity to list accomplishments. After all, just 18 months into his administration, that list is already getting pretty long. The infrastructure bill, the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Infrastructure Reduction Act, and most recently the executive order to reduce the burden of student loans … those are only the highlights, and some of those pieces of legislation cover so many programs that the public has a very poor grasp of the scale of what’s actually been done. It’s probably not exaggerating to say that President Biden has seen more progress in less time than any president since FDR, and the level of recognition for that scope of achievement is miniscule.

Just the fact that Biden is speaking tonight, and that this is a prime-time presidential address to the nation rather than simply a political rally, has many conservative writers already pounding their desks. Over at The Washington Post, former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen is calling this a “disgrace” because Biden is giving the speech about a threat to the nation, rather than using it for one of the many, many failures his boss spoke about after failing to recognize or handle a threat. Multiple outlet are giving House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy time for a pre-buttal in which he is already giving a scathing critique of Biden’s speech without bothering to hear it. It’s a very good bet that both of them are wrong about what Biden will say. And that neither of them will ever admit it.

Come along and join us as we listen. (updates below the break)

Biden is speaking tonight from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He’ll be in the state frequently in the next few weeks as the election season heats up.

Biden begins with a paean to America, celebrating how the nation was founded and the history behind the place where he is speaking. Speaking to the “sacred flame” that has led America through so many turmoil in the past.  

“But first, we must be honest with each other,” said Biden. “With our souls and with our selves.” And I’m already wrong, because Biden went straight to the threat represented by “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”

“These are hard things, but I’m an American president. Not a president of red America or blue America, and it’s my duty to tell you the truth.”

“They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth, but in the shadow of lies.”

Biden calls out to Americans to trust in elections, and in the principles that built the nation. “For a long time, we told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it’s not.”

Calls on all Americans to join behind the cause of defending democracy against the MAGA Republican effort to destroy democracy.

Biden speaks to Republican calls for violence, including figures like Lindsay Graham (no, he didn’t get named) who are threatening riots in the streets if Trump is indicted.

“Democracy cannot survive when people see only two outcomes to an election: Either they win, or they were cheated. And that’s where the MAGA Republicans are.  … You can’t love your country only when you win.”

Biden’s Twitter account is keeping up.

You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-America.

After presenting the dark threat of the MAGA Republicans, Biden has pivoted to the much more upbeat achievement of the last 18 months and the possibilities they present for the future.

After that hard punching start, Biden is flying full speed now into a hopeful future, built on the foundation created in the last 18 months and what’s still to come.

“I believe the soul is the breath, the live, and the essence of who are are … the soul of America, that all are created equal in the image of God … and democracy must be defended, because democracy makes all these things possible.”

While the threat to America is real, we are not powerless in the face of these threats. There are far more Americans of every background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those who accept it.

This isn’t just a terrific speech, it’s terrific, forceful, and heartfelt delivery. Biden comes across with more energy, more dedication, and more strength than he has since he was elected. Powerful.

I speak for all Americans when I say this is the best speech we've ever seen

Tomorrow, each one of the networks is going to try to reduce this speech to a few clips of Biden coming out against MAGA Republicans. That’s all that people will hear. That’s just a disservice to the president, but a basic failure of the press.

Biden saying that the heckler is “entitled to be outrageous” is the difference, right there between Biden and Trump. Or liberals and MAGA. Trump and MAGA would call for that heckler to be beaten.

As Biden leaves the stage, those watching tonight saw a historic speech from an astoundingly accomplished president who is forcefully defending not just his legacy, but the nation. That so little of that will translate into the morning headlines, is also a failing of this age.

Rhetoricians will call this a "secular jeremiad." A speech that laments, tells the nation that it isn't living up to its values & urges it to do better. It's also Biden playing the "priestly role of the presidency"--telling us how our common values can see us through our problems

McCarthy’s speech, which includes the immortal phrase “the electric chord of liberty still sparks in our heart” while throwing every insult at Biden the limited Republican thesaurus can muster, reads as if cribbed from the back pages of The Onion. 

McCarthy: The electric cord of liberty still sparks in our hearts pic.twitter.com/3kCGR9nJ9Q

Biden will do better. And don’t expect him to mention McCarthy. The White House sees this as part of his real purpose, the one that propelled him to run again in 2020. It’s going to be a speech directed at hate and fascism. It will only be about Republicans to the extent that Republicans make those things about themselves.