Biden should sympathize with Americans instead of boasting about progress in upcoming address: NYT

NEW YORK - In his upcoming first State of the Union address, US President Joe Biden should show more sympathy to the Americans instead of boasting about progress that defy the Americans' lived experiences, The New York Times said in an opinion piece on Monday.

Outlining what Biden may talk about in his address, the opinion piece authored by David Axelrod, senior strategist on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, stressed that the Americans "are still in the grips of a national trauma."

Polls have showed that the vast majority of Americans believe they are on the wrong track, and people will have little patience for claims of progress that defy their lived experiences, said the commentary, noting that though the COVID-19 pandemic is widely believed to be receding, "Americans are not celebrating."

"Millions have lost loved ones; many continue to struggle with the effects of the virus. Kids lost valuable time in the classroom, and parents have struggled to cope. Health care workers are in crisis. And we all have felt the profound cost of our relative isolation," it said.

"The state of the union is stressed. To claim otherwise -- to highlight the progress we have made, without fully acknowledging the hard road we have traveled and the distance we need to go -- would seem off-key and out of touch," it added.

The president needs to tell the story of the ordeal so many Americans have shared, honor their resilience and paint a credible, realistic picture of how they can reclaim control of their lives, the author suggested.