Not once did Biden say the phrase "MAGA Republican." He never mentioned Trump. He made a few references to "previous administrations" but actually spent way less time complaining about Trump than he has in the past. I suppose, halfway through his own presidency, he's realizing that that only goes so far.

However, if you actually listen to what he's saying, despite the friendlier packaging, there was still plenty to dislike in this speech, too.

Let's just start with the phrase Biden kept repeating.

Speechwriters always pick some stupid little phrase and then attempt to hammer it into the heads of the citizenry. And I know that this works with the vast majority of the population, but I'm not going to pretend that this blatant manipulation is okay. Or that none of us notice.

"Let's finish the job!" was the catchphrase of the day. What kind of job, you might ask? Well, Biden has been passing all kinds of new laws since getting into office, and his phrase "finish the job!" really just refers to doubling down on the kinds of initiatives already in place.