(Mar. 2) President Joe Biden asked Americans to rally behind a shared political vision -- and against a geopolitical foe -- in his first State of the Union speech as he sought to assuage a nation beleaguered by a stubborn pandemic, deep cultural divisions, and historic inflation. But the harder Biden pushed familiar appeals to bipartisanship and democratic ideals in his speech Tuesday, the more he emphasized how frequently he’d collided against the limits of that approach in his first year in office. The president opened with a sweeping condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, drawing bipartisan cheers as he challenged the House chamber to literally stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The moment, and Biden’s improvised vow that Putin has “no idea what’s coming,” dramatized his appeal for national unity. Biden tried his best to conjure optimism, declaring a new phase in the fight against the coronavirus and hailing the perseverance and strength of the American people. He unveiled what he called a “unity agenda” focused on ideas like battling cancer and opioid addiction, aiding veterans, and bolstering mental health services that could appeal to Republicans. “There’s something happening in America,” Biden said. “Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story.” --- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake