Another Biden Covid speech makes political sense

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Get Jonathan Bernstein’s newsletter every morning in your inbox. [Click here to subscribe.]( Another week, another speech from President Joe Biden. This one, scheduled for Thursday, will be about [the Covid-19 pandemic]( and the administration’s plans to fight the delta variant. As communications strategies go, giving a major speech on the coronavirus now is an obvious choice. Remember: Presidents can’t change minds, but they can affect the political agenda. There’s no guarantee that focusing media attention on the pandemic will improve Biden’s [sagging approval numbers](, but it’s generally one of Biden’s better policy areas, and a speech can help convince Democrats who may be wavering in their support (and, perhaps, some in the media) that he has a realistic plan and hasn’t ignored the situation. The time is right for it, too. The summer wave may well have [peaked]( and perhaps begun to ebb. Both private and government vaccine mandates have become more widespread, and the effects are clear. The U.S. hit Biden’s July 4 goal of getting at least one shot to 70% of all adults back on Aug. 2; in the subsequent weeks, that number has risen to a [bit over 75%](. It will continue rising as more mandates take effect. It may hit levels high enough to beat back an expected winter wave, or at least to keep it from shutting down too much of the nation. And that remains the most important thing for Biden and the Democrats when it comes to elections. Remember that Biden doesn’t need to be popular now. He needs to be popular next summer and fall for Democrats to do well in the 2022 midterm elections, and he needs to be popular in the summer and fall of 2024 for the Democrats to win the next presidential election. His popularity depends on a successful effort against the pandemic and a booming economy. At least more than on anything else. Media attention is a finite resource. Time spent reporting on the pandemic (on television, in major newspapers or in other media outlets) cannot be devoted to infrastructure, or to other Democratic legislative priorities, or to anything else. The infrastructure and spending bills now being debated in Congress are important, but it’s not clear that additional attention to them would help divided Democrats reach an agreement. Public pressure on West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who has [urged a “pause”]( in consideration of the tax and spending  plan, could just as easily backfire. Nor is publicity for legislative deal-making apt to be a short-term political winner for Biden, even if the underlying policy is popular. Legislative wheeling and dealing rarely polls well. Public pressure might be more appropriate for voting rights legislation, but without a viable strategy for passage, Democrats risk making clear their own failure to advance bills they believe are critical. Another reason to give a speech on the pandemic? Presidential speeches raise the importance of policy within the administration. Indeed, while the public at large is unlikely to pay much attention, people in executive branch agencies will. Presidential speeches can be useful as a deadline for decisions, and then can focus the attention of the bureaucracy and of those Biden has put in the various departments and agencies on what the president wants them to be working on. 1. Dave Hopkins on the California gubernatorial recall effort and [influence within the Republican Party](. 2. Matt Grossmann talks with Nikki Usher and Nick Hagar about [media structure and political news](. 3. Perry Bacon Jr. on [political reporting](. 4. Nate Cohn on [education and party affiliation](. 5. Robert Greenstein on the [real cost of the Democratic spending bill](. 6. And Jennifer Bendery on [Biden’s next judicial nominees](. Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. [Click here to subscribe](. Also subscribe to [Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Early Returns newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022