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Welcome to the commentary magazine daily podcast today is Wednesday December 22nd 2021.

I'm John Pothor. It's the editor of commentary,

opportunity you yet again to make us part of your annual giving go to

www.commentary.org slash Dona. I'm going to talk about this a little later on

the program in order to mix things up and not for you right at the top.

So with me as always executive editor, a greenwald high a hi John senior

writer Christine Rosen, high Christine, hi John, and associate editor Noah Rothman.

Hi John.

230 s a afternoon Joe Biden give a speech about updating America on the developments in

COVID and Omicron and everything. What did you guys think?

Well, there are two main points and then two smaller points and then one larger

point, not that any of them are small that jumped out of me.

First on this question on his defensiveness about not having foreseen the speed with

which Omicron would tear through the globe and it should be said that that was

not that was not during the speech that was the first question asked by

Michelle Sender after the speech was over like why did it take so long to get

tests into the hands of people given the the you know virulence of this

outbreak right and then Biden instantly got defensive and he said

took so come on man took so long it didn't take so long anyway go ahead.

Well aside from the specific matter of Omicron being immediately identified as

a variant dangerous variant a variant of what is the term a variant of concern a

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