Trump's new normal: Just a speech, however good, can't make America great

An emollient speech does not reset the narrative

Donald Trump has raised the bar by which he will be judged after an unexpectedly restrained performance during his first address to the joint session of Congress. The Dow pierced the 21,000 mark, most Americans expressed approval of his agenda on the economy, terrorism, tax and immigration, and even the liberal press, recently condemned as “fake media”, offered fulsome praise. The muted cadences, the appeal to his opponents to allay “trivial fights”, the condemnation of hate crimes, the occasional human touch in acknowledging the wife of the Navy SEAL who died in a botched overseas operation, and the toned-down observations