Editor's Note: (Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and served as a counselor to Clinton in the White House. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. View more opinion articles on CNN.)
(CNN) One of the things I learned in art history class at the University of Texas is perspective -- that what makes things on a flat plane look three-dimensional is when the lines from each object converge on a single vanishing point.
The chamber of the United States House of Representatives has a vanishing point as well. It is the rostrum, from which on Tuesday night President Joe Biden will have seemingly every line in the world converging upon him.
The upcoming State of the Union address comes when our President desperately needs his citizens to have perspective. There are a lot of objects on our screen: a Russian autocrat has launched the largest invasion in Europe since World War II; gas prices -- already high -- are spiking after his invasion, as overall inflation is unsettlingly elevated; 2,000 people a day are dying of Covid-19 (although the trend line is down significantly); and social and cultural battles continue to rend the nation.
Right now, however, Americans are not seeing Biden in three dimensions. His poll numbers are anemic: according to CNN's latest poll, just 41% approve of the job he is doing. Beginning last summer -- during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan -- his poll numbers took a plunge, and they have yet to recover.
Beyond that, people are still divided over Covid-19 guidelines, the surge in the price of gas and groceries is infuriating, and the Democrats' inability to pass key parts of Biden's agenda gives voters the sense of a presidency adrift.
Biden has a chance to right the ship -- to show the American people strength and steadiness, confidence and competence. A constellation of events widens his window of opportunity:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is, of course, the most important. Here, Biden and his team have been sure-footed and strong. Biden has announced sanctions that he says, "impose severe costs" on the Russian economy. A bipartisan congressional group of Putin hawks, while admirably aligning with Biden's goal, have called for stronger sanctions.
They're right. Biden should announce even tougher measures in his State of the Union address. And he should do so in plain, clear language -- not broad, macroeconomic terms. No more talk of "sovereign debt" -- simply say Putin will not be able to borrow money to pay for his war machine. He must also state plainly why a family in Odessa, Texas, should care about freedom in Odessa, Ukraine.
Biden has a gift for storytelling. He will need it in this speech. Tell us about the unimaginably courageous Ukrainian soldier on Snake Island in the Black Sea who, with a Russian warship bearing down on him, told the Russians: "Go f--- yourself." They were his last known words.
Tell us about the corrupt oligarch who will watch helplessly on television as his Beverly Hills mansion is seized and sold.
Next, Biden should discuss a new Supreme Court nominee. He has chosen federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the US Supreme Court. My White House sources describe her as impeccably qualified -- the kind of role model millions of young Americans can look up to. I hope she is sitting next to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in the House Gallery, so all the members of Congress can literally look up to her.
To be clear, Jackson is a supernova being born before our eyes. Her statement when Biden nominated her was a communicator's dream: "My life," she said, "has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith. Among many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country." She praised her uncles who were cops and her brother who was a soldier and is now a lawyer. Faith, family, flag: she touched 'em all.
Finally, it is still the economy, stupid. Russian leader Vladimir Putin should become the face of inflation -- not supply chain snarls or "transitory" price volatility. Biden should remind us that former President John F. Kennedy called his generation to "pay any price" to defend democracy. Compared to the service and sacrifice our troops gave in Iraq and Afghanistan: lives, limbs and more, pain at the pump seems minor. And then he needs to give us a specific plan to help cushion those costs.
As someone who worked for the "Comeback Kid," former President Bill Clinton, I know the American people love a story of redemption and renewal. Biden should give it to them. That means acknowledging missteps and letting people know he is moderating -- yes, use that word -- his course.
He should stress bipartisan goals like his cancer moonshot, creating an Advanced Research and Projects Administration for Health, combatting opioid abuse, reining in the frightening power of social media and other big tech firms. Each of those ideas has some degree of GOP support.
Biden should embrace bipartisanship despite the past year of Republican recalcitrance. If Republicans don't want to work with him to cure cancer or reduce fentanyl deaths, let them explain that to the voters in November. Biden doesn't have to actually succeed in his bipartisan efforts; just get caught trying.
Biden won the Democratic nomination against a field of truly impressive progressives in a rout. His party wanted reform, not revolution. And he defeated Donald Trump because he offered strength, stability and moderation. The American people still want that. Biden needs to give them the three-dimensional presidency they voted for.