The State of the Union address may not be the must-see-TV it once was, at least among political junkies, but this year’s edition had more than the usual draw. At this point in an already tense election season, many more Americans than usual wanted to see it, to gauge President Joe Biden for how he delivered the message, even more than for its content.

As he heads off on the campaign trail seeking reelection, Biden knew the stakes of this performance, with multiple polls highlighting voter concern that, at 81, the president was not physically or mentally capable of handling a second term.

What they got last night was a president, forceful and optimistic, who also was giving an unflinching campaign speech. Among other digs, Biden lit into his predecessor’s stance on Ukraine — and on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.

“You can’t love your country only when you win,” Biden stated, to great effect.

The COVID-19 pandemic that still raged when he took office has largely abated, along with many of the economic scars. Full employment has returned, the stock market has rebounded and the U.S. seems to have averted the recession that has descended on other Western nations. All that was to lay out, as Biden called it, “the greatest comeback story never told.”

But there are lingering effects that overwhelm the public perception of Biden’s years in office, with inflation topping the list. Prices that have shot up for basics such as groceries and housing present a real crisis nationwide — and especially in high-priced and housing-strapped Hawaii.

Biden made a vigorous effort to address this, making proposals to reduce costs. Some are already familiar, such as cutting “junk fees,” capping prescription drug prices and college loan forgiveness. Other initiatives include a new mortgage tax credit, assistance for preschool education and an increase in corporate taxation.

He rightly claimed credit for the investments already made in the early days of his term, and urged the restoration of the Child Tax Credit that, in 2021, that lifted many families out of poverty. In this state, where so many families live a paycheck away from homelessness, this was key to survival.

Biden also cited numerous climate-change projects receiving funds — also crucial to Hawaii, with its very real climate-induced threats.

The president was able to shepherd such advances through a partisan Congress through his willingness to compromise. That’s become increasingly difficult as the election-year strains intensified.

Last night Biden was quick to point to the eleventh- hour failure of a national-security compromise bill that combined aid packages to secure the southern border, as well as to provide military assistance to allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

It failed because his general-election rival, former President Donald Trump, pressured the GOP conference to deny the sitting president a political win. Biden made sure that fact was not lost on anyone within earshot. “We can fight about the border, or we can fix it,” he said.

Biden also confronted head-on the mounting anxiety over the war in Gaza, manifest in the many protests at his public events, particularly among young voters. The proposal to send direct U.S. aid via a new port in Gaza is welcome news, given the millions of Palestinians on the brink of starvation during the Israel-Hamas hostilities.

Conflict over reproductive rights, under duress in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, is another flash point that figured in the address. In Hawaii, many residents lauded last year’s new law that protects and expands abortion access and protects providers.

It’s impossible to ignore the rift this issue has opened nationwide, just one part of the political divisiveness and paralysis.

Countering that in an election year may be an unrealistic goal, but that is what is required for the state of the union to be healed, long term.