President Joe Biden faced a precarious challenge in threading the needle for his first State of the Union address. Arriving at the right balance of optimism and realism in this assessment had to be especially difficult, following a year plagued with problems and a public in a sour mood about things close at hand.

The COVID-19 pandemic, seemingly in retreat but still persisting. Inflation siphoning off the household budget, with rising gas prices threatening to drain it further.

And although foreign affairs usually doesn’t figure prominently on this national viewscreen, the horrific violence in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has many Americans anxious and saddened.

Biden needed to acknowledge all that pain while projecting a well-conceived plan for the way forward.

The resulting message, delivered Tuesday night before a joint session of Congress, meandered into a conventional laundry list of priorities. But it was solemn when it needed to be, projecting calm and resolve at a dangerous moment for the world.

This was going to be an important speech, in any case: Biden’s job approval has been on a downward slide for many months. The voters who put him in office were watching, but worldwide viewers included a particularly malignant audience of one: Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine was not on the initial list of topics Biden intended to address, but the heat of the war zone has penetrated enough to push this issue right to the top. The president rightly urged Congress to approve more funds for arms and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and announced plans to ban Russia from U.S. airspace.

Biden pointed to the release of 30 million gallons from the U.S. oil reserves in an effort to blunt the economic impact on this country, though it’s sure to trickle down to affect Americans as well. It was just as critical that the president signal America’s own commitment to democracy, as the fight plays out on the world stage.

On the economic point, the president pivoted back to domestic matters, pointing to the pandemic rescue package Congress enacted, as well as substantial “Build Back Better” funding to rebuild nation’s physical infrastructure, and touting a “made in America” manufacturing initiative.

Infrastructure achieved some rare bipartisan success in Congress, something Hawaii can celebrate as well. There are significant funding outlays available locally for broadband, airports improvements and investments to counter climate change and sea-level rise.

But the more troubled portion of the plan was the “human infrastructure,” programmatic changes envisioned in an enormous bill that failed to get even the Democratic votes required.

Breaking up this bill would have been the smarter approach, and Biden here put the spotlight on specific initiatives to counter inflation. One was to lower prices of prescription drugs and other cost centers. The short-term impact on inflation here is doubtful, although his proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit would help families more immediately.

The president also turned the spotlight briefly on the judicial branch, heralding the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson. Indeed, the changing makeup of the high court will have important consequences on cases now on the docket.

Biden noted the persistence of COVID-19, but lauded the progress made in the past year. The State of the Union, by tradition, includes such victory laps, as well as a lengthy wish list.

But the most important message came at the beginning of an overlong address, when he likely had his most attentive audience: Freedom, so cherished in America, will always triumph over tyranny. That is the hope we cling to, in a dark hour.