- One whole hour and he couldn't address the one thing he needs to get in hand: entitlement spending. One tiny little sentence he gave to it was a dig at Paul Ryan and told us we can't touch poor, elderly, sick, education, or anyone receiving an entitlement.
- Worst speech of the sort I've ever heard. It felt ad-libbed and insincere.
- Kept talking about American greatness and doing big things...then advocated completely small-ball crapola policies. Does he know what greatness means?
- Laughed out loud when he took credit for inhibiting Iran's & NorKo's nukes.
- We stand for people yearning to be free....except Iran.
Update: Well, that was refreshing in a way...but a little dour, which Americans don't appreciate. Mr. W. calls it a double, which seems right.
Update 2: After a bit more chewing: The "we do big things," let's get in the game theme doesn't work for him because he fundamentally misapprehends it. I HATED the whining about other countries doing well. This is just the liberal view that human flourishing is a zero sum game writ large. Here's the President of the United States publicly bemoaning other people's success. Do we not want others to rise? Are we not pleased when third world nations lift themselves out of poverty? In that sense there is no competition, there is a rising tide that lifts all boats. That was just a response to low approval ratings. People think I'm not American enough, so now I'll love on the country and detract from the "other" other guys.
The foreign policy section was risible. Our standing has increased...one more dig at Bush, how long can that possibly be milked? We're coming for you Tallyban, and we'll be relentless....for a few more months. And do we know enough about the Tunisian uprising yet for it to merit praise in SOTU? Might that be like praising the Iranian uprising of the 70s? I'm sure it was tucked in because he was raked over the coals for not standing with Iran last year, but there's no vision represented. Or if there is, it's a disturbing one.
