There’s a lot out there on the President’s SOTU, so I’ll keep my thoughts short and sweet.
- The speech did what it had to do which was target liberals and independents and set in motion the 2012 election campaign.
- It took on the right’s case against him (weak, job-killing socialist) and threw it back in their face as the job-creating, bin Laden-killing, commander-in-chief willing to tackle the big problems facing the country.
- Made the case that the economy IS improving. Slow as the recovery might be, the numbers point to an economy which is in a better place than it was in 2009.
- Painted the opposition as the obstructionist, power hungry entity it is.
- And all this while coming off as the adult in the room. What more do you want?
Whatever criticism liberals might have of this President, he did not disappoint last night and gave every indication that he’s more than ready to face Mitt or Newt.
UPDATE
Draw your own conclusions from this.
An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the overall message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News poll of speech watchers.
According to the poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president’s address, 91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.
Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union remarks.
This year, 82 percent of those who watched the speech said they approve of the president’s plans for the economy, up from 53 percent who approved before the speech. Eighty percent said they approved of Mr. Obama’s plans for the deficit — in contrast to 45 percent before the speech. Eighty-three percent approved of Mr. Obama’s proposals regarding Afghanistan, which received only a 57 percent approval rating beforehand.
The sight of Democrats and Republicans sitting side by side gave speech watchers more confidence about the possibility of bipartisan cooperation: 62 percent said they expect more bipartisanship now than in years past.
Encouraging but the 62 percent who are expecting Republicans to play nice and compromise on some issues, sorry but it won’t happen. If you can be sure of anything in this election year, it’s that Republicans are going to obstruct any and all measures to create jobs and improve the economy. Their only hope for victory in November, regardless of whom they choose as nominee, is that the economy deteriorates and unemployment climbs back up over 9 percent.
Bipartisanship? Not from this crew of cutthroat, lying Republicans who refuse to place country before party.
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I think he is a sharp President. Obama took note of the occupy movement’s effort to wake up the world on the greed out there and he is the only guy in town who wants to level the playing field. If this does not resonate to the middle-class,I doubt our ability for a sustainable recovery.
This is a President that is going to be bullish on every facet of government that is commensurate to its effort to reduce the deficit. Every program will be to bring back business in the USA and as more business flourish,there will be more revenus which will allow an equivalent reduction in deficit as well as funding for social programs such as Medicare.
I was proud to hear the President last night and I am looking forward to the electoral debates with the Republican wing-nut chosen in the GOP primaries.
He is playing into the republicans hands by giving Social Security holidays. They want Social Security donated to the stock market. Almost all American pensions have been donated and the money is not there to cover future retirees. Social Security and Medicare are America’s safety net. To strengthen Social Security would be to take away the cap.
New bumper sticker:
The GOP:
Party Before Country