9:09 Mrs. Obama's dress (or skirt and shirt) is really nice/regal.
9:13 "Again we must answer history's call" interesting that he is starting by acknowledging all the things
going wrong first.
9:14 President Obama reads at least 10 letters from citizens every night before going to bed.
9:16 The use of "hopeful" is an intentional reminder of the Obama of the campaign.
9:17 Throw away line which is usually a planned applause line "the union is strong."
9:18 Good, acknowledging hating the bank bailout, excellent...
9:20 Good point about the bonuses and paying back the taxpayers... hope that actually passes
9:22 So far, his speech has been geared toward his critics. I thought it was funny that he said to the Republicans that he thought he would get some applause for cutting taxes
9:24 Whoa... John Boehner is a fan of Jersey Shore apparently, geez
9:27 There you go! Finally, a mention of building infrastructure... waiting for that!
9:28 Excellent point about infrastructure investment!
9:31 I appreciate the attention given to the economy first but I'm more interested in other issues.
9:31 How long should we wait? China's not waiting, German's not waiting. India's not waiting. These are the points I wanted him to make, infrastructure investment, clean energy jobs. Many are not convinced by the 'everyone else is doing it' argument but I think it's a good one. The rest of the western world is light years ahead of us in healthcare and green energy.
9:35 I'm really surprised he just encouraged building nuclear power plants... not sure exactly how I feel about that but surprised he put it in the SOTU
9:35 More surprised that he just encouraged more off-shore drilling... not that it's a bad idea, I'm just surprised he put that in...
9:36 Hey-Oh!! "I know that there are those that disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence..." holy crap! That's a quotable right there. I also just got really happy thinking about how we have a man in the White House that actually believes in Science.
9:40 I agree with what he is saying about the need to improve education. Who wouldn't? But I haven't heard anything that reassures me about the methods. It's a cultural change that is needed, not just "rewarding success." There is a role for government to play in that cultural shift. (And yes, make college more affordable!)
9:42 University expenses are already shaved to the bone. I don't think the answer is to cut university spending even more.
9:43 1/2 an hour into the speech he finally mentions healthcare. This is my no. 1 issue. I don't understand why the fight is so difficult.
9:44 Good use of humor.
9:44 You took on healthcare because it's idiotic in the U.S. and most of the Western world solved this 40 years ago... well, if not "solved" at least improved the more idiotic aspects.
9:45 Best. First Lady. Ever... her pet issue is fat kids. Yes, that deserves applause. I love her.
9:46 "Not explaining it more clearly." Odd choice of words. I know he needs to speak about healthcare reform more gingerly than I do, because he's the president, but honestly, the rhetoric surrounding the debate has been obnoxious.
9:47 Issuing a challenge, if anyone has a better plan, let me know. There you go. [OMG sit down Olympia Snowe... you don't get to applaud that line.]
9:50 Shallow pause - did Pelosi and Biden coordinate their outfits. They are both sporting laven-dare attire.
9:50 "All this was before I walked in the door..." aka, "Hey, remember how bad Bush was?"
9:52 Again, sorry to sound cynical, but I've heard it all before about cutting wasteful spending...
9:53 'Eyeroll' Don't call for a fiscal commission. He says it can't be a way to pretend they're solving a problem but creating a commission is exactly that usually. He sounds serious but I'm skeptical.
9:54 [There was a lot of speculation about whether he would mention DADT... I'm waiting.]
9:56 "We face a deficit of trust." I would agree. I'm not sure how you fix that but I agree it needs to be fixed.
9:57 Ok, this is fascinating call for reigning in lobbyists. Also, brutal shot of the USSC after the horrible decision last week. (Corporations are people too!)
9:59 Posting earmarks on a single website is a good idea.
10:00 Philosophical differences? Is he getting to the social stuff?
10:00 "Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can!" This is good!
10:01 He's right about sowing division and distrust. "We still need to govern."
10:02 "Democrats I will remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades and people expect us to solve problems." Hey-Oh!!!!! There you go. Who wrote that line, Jon Stewart?
10:02 "Just saying no to everything may be good politics but it's not good leadership."
These are excellent lines. He is really giving it to Congress... as he should! Again, good, comfortable use of humor to follow harsher statements. Smart
10:05 ADD Biden is getting distracted.
10:06 He just said he would pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August... that's a timeline, and a quick one. Again, this sounds great I'm just surprised he said it in the speech and cynical it will actually happen.
10:08 Um, is he tip-toeing back into the Cold War. Kennedy and Reagan... U.S. and Russia... arms control... nuclear weapons... again, surprised this made it in the speech. Is he going to avoid any and all social issues?
10:10 "Working with Muslim communities around the world to promote science and education..." Eye roll!
10:11 1 hour in, first mention of Haiti?
10:12 "We support the human rights of the women in Iran..." "America must always stand on the side of freedom and human dignity" DADT?!?
10:12 Is it coming? "We're all created equal... if you abide by the law you should be protected by it..."
10:13 Here we go... civil rights... BOOM mentioned hate crimes expansions... and...
10:14 FINALLY - THERE YOU GO, WORK TO REPEAL DADT Thank you, Mr. President for having the courage to keep that in the address.
10:15 "In the end, it's our ideals, our values..." He's exactly right... and government should play a role in reiterating those values...
10:16 Ok, we're getting into verbose territory... wrap it up while it's still good...
10:16 "No wonder there is so much cynicism out there." Great way to wrap things up. It's like he's talking directly to me. This is a really good speech. Change doesn't come easy. He's making a good point here about playing it safe, keeping poll numbers high, and getting through the next election.
10:19 An appeal for decency... this is good. It's hard to keep up with all the good things he's saying. This is the campaign Obama and it's nice to see him again.
10:20 We don't quit! I don't quit! Excellent close.
Excellent speech. I'm surprised by how good it was. He said exactly what he needed to say. I'm very pleased. I'm much more pleased than I thought I would be because I've been rather disappointed by Obama and the dems lately.
It seemed like a lot of the speech was directed right at Congress. I guess many are, but that's a good bit of the message I got last night, "hey idiots, I'm catching the blame for all the crap you're not doing."
Posted by: twitter.com/davextreme | January 28, 2010 at 10:16 AM
Oh, he totally was giving it right to Congress, both parties. I mean, of course it's always an address to Congress but his speech was much more targeted and specific about their inability to get things done. I was really impressed (and I had fallen quite out of love with Obama recently.)
Posted by: Gabe | January 28, 2010 at 12:10 PM