Can't believe I'm the first...

... to comment on the State of the Union Address here at the Bund.

I got a text from Ryan explaining that he refused to watch the speech because Obama was irrelevant and that the GOP would sweep back into control come November. I'm not sure that two Governors and one freshman Senator are indicative of the end of the Democrat's control of American government, though... so perhaps his position is a bit premature. We'll see...

What I do know is that Ryan missed a hell of a show. Some surprises, much more of the same old crap, and some telling examples of where the Democrats see themselves right now in American politics.

Obama's address ran about 70 minutes, and I can tell you that the first 20 minutes of it was almost completely "This isn't my fault" dribble. An entire litany of all the things that the "previous" Administration did wrong and left for Obama when he came into office. That was his first mistake, in my opinion... starting off with another excuse as to why the state of the nation is Bush's fault and not his. We listened to his (undoubtedly) unsupportable numbers pointing to the multi-billion dollar surplus of 1999-2000 and the trillion dollar deficit of 2008. He pointed to the cause as being two wars that weren't being paid for, a far-too expensive prescription drug plan, the de-regulation of Wall Street and "Corporate America", and the huge tax breaks for the rich and powerful "less-than-one-percent" of Americans that pulled the strings of the "previous administrations".

Nothing he said struck me as particularly impressive or "new". I was initially very surprised at the three-year spending freeze he promised to implement, but that surprise was dampened a bit when he explained why it wouldn't go into effect until 2011, and that the $906 billion dollar deficit that we are running right now is the NORM for the rest of this term. He certainly wasn't "tough" on Iran or North Korea, and he didn't mention any specific terror threats at all.

I won't re-hash the entire speech... if you heard, you heard it. If you didn't, it doesn't matter. Obama had a chance to use this speech, more than any other he has given, to show that he really is aware of the public's desire for real change and that he is ready to respond... but he didn't take that chance. He pandered to the Dems and liberals by promising to remove all US forces from Iraq by the end of August (more on this later). He pandered to special interests by vowing to open the military to all comers, regardless of sexual orientation. He pandered to the GOP and the military by promising to focus attention on veteran's benefits. He pandered to foreign powers by promising that American foreign policy would never again be "unilateral" and that he would always seek the advice and council (I took this to mean "permission") of such bodies as the UN, NATO and the EU before making broad and sweeping moves in foreign policy. More of the same, as far as I am concerned.

I will touch on what I think was different about this speech now, though... (in no particular order, mind you)

I never saw Harry Reid more than once after the speech started. The face I did see more than any other was a very junior Senator who was seated right behind the Joint Chiefs and had more face time than any other Senator in the room... Al Franken. Next in "face time" would have been Leahy (D-VT) (Sorry, Jambo... I said Illinois last night), and he was NOT happy with the announcement of the spending freeze at all. I believe he offered the only "boo" to be heard the entire speech (surprising, given the GOPs history of booing rather loudly during Clinton's SotU Addresses). Is this coincidence, or is this indicative of a change in how (and WHO) the DNC wants the party to be associated with in the public's eye? Reid is "lame duck" no question... but an "old guard" Dem like Leahy and the upstart from Minnesota as the focal points of the DNC representation? Perhaps Leahy is the obvious visual replacement for Teddy... and perhaps Franken is the freshest face in the bunch... but neither is very photogenic and both are troublesome names in their own rights. Something to think about...

Another thing I noticed... when did the Joint Chiefs get so "stacked" with Navy personnel? I didn't see one Marine uniform there, and only one Army. Did Obama start from scratch with the JCoS? I'll have to look into that.

I'm also trying to recall when the last time a sitting President of the United States ever took such a blatant shot at the Supreme Court... and I think we have to go all the way back to FDR. He called the recent over-turning of the McCain-Feingold Act as "wrong" and called on Congress to enact legislation that would "right that wrong" to thunderous applause from the Left. This "slap in the face" of one of the THREE main branches of our Government prompted the typically Stoic Supreme Court bench to actually REACT! Sam Alito actually said (you could clearly read his lips) "No, that's not true" while he shook his head... and Ginsberg (one of the most liberal Justices in history, in my opinion) raised her head high and shook it in the negative as well!!!

Add to this the fact that the point Obama was making was basically that the American public is INCAPABLE of casting an election choice outside of what the TV, radio and newspaper adds tell them is FACT, and I think that we see where Obama and the DNC put their opinion of the American electorate's capacity to make a "good choice". Why are the dollars spent by corporations or "special interests" a factor if the platform of the candidate is sound? Why are the "opinions" voiced in adds a factor if the message and background of the person running for election are without reproach?

This was an "eye opening" speech NOT because of what he said, but because of how he said it and the manner in which it was received. I also thought it was telling that at the end, ALL the GOP members walked out immediately while the liberals hung around like groupies waiting for autographs in the aisles. Where is the dignity of the Chamber? This isn't "backstage" at an Obama show, for Pete sake... it is one of the most historic rooms in all the world, and these people are making it look like the back door to Madison Square Gardens after a Rob Zombie show.

Yes, a very telling speech, to be sure.