Before this colossal waste of time begins, let’s set up some ground rules. I won’t be doing shots every time our president says the words “innovation”, “investment”, or “unity”. Even though I would be in a much better place mentally by doing so, it would not benefit my commentary below.
And now it’s 8:00pm. Time for an hour and more of my life to be wasted.
I’m watching it on FOX, even though it would be better without Shep Smith’s opinions.
Hello, Kathleen Sebelius. Kansas doesn’t miss you.
Thanks for telling us that Republicans and Democrats are sitting together, Shep. You even made sure to throw in “unity”, for good measure.
Eesh. There’s Janet Napalitano. I still do a double take every time I see her. She looks so manly.
And there’s Hillary right next to Timothy Geithner. Her smile still scares me.
The talking heads are talking about spending cuts. How about we let people who know how to do their taxes handle the budget.
There’s a shot at the front. So nice to NOT see Nancy “Stretch” Pelosi” up there. And here he comes – flanked by Eric Cantor (whom I really like), Mitch McConnell (whom I’m not sold on), and the rat himself, Harry Reid.
Having the new big screen and HD television really shows the amount of makeup he’s wearing. Bad. He’s also looking distinctly less gray this evening.
“We’ll be doing some work together” Wow.
Ulgh! He just gave Claire McCaskill a peck. Gross.
I’m already bored with this.
Chit chat with Hillary. I wonder what she’s really thinking.
Interesting. Some of the justices aren’t there. I wonder why. Hmm…maybe it’s because he insulted them last year.
And he’s about to start.
Have I mentioned how nice it is NOT to have “Stretch” as Speaker?
Let’s start this already. We’re already 10 minutes behind.
Thanks, John. Let’s go now.
I will have to say, he’s not as rock star-esque this year.
Shout out to the new congress and John Boehner. Impressive, a standing ovation.
And here it is. Emotional whoredome over Congresswoman Giffords. Sure, it would be a nice gesture, if you hadn’t had a campaign speech in Tucson a couple weeks ago.
He’s talking about debates and rancor, and being “part of the American family”. Seriously, this is getting annoying.
Wow. Look at that glare, Michelle. That’s just scary.
So back to the TV. In years prior, I haven’t been able to see the teleprompter screens on the side. This is bad.
“Democrats and Republicans”. Mental shot. Can I say “shot” on here? Is that hostile rhetoric?
“Corporate profits are up” I thought that was bad. What happened to “spread the wealth around”?
“The tax cuts we passed” IT WASN’T A TAX CUT! It just kept them at current levels. Seriously.
I think he’s trying to be Reagan. If so, he’s failing miserably.
I honestly have no idea where he’s going with this bit on the economy.
China. Careful. Hu owns you. Notice he didn’t put down China. Yeah, because he’s indebted to them up to his eyeballs – thanks to the stimulus and health care. Trillion. Think about that. Twice.
Education. Really? “The future is ours to win” Is that your slogan for reelection?
He’s talking about American business and education. He’s getting a very half-hearted response.
“Encourage American innovation” Mental shot.
Seriously. I’m so confused by this. Probably because he’s not putting down America. He’s talking her up. Which is a drastic change of course, but deceptive nonetheless. This is a strategy. He’s trying to appear as a centrist. It’s a farce. Don’t believe it. He is just as left as “Stretch”.
“Investment” Mental shot.
What’s with the ribbons?
“A million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.” Great. More ugly cars on the road.
Now he’s talking about eliminating oil company tax breaks or something. Boehner’s facial expression says it all.
“I encourage Democrats and Republicans to work together” Can I take two mental shots?
“Family first instills the love of learning” “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Superbowl…but the winner of the science fair” Wow.
20 minutes in, and I’m bored. Usually I’m riled up. There’s no substance here. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I thought I might have something to complain about. There’s nothing to give him credit for though. He’s attempting to be a centrist, but he’s a terrible actor.
Aw. Isn’t that sweet. Senator Gildibrand (D-NY) next to Olympia Snow (R[INO]-ME).
“Teachers [overseas are known as] nation builders. We need to start showing [ours] the same level of respect.” Blah, blah, blah.
Wow. The secretary of education (a useless cabinet position) looks like he’s headbanging. Does he have an earbud in the ear opposite the camera?
“If you want to make a difference, become a teacher” No thanks. I like my corporate job. And I hate kids.
Am I the only one that thinks that speeches are better without the little side stories about people sitting in the audience? I realize this is supposed to make him look like he’s a man of the people, but we all know better.
“By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest propostion of college graduates in the world.” Really? Have you seen tuition costs?
Interesting. Illegal immigrant children’s education. Where’s he going with this?
“We need to take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration.” Start building a fence, then we’ll talk.
There’s that “winning the future” again. Campaign slogan. I should head on over to his website and see if it’s a banner yet.
Now we’re talking about what the rest of the world thinks of us. I’m pretty sure you agree with them.
Eesh. Harry Reid.
Am I the only one that thinks this is more somber than last year where everyone seemed orgasmic at his every catch phrase? I’m glad I’m part of the majority now.
Wow. There’s a little shout out about the pat-downs at airports. Laughter. Really?
Now he’s talking about investing in infrastructure and innovation. Two more mental shots. I don’t know how much more I can take.
“Lobbyists have rigged the tax code.” So let’s scrap the tax code and do a fair/flat tax.
Lowering corporate tax rate. Reagan-esque, dare I say. Too bad we all know his feelings on Reagan. Go read “Dreams of My Father”.
Looks like we’re moving on to health care. This should be good.
“A few of you still have concerns about our new healthcare law.” You think?!
“I’m eager to work with you.” Sign the repeal, then we’ll talk.
Campaign speech rhetoric. Blah, blah, blah.
Here comes the sob stories.
“Instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and move forward.” Again, sign the repeal, and then we’ll talk.
“The worst of the recession is over” Really? Hadn’t gotten the memo.
“…live within their means. They deserve a government that can do the same.” “…freeze annual domestic spending.”
Wow. Applause at the proposal of cutting military spending. Pathetic.
Seriously. What are those ribbons?
Well, that airplane joke fell flat. Some writer is going to be fired.
Have I not mentioned Joe “Plugs” Biden yet? He’s looking rather grim this evening.
I honestly have to say, this is one of the most bland speeches he’s ever given. Usually he’s a lot more animated at these things. But then again, he’s got a house full of hostiles. Is “hostiles” on the no-say list too?
Medical malpractice reform! That out to irritate his base.
“If we truly care about our deficit…we can’t afford…tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans”. I knew the Reagan-esqueness couldn’t last that long, but now he’s back to simplifying the tax code.
“Now is the time for both sides…to reign in the deficit…win the future.” Seriously, that’s a bad catch phrase. It’s like a bad movie slogan or something.
Wow. What’s with the commerce secretary’s eye?
Some salmon joke. I’m not following this.
This is all hot air. He’s talking about cutting red tape. That’s really funny because, if there’s one thing he’s done a lot of, it’s creating said red tape.
“Rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government.” That’s funny too. I’d forgotten he was a comedian.
He says he’ll veto a bill with earmarks and only like a dozen congressmen stand to applaud. Sad, sad, sad.
I think he’s wrapping up. He’s not winning over this crowd. Probably best.
Can I take a mental shot when he mentions “building coalitions”?
“Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave young men and women have left with their heads held high.” Yeah, act like that was thanks to you and not your predecessor.
Eesh! Janet!
Wow. Did you really just go there with “American Muslims are part of our American family”? Face palm.
I think I’ve mentioned this in years prior, but am I the only one who wants to give him a linguistics lesson every time he says “Pakistan”?
Iran sanctions. Shot of Hillary trying to look all diplomatic. Cheesy.
“We’ve reset our relationship with Russia” Why? I kind of liked the way it was. You know, where we’ve got the upper hand.
I guess this is what I get for thinking he’s wrapping up. Now he’s on to Darfur.
This speech seems really disjointed. There’s not a whole lot of structure to it. I’m not saying I’m God’s gift to speech writing, but this one isn’t that great. Granted, his writers probably don’t know how to write something where he’s supposed to appear centrist.
I think that was a shout out to our military personnel. Biggest applause of the night. Rightfully so.
Oh no…here comes the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. Lame.
That’s interesting. You’re asking colleges to open their doors to the ROTC, but you just put a woman on the Supreme Court who was all about shutting them out at Harvard.
“we will argue about everything” Well, as long as liberalism exists, then yes, we will.
“If they don’t want a bad story in a newspaper, it doesn’t get written” Hmm…sounds kind of like a story in the New York Times that paints you in a bad light.
“We believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution” Really? I thought the Constitution was “flawed”.
Wow. A special shout out to Biden and Boehner. Bad.
You’ve hit the hour mark. Wrap it up already.
Oh boy. More emotional whoredome stories. This time it’s the Chilean miners.
Ooo! A slip up. Thanks TOTUS.
Back to the innovation stuff. He hasn’t said it yet, but can I take a mental shot?
There’s that “win the future” again. I don’t know who came up with that, but they need fired. Besides, I thought winning was bad.
FINALLY. He’s done. 1 hour and 3 minutes.
As usual, no substance, but the style was off. I have to say, it was quite muted. Very little policy content, and more fluff.
Now to sit through the annoying opinions on FOX – yes, even FOX has annoying commentary on these things (but it’s better than MSNBC or CNN, not to mention hearing what Katie Couric has to say).
Shep Smith: “how did it sell at home?” In this one, terribly.
Come on, let’s get to Paul Ryan. I’m really interested to hear what he has to say, especially since the libs have spent all day trying to tear him down.
Oh look, our president is signing congressmen’s speech booklets. Am I the only one who is tickled with irony at his left-handedness?
The talking heads are saying that the congressmen were confused as to when to applaud. Really? There wasn’t much to applaud. And when you think about it, it seems like it was applaud-worthy only when they were Republican-leaning points.
I’m bored Shep and Chris. Let’s get to Paul Ryan.
Wow. They’re even setting Paul Ryan up to fail, noting that past rebuttals didn’t seem to work. Did no one watch Bob McConnell last year? He was great.
Finally, moving on to Paul Ryan – the Republican response. Will they air Michelle Bachman’s Tea Party response?
Okay, Ryan, you could have left out the bit about Giffords, but quoting the Bible will irritate the left, so props.
“Reducing spending is imperative” Yes. Wow. He’s only been on for like 2 minutes, and he’s already had more substance than our president’s hour plus long speech.
Now he’s reminding us about the stimulus, and pointing out his hypocrisy. Nice.
Health care slam. Nice, again.
Skepticism. Thanks for addressing that. I’m even skeptical of your Republican colleagues. Granted, I’ve pretty much written off Democrats fully.
This guy is doing pretty well. He might be a little too animated, but he’s got the right substance to his speech. I can see why liberals don’t like this guy – he wants fiscal responsibility and he makes sense.
He’s basically saying that we don’t want to end up like Europe. Nice. Too bad our president wants to be more like them.
Nice. A shout out to Reagan. This is good.
“We need to reclaim…limited government…not borrowing and spending more…” Good stuff.
Very nice. Short. To the point. Ample substance.
Dang it. I thought they might show Bachman. I guess I’ll watch her later. Don’t know if she’ll have anything much different from Ryan.
