State of the Union live commentary thread

[King]

LOOK AT CAMERA 2 MICHELLE! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT!

Anyway, using January 2008 economic boom as Bush and January 2009 recession as Obama is a genius stat manipulation by her.  Sad that nobody in the media will call it out most likely.

[Invisible Obama]

Bachmann sounds completely scripted. She's not connecting with the audience. It looks like she's teaching elementary school.

[All life is a blur of Republicans and meat.]

She didn't mention Giffords. Classy!

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Lol at her attempted pushing charisma.  It sounds like she's emphasizing all the wrong syllables.

[krazen1211]

What's the blink counter on Nancy Pelosi?

I tried blinking like that; its uncomfortabe.

She won't be on camera since she's no longer speaker.

The new guy may cry though.

Right. The question is whether she does this every year or if it was just a podium thing. I thought it was a Bush thing but 2010 proved that wrong.

Did they ever pan over to Pelosi during the broadcast? See above.

[WillK]

What's the blink counter on Nancy Pelosi?

I tried blinking like that; its uncomfortabe.

She won't be on camera since she's no longer speaker.

The new guy may cry though.

Right. The question is whether she does this every year or if it was just a podium thing. I thought it was a Bush thing but 2010 proved that wrong.

Did they ever pan over to Pelosi during the broadcast? See above.

dont remember seeing her at all.

[krazen1211]

Current year freeze bring us down to "lower level of GDP since Ike". What growth rates does he project that makes that possible?

I don't think its a growth rate problem, so much as conveniently classifying his massive expansion of Medicaid as 'not counting'.

[WillK]

Current year freeze bring us down to "lower level of GDP since Ike". What growth rates does he project that makes that possible?

Not a very high one.   

He said that over a decade "discretionary spending" will be as low compared to GDP as it was under Eisenhower.  Medicaid, Medicare, and Interest are not discretionary spending.

[Keystone Phil]

Not sure if this was noted earlier but it looks like Toomey, Kohl and Johnson sat together. Too weird because I suggested it at the beginning of the speech without even noticing where each of them were. Why is that trio relevant? Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - the Super Bowl XLV states.     Where was Casey, you ask? Well, one of the newspapers around here stated that Casey and Toomey looked for seats together but couldn't find any so Casey ended up "in the back next to a freshman Congressman from New York." 

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

The strange arrangements and pairings in the SOTU just make me like how the seating was even more.

[Iosif]

Anybody else notice the Backstreet Boys quote at the end of the speech?

[Tender Branson]

I have to watch the speech first, but it seems the reviews according to instant CNN and CBS polls are very good:

CNN:

What was your overall reaction to President Obama’s speech tonight – very positive, somewhat
positive, somewhat negative or very negative?

52% Very Positive
32% Somewhat Positive
11% Somewhat Negative
  4% Very Negative

Do you think the policies being proposed by Barack Obama will move the country in the right
direction or the wrong direction?

Pre-speech: 61% Right direction, 37% Wrong direction
Post-speech: 77% Right direction, 18% Wrong direction

In general, would you say that the proposals President Obama outlined in his speech tonight are too liberal, not liberal enough, or just about right for the country?

71% Just about right
23% Too liberal
  5% Not liberal enough

In his speech tonight, did Barack Obama make you feel more optimistic or more pessimistic about the direction the country is headed in over the next few years?

77% More optimistic
19% More pessimistic

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/01/25/top3.pdf

CBS:

Overall, 91% of speech watchers approve of the proposals the President made in his speech. Just 9% disapprove – typical of the high support a president generally receives among those who choose to watch the State of the Union.  Last year, 83% of viewers approved of President Obama’s plans at the time.

75% of speech watchers think the President’s plans would make America more competitive in
the world economy.

He also convinced more speech watchers that his economic plans would create jobs: after the
speech, 75% think his economic plans will create jobs, up from 55% before the speech.

Views of Health Care Bill

Before speech: 56% Approve
After speech: 65% Approve

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/26/politics/main7284238.shtml

[I left.]

Some good proposals...some not so good proposals. I'll believe he actually meant it when I see it, though.

The speech was pretty lacking in content overall.

[memphis]

The speech was pretty lacking in content overall.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It was a political speech not a policy speech. I believe in the future of America and whatnot.

[Gravis Marketing]

Some good proposals...some not so good proposals. I'll believe he actually meant it when I see it, though.

The speech was pretty lacking in content overall.

Which is just as well, because Obama is lacking in power to get any proposals enacted, so he may as well stick to applause lines and vacuous rhetoric.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Some good proposals...some not so good proposals. I'll believe he actually meant it when I see it, though.

The speech was pretty lacking in content overall.

Which is just as well, because Obama is lacking in power to get any proposals enacted, so he may as well stick to applause lines and vacuous rhetoric.

Exactly.  Then again, the SOTU was practically political posturing in the first place, so it's to be expected.

[krazen1211]

I have to watch the speech first, but it seems the reviews according to instant CNN and CBS polls are very good:

CNN:

What was your overall reaction to President Obama’s speech tonight – very positive, somewhat
positive, somewhat negative or very negative?

52% Very Positive
32% Somewhat Positive
11% Somewhat Negative
  4% Very Negative

Do you think the policies being proposed by Barack Obama will move the country in the right
direction or the wrong direction?

Pre-speech: 61% Right direction, 37% Wrong direction
Post-speech: 77% Right direction, 18% Wrong direction

In general, would you say that the proposals President Obama outlined in his speech tonight are too liberal, not liberal enough, or just about right for the country?

71% Just about right
23% Too liberal
  5% Not liberal enough

In his speech tonight, did Barack Obama make you feel more optimistic or more pessimistic about the direction the country is headed in over the next few years?

77% More optimistic
19% More pessimistic

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/01/25/top3.pdf

CBS:

Overall, 91% of speech watchers approve of the proposals the President made in his speech. Just 9% disapprove – typical of the high support a president generally receives among those who choose to watch the State of the Union.  Last year, 83% of viewers approved of President Obama’s plans at the time.

75% of speech watchers think the President’s plans would make America more competitive in
the world economy.

He also convinced more speech watchers that his economic plans would create jobs: after the
speech, 75% think his economic plans will create jobs, up from 55% before the speech.

Views of Health Care Bill

Before speech: 56% Approve
After speech: 65% Approve

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/26/politics/main7284238.shtml

Isn't there typically a lot of self-selection bias here? I'm guessing more Democrats and less Republicans watch Obama talk.

[Torie]

Obama was flat as a board. He missed some opportunities to go for some big fish. He is a very cautious man, which can sometimes be good, and sometimes bad. In this case, it was bad in my opinion. He needed to lay out more clearly the stark choices that lay before us, and he should have tried to inspire us with the courage to deal with them - honestly. I give the speech a gentleman C.

[angus]

Isn't there typically a lot of self-selection bias here? I'm guessing more Democrats and less Republicans watch Obama talk.

Of course.  In fact, CNN made a big deal of that, with Joe Johns mentioning it several times when they first posted those results after the speech last night.  Also, those dialer things are useless unless you're a speech writer.  And even then they only give you an idea of what phrases certain demographic groups like.

Best to just watch the speech for yourself and see what you think.  FWIW, I thought it was a good speech.  It was conciliatory without being obsequious.  It was ideological without being partisan.  He scored political points by deferring graciously to the American Dream embodied in the Republican House Speaker, a boy from a working class neighborhood, as well as the to the Vice President, a boy who apparently still hasn't grown up.  And it was bold.  He made no equivocation about the fact that the military needs to get over its fear of the repeal of DADT.  As Commander-in-Chief, will he have the balls to act on his words?  Only time will tell.

It was also nationalistic, especially for a Democrat.  I like that in speeches.  Of course I would.  I'm a Republican.  Republicans dig that God & Country schtick.  He went on for a couple of paragraphs about our great nation.  And that Sputnik reference was whack!  Loved that.

I also like the fact that he didn't try to pander to racial or ethnic groups, the way many past Democrat and Republican presidents have done.  I count no instances of the words black, African, or Hispanic in the full text on-line.  We are simply one people.  "We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people."  Or, as another great orator often said:  Ein volk, ein Reich!

He didn't beat up on China too much, which is good, but he also didn't let us forget that if we don't get our collective head out of our collective ass, especially when it comes to educating our children and rebuilding our infrastructure with an eye to renewable resources, then eventually there will be no need to remind Americans that the Chinese are winning the economic competition.

Sure, it was short on details.  I agree with Torie and others about that.  He says that we need to sacrifice, but what shall we sacrifice?  On the other hand, I've learned not to expect details.  He is expected to cover quite a few topics and only has an hour.  He figured his best bet was to broadbrush.

But, no, you're right.  You can't really read too much into these polls.  For one thing, more Democrats always watch a Democrat and more Republicans always watch a Republican, so there's always skewing.  Also, folks tend to judge the speech on specific policy points.  Republicans largely don't agree with Obama and therefore will say, "Oh, he didn't come far enough.  Clearly he's a statist who won't work with us."  Similarly, most democrats do agree with Obama and give him high marks.  And the ones who don't will say, "OMG, he's becoming a moderate, forsaking his principles.  Doesn't he even care about people any more?"

And that's really an inappropriate yardstick.  You have to keep an open mind about these things.  Speeches, especially the SOTU, are simply propaganda pieces.  They're meant to rally the people--especially at a time when the unemployment rate is high, we're mired in two wars, and nutjobs are shooting at our judges and congress members.  So speeches should be judged accordingly.  Of course he's going to end it with "The State of the Union is strong."  And, if he does his job well, then you'll believe it.  At least for a few minutes.  We need good propaganda, and it's the President's job to deliver it.  This, in my opinion, was decent propaganda.  Overall, it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling while I was watching it.  I'd give it a thumbs up.  

[Chareth Cutestory]

I loved a lot of what he said just like I did in 2008.  I understand it takes a while to get a lot of these things done, but don't bring it up if you don't think you're really going to do it.  He's exciting and makes me feel like we're facing in the right direction, I just want to start moving in that direction.  The things he mentioned were what I was hoping he'd be all about from day one.  In particular I was happy about his support for ending the ridiculous support of oil companies and aiming for more innovation again.  I'm still in, I just want some results already on the off chance there aren't four more years to get this going.

[Grumps]

It was uncomfortable watching Weiner and King sit together........

I'd give it a C, which is above average on my SOTU grading scale.  Most are barely watchable.

[Grumps]

Sarah Palin is a pure f'ing idiot........WTF, bitch!

[Stranger in a strange land]

^ To anyone who's seen this, as well as Michele Bachmann's latest video, looks like Palin and Bachmann are engaging in a race to the bottom. Delicious!

[angus]

Sarah Palin is a pure f'ing idiot.

You know you'd do her if she let you.

Anyway, that's funny.  Think the double entendre is intentional?

[Grumps]

Sarah Palin is a pure f'ing idiot.

You know you'd do her if she let you.

Anyway, that's funny.  Think the double entendre is intentional?

I would indeed, and yes.