posted January 26, 2011 11:28 AM            

You didn't miss anything, believe me. O'Bomber's one hour speech was uninspired and uninspiring. In addition, some of what he had to say was contradictory.

The applause lines were received by "restrained", polite applause even from demoscats.

From my viewpoint, it was worth watching just to see the mood in the Congress. And, there was a bonus. Nancy Pee-Lousy wasn't seen behind O'Bomber jumping to her feet and applauding his every word like a deranged Chimp.

posted January 26, 2011 12:00 PM            

His take on education is absolutely insane as his take on the budget.

posted January 26, 2011 01:05 PM            

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 26, 2011 07:59 PM            

Ok I was busy hanging out with my kids and Kevin, and I did formulate a new perfume.

posted January 27, 2011 11:21 AM            

Obama's SOTU Success: Making Democrats the Party of Optimism

By JOE KLEIN Joe Klein
1 hr 58 mins ago

We never really came up with a catchy name for the past decade - the Awful Oughts? The Total Zeros? Whatever it was, the decadus horribilis is officially over. Barack Obama's 2011 State of the Union was the first such address this century that wasn't overwhelmed by war or financial collapse. It was the beginning of a new era, a return to business as usual. Indeed, it was a return to many of the issues that plagued the country in the 1990s: budget deficits, international competitiveness, the need to reinvent government, health care, education. In terms of content, it was a speech that could have been delivered by Bill Clinton. It wasn't exactly a barn burner, and its muted, non-confrontational message was reinforced by the integration of Democrats and Republicans in the House chamber, a seating arrangement that served to restrain the usual animal spirits.

And yet, there was something new here: two years into his presidency, Obama has discovered the power of storytelling. I was always struck by how few anecdotes he told when he was running for President; his rhetoric was more about we than he or she, even though telling stories about actual people is one way politicians can demonstrate that they are actual people too, sort of. Ronald Reagan, who invented the tear-jerking hero sitting in the First Lady's box, was the master of this. But Obama's brilliant Tucson speech hinged on the character and dreams of a 9-year-old girl, on the human qualities of all the victims, and his State of the Union speech was a nonstop round of inspirational storytelling. The heroes of those stories were almost all entrepreneurs, an interesting choice for a Democrat; even the non-entrepreneurs - the principal who turned around a Denver school, the 55-year-old factory worker who was getting a degree in biotechnology - were entrepreneurial, taking charge of their lives and institutions. (See TIME's top 10 State of the Union moments.)

It was, in fact, amazing how conservative a speech it was. The three big goals - innovation, education and infrastructure - have been around since Henry Clay. Obama talked about them in a manner that George H.W. Bush might have employed. When he dealt with education, he eschewed the standard Democratic talking points about early-childhood programs like Head Start, which have become code words for spending more money on poor kids. Instead, he talked about accountability, which is code for breaking the stranglehold of teachers'-union work rules. When he talked about innovation, it was the small-business loan that a Michigan solar-power company received - or the creative, private-sector by-product of a perceived national security threat, the "Sputnik moment." When he talked about infrastructure, he insisted that "we'll make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment and pick projects based on what's best for the economy, not politicians." Even his effective defense of health care reform was anchored in promises to lift onerous regulations on small businesses and work for malpractice reform.

Not much socialism there, and nothing for Republicans to grab on to and screech about. There was little substance or controversy of any sort. When the President says he's going to freeze domestic spending for five years, saving $400 billion, and uses a good chunk of the evening to talk about all the breaks he's going to give the business community, it becomes prohibitively difficult for Congressman Paul Ryan, offering the official Republican response, to argue that the country is wantonly heading down the tubes. And I found myself utterly amazed when Obama celebrated our gay members of the military. (See more on Obama's speech and his calls for unity.)

And that was the most remarkable thing about the speech: Obama completely reversed the American political calculus of the 1980s and '90s. He made the Democrats the party of optimism and the Republicans the party of root canal. Someone really should have told Ryan that there isn't much mileage in comparing the U.S. to Greece or Ireland; it's a false analogy, in any case. Indeed, the notion of the Republicans having, as their official spokesman, a guy who has proposed making serious cuts to Social Security and Medicare while privatizing both - positions that are opposed by 80% of the American people - is strong evidence that the GOP, in its post-election exuberance, has already lost touch with the public. (Comment on this story.)

posted January 27, 2011 12:56 PM            

speeches are important in their own way i suppose, but the state of the economy is a good deal better than anyone expected it to be at this point.

posted January 27, 2011 02:43 PM            

What is true is that O'Bomber breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of being caught without his teleprompter.

I'm of the opinion O'Bomber just isn't intellectually capable of understanding the underlying factors which make or break the US economy. Which means his so called economic fixes were doomed to failure...as I said they were. Now, O'Bomber has proposed more of the same fixes which already have the economy and the American job markets in a tailspin.

O'Bomber's State of the Union speech has been scored for the grade level of it's content. His two SOTU speeches, one in 2010 and the SOTU speech of a few days ago scored at the lowest grade level content of any modern era president.

Obama's SOTU Scores at Eighth Grade Reading Level
Diane Ellis, Ed. · 24 minutes ago

Longtime users of Microsoft Word may be familiar with the Flesch-Kincaid grade level score, which considers the average number of words per sentence and the average number of syllables per word within a written text, and assigns an overall grade level score to the text. A text with a score of 7.3, for instance, would be understandable by the average seventh grader in America, whereas a score of 11.9 would indicate a more complex text understandable by an above-average high school junior.

According to Smart Politics' analysis, President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech received the second lowest Flesch-Kincaid SOTU grade level score since FDR.

A Smart Politics analysis of 69 orally delivered State of the Union Addresses since the mid-1930s finds the text of Obama's speech to have notched the second lowest score on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test recorded by a U.S. President.

Obama's speech had a Flesch-Kincaid grade level score of just 8.1 - which is a half a grade lower than the 8.8 he tallied in 2010.

President Obama now has the lowest average Flesch-Kincaid score for State of the Union addresses of any modern president - with his 8.5 grade level falling just below the 8.6 score recorded by George H.W. Bush during his presidency.

By contrast - the speeches delivered by two of the most popular presidents in Republican circles in recent generations - Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush - recorded average scores of 10.3 and 10.4 respectively - nearly two full grade levels higher than Obama.

Kennedy (12.0) and Eisenhower (11.9) delivered speeches that had a reading difficulty of three and a half grade levels higher than Obama.

The way I see it, there are two possible conclusions one could draw from this nugget of analysis, neither of which is particularly flattering. Either we’ve got a president who isn’t as sophisticated as his sycophants in the punditocracy make him out to be, or we’ve got a president who is so contemptuous of the American people, that he feels he must address them as though they’re 13-year old children.***My money is on the unsophistication of O'Bomber.***

posted January 27, 2011 07:47 PM            

I missed the middle section of Obama's State of the Union address when I took a break to read "War and Peace," but I gather he never got around to what I was hoping he'd say, which is: "What was I thinking?"

The national debt is $14 trillion, the Democrats won't stop spending, and President Nero gave us a long gaseous speech about his Stradivarius.

I feel so Southern whenever I watch a Democrat give a State of the Union address -- and not just because it makes me want to secede. Consternating the rest of the family, my Kentucky mother always talked back to the TV. I do it only when a Democrat is giving a speech.

And if liberals didn't like Samuel Alito mouthing the words "not true," they should be really happy I wasn't in the House chamber Tuesday night.

All I kept hearing was, "Ann pays more." That's all I ever hear when Democrats start in with all that "investing."

Apparently the government will be "investing" in education, "investing" in technology, "investing" in roads and "investing" in lots and lots of government workers. Ann pays more, Ann pays more, Ann pays more.

Obama compared "investing" in education to our sending a man to the moon after the Russians launched Sputnik. Say, who was the president who recently gutted spending on NASA? Oh yes, that was Obama.

So he reminded us of the glory days of the space program, but now he's taking that money and funneling it to public school teachers. As the Democrats say: "If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we hire another 10,000 public school teachers?"

Also, solar panels. Obama said the government was already "investing" in solar panels! That's a total relief. This must be how the president who brought us "Recovery Summer" is going to dig us out of the second Great Depression.

But I do wonder why no private lender considered solar panels a wise investment, forcing solar panel manufacturers to turn to the government for loans, followed by endless tax credits just to break even.

I guess people who work for the government are just smarter. We're so lucky to have them "investing" our money for us! Boy, egg must be on Warren Buffett's face!

Remember how massive government "investments" gave rise to the telephone, the light bulb, the automobile, the airplane, the personal computer ... OK, none of those.

But massive government expenditures did give us Amtrak and the TSA!

The only thing Obama vowed to cut were "earmarks." Yippee! The guy with the ears is against earmarks. Yes, the same president who quadrupled our deficit by giving money away to his UAW pals, Wall Street cronies and government workers is now lecturing us about earmarks. This is a bit like being scolded by Charlie Sheen for ordering a second wine cooler.

You knew it was bad when John McCain leapt up and enthusiastically applauded. The last time I saw McCain applaud Obama like that was when he debated him.

Obama said, "We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook."

And then the government outlawed Edison's great invention, made the Wright brothers' air travel insufferable, filed anti-trust charges against Microsoft and made cars too expensive to drive by prohibiting oil exploration, and right now -- at this very minute -- is desperately trying to regulate the Internet.

On the bright side, President Al Gore would have actually outlawed the cars in those driveways.

I especially enjoyed his pitch for high-speed trains where you "don't have to receive pat-downs." At least until one of those Muslims who is "part of our American family" blows one up -- at which point they'll be staffed with armies of genital-fondling, unionized TSA agents on the public dime.

Still, I can't wait for Obama's America. An America where I can use lightning-fast, high-speed Internet to file electronically for my unemployment benefits. Or better yet, I can ditch my old "oil-powered" car and take a "sunlight and water"-powered high-speed train to the unemployment office for a change.

And I hear CalTech is working on biofuels to power "Recovery Summer 2011."

The big laugh line was when Nero said mockingly, "I heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about the health care law." That's called "60 percent of the American public." It's not a joke, and it's not funny.

Here's one: Hey, Obama! Guy walks into a bar in the Gaza Strip. The bartender says, "What'll you have?" But the guy is killed instantly when an Iranian-made CT-28 missile strikes the bar, also killing a woman and small child next door. Get it, Obama? HA HA!

Synthesizing Karl Marx and Ronald Reagan, Obama said the government will soon be taking over every aspect of our lives, and Republicans can't stop him -- but gosh, isn't America a great country! Teachers are great, we need to innovate, children are our future, we need paved roads, kids should do their homework, Labrador puppies are cute, I like apple pie, I (heart) Justin Bieber, and how about them Yankees! Now, here's your 2011 tax bill -- how would you like to pay for that?

Actually, I was glad to hear him say that "there isn't a person here" -- which presumably included Democrats -- who would live anyplace else.

posted January 28, 2011 03:16 AM            

When he was talking, I was thinking of his Aquarius Ascendant and its ruler Uranus conjunct/oppose Lunar Nodes and square Midheaven/Imum Coeli axis which indicates a person that is strongly about change,reform,and innovation. This also fits with his past as community organizer and civil rights lawyer. His Sun trine Geocentric South Uranus Node does too.

I saw his idealism,inspiration reflected by his Sun square Neptune as well as his Sun conjunct/oppose Neptune Nodes (both heliocentric,geocentric).

He can be practical,pragmatic,and realistic about things with his Mars in Virgo trine Saturn.

He can easily be optimistic with his Point of Thales configuration of Mercury oppose Jupiter and Moon trine Jupiter and sextile Mercury.

His Sun trine/contraparallel Eris can easily express matters involving equality,diversity,and discord.

This goes with USA's Sun-Eris opposition in Right Ascension.

Lets face it. This country is full of discord and equality issues in numerous ways.

I listened to Obama ,and I get what he's saying. He believes that education is very important for people jobs. We're in the the 21st Century. We're in the high tech,computer,internet age. Those type of jobs require college degrees.

Our country is known for its innovation. It fits with the Moon in Aquarius in USA's chart.

I believe that education reform is strongly needed. It's not about having better teachers. It's about replacing auditory sequential learning environment with a multisensory environment to allow more students to be able to learn in school and be more educated. This needs to happen. This should have been done a long time ago. The education system needed fixing since the late 1700's. Mainstream education didn't work for Thomas Edison who had to be homeschooled by his mother who was a teacher.
There are lot of Thomas Edison types whose minds don't fit with mainstream schools.
This often leads to issues with employment and even the law. Also minorities are often misplaced in special education classrooms.

Of course, a lot of money is needed to make true education reform possible. Where is the money. A lot of money is spent on war,military. A lot of the money that was spent on wars and military could easily have went to education and healthcare. Lets not complain about the spending. Democrats spend tons of money on social programs, but Republicans spend tons of money on the military/wars. I see a lot of hypocrisy from the Republicans when they complain about Democrats spending.

Lets not get into the universal healthcare issue. Mitt Romney's healthcare was very similar to Barack Obama's. I see hypocrisy on the Republican's side in regards to that stuff.

I feel that a lot of people in this country forget that other people have different beliefs,religions,and views. It really infringes on the rights of other people like homosexuals. Not every American is white. Not every American is Christian. Not every American is heterosexual. Not every American is neurotypical. There are many Americans that don't fit inside the box. I certainly don't. Being American is not about fitting inside the box. Being American is being diverse. There is a lot of diversity here in USA. We're supposed to be a melting pot or gumbo soup because of diversity of races/ethnic groups,religions/faiths, and other things. Of course, USA wasn't made to be a diverse nation in the first place. This nation was made for only a certain kind of people, and then it was forced to change to actually be a diverse nation. With that diversity, also existed discord. Of course, equal rights issues sprung from that. Then there was the need for advocates. All of that still occurs today. This really does fit with that almost exact Sun-Eris opposition in USA's Right Ascension chart.

A Sun trine/contraparallel Eris president seems to bring out both the bad and the good sides of the USA's very strong Eristic theme.

I am cynical in that the Republican party will cooperate in working with President Obama. Why should they? If they help President Obama and the economy gets a lot better, then President Obama will more likely to be seen as an improving president which could help him get re-elected. If they don't help President Obama and the economy gets worse, then President Obama will more likely seen as a president that has gotten worse which could lead him to be just a one term president. Republican leaders already stated that their main objective is to make sure that President Obama will be a one term president. With that in mind, why should we expect the Republicans and Democrats to work together and be in unity and help get USA back on track?

I also feel that President Obama is in a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't situation. I saw this clearly since his presidential campaign. I believe that there are unrealistic expectations for him. He took over Bush's mess, and people expect him to fix the mess overnight. It's something that can only be fixed with much time and patience.

You may not accept the truth, but there is a lot of bigotry in this country whether you see it or not. I see it on the yahoo boards. There is a lot of talk about how blacks and other minorities are lazy,stupid, and all that they want is hand-outs. I have seen racial slurs on the boards too. It even scares me. I think one day that Obama will get assassinated. This would fit with the Heliocentric Mars Nodes square his Ascendant/Descendant in regards to collective violence. Transneptunian dwarf planet candidate Varuna (cosmic order/justice/judgment/evolutionary intensification) square the Ascendant/Descendant.
Transneptunian dwarf planet Haumea (fertility/creativity/evolutionary intensification) squares the Moon and Midheaven/Imum Coeli axis. Personal hard aspects to transneptunian dwarf planet/candidates can indicate the possibility of trauma of an evolutionary intensified nature. Just looking at his chart from the regular perspective, his 12th house ruler Saturn in 12th can fit with assassination too. Saturn is the planet that was associated with Death. It is still associated with death in the Classical Astrology and Vedic Astrology systems. The 12th house is the house associated with assassinations. 12th house is the house of secret enemies.

I honestly don't understand how some of you astrologers can even be conservatives. It makes me scratch my head. Most conservatives would condemn us for being involved with things that they say is against God. They say that Astrology and other metaphysical subjects are Satanic. If this country was totally run by conservatives, they would do anything to make Astrology and metaphysical subjects illegal. Heck...if this country was totally run by conservatives, there would be interracial marriage bans ,Jim Crow laws, and probably slavery. It's a good thing that overall USA is a moderate country.

I am just sick and tired of the discord in our country. I am tired of people calling other people "stupid","idiot","moron", and "retard" to others for having beliefs,views,and opinions that differ. It doesn't matter if a person is liberal,conservative,or moderate.

IMHO United States is a joke. It's more like the Divided States ...pun intended
divided states of being.

United we stand, divided we fall.

Well...we're not united. We're divided,and we are constantly falling.

It's very sad.

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No..I am not a Virgo.

posted January 28, 2011 03:39 AM            

His name is Barack Hussein Obama,Jr.
He was named after his Kenyan father, Barack Hussein Obama,Sr. after being born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

------------------
No..I am not a Virgo.

posted January 28, 2011 08:33 AM            

Thoughtful and comprehensive post Raymond.

What I experienced was an affirmation of the Presidents learning curve. This SOTU was a huge improvement over last years. He never makes the same mistakes twice, and in fact learns more from them -[don't we all learn more from the missteps?

The fact that technology investments, education, and global competitiveness are all intertwined is not lost on this President. For the US to compete, and in some cases regain our edge, all of these things must be working in tandem.

On the other hand some people liked the `WTF` offered by that poster child of the well read ...
[think Curic "all of them" moments]

Like a teenager's tweet, [giggle] WTF is a highly suitable, and properly respectful acronym to be used by someone once considered for the office of vice president.

posted January 28, 2011 12:09 PM            

Well Node, I don't remember you being nearly so outraged...or even outraged at all...when the current Vice President...not a candidate...but the actual VP (teen) said to Prez O'Bomber on national television no less..."this is a big f-ing deal"...into a live mike.

How about that Node? Would you care to tell us all about double standards you employ for your political ideology?

American voters have been saying to O'Bomber and his Socialist comrades in Congress...Stop spending. When they didn't listen, demoscats got a real haircut in the election, lost their majority in the House and lost 6 Senate seats too.

I know O'Bomber, his sycophants in the press and in the leftist loony-tunes groups believe Americans have not yet cracked the leftist speech codes.

Hot flash for O'Bomber and the rest of the Socialist coven; Americans know Investment=spending in leftist-speak. Spending is exactly what voters sent a conservative majority to the House to stop dead in it's tracks. Not only to stop spending but to roll spending levels back to the lower rates of years past.

O'Bomber hasn't learned a thing. In the campaign leading up to the 2008 election, O'Bomber talked like a moderate...then governed like a dedicated Marxist which got both him and his Socialist comrades in real hot water with voters.

Now, O'Bomber is trying to sound like Ronald Reagan while continuing his disastrous Marxist policies.

People have stopped listening to what O'Bomber says and they're paying a lot closer attention to what O'Bomber does.