State of the Union

[Jenksismyhero]

POTUS: I want to do things, and I can do them if the Repubs don't stop me!

 

GOP: We want to do things, and we can do them if the Dems don't stop us!

 

 

What a bunch of nonsense our government is becoming.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Jenksismybitch

[EvilMonkey]

Next year they should just not invite him to speak in front of them on TV. The law only says that he has to deliver it to congress. He can do that in an email.

[NorthSideSox72]

I watch every year, regardless of who is in the office. I feel like it is some sort of obligation, which is probably silly.

 

It's the same every year pretty much, though this year did have a little looser feel than others. A little more hooting and hollering, a little more humor. I liked that aspect. But damn, the game of sit/stand/applaud left/right/both is just plain irritating. Stop it, we don't need to do that with every point the President makes.

 

It's pomp and circumstance, and it's usually a series of goals most of which won't be met. But it does illustrate the priorities of the administration, which I think is worth watching.

 

Obama struck, I thought, the right tone... but he's also a guy who has consistently talked a big compromise game without ever working to do that. Not that the GOP Congress has been any better of course, they just blockade everything he does because he's the one doing it. But, hard as this is to admit, I kind of miss the days of Clinton and Gingrich actually working together to do a few things. We haven't seen much of that lately.

 

One other note - I hope the GOP is smart enough to see that they cannot continue to revolve their entire strategy around stopping Obama and the Dems when the economy has gotten so much stronger. It worked in November, but I'll be the farm it won't work in 2016 unless we dive into another recession by then. They need to have an affirmative theme at some point.

 

 

[cabiness42]

I watch each President's first SOTU and none of the rest.

[bmags]

I watch every year, regardless of who is in the office. I feel like it is some sort of obligation, which is probably silly.

 

It's the same every year pretty much, though this year did have a little looser feel than others. A little more hooting and hollering, a little more humor. I liked that aspect. But damn, the game of sit/stand/applaud left/right/both is just plain irritating. Stop it, we don't need to do that with every point the President makes.

 

It's pomp and circumstance, and it's usually a series of goals most of which won't be met. But it does illustrate the priorities of the administration, which I think is worth watching.

 

Obama struck, I thought, the right tone... but he's also a guy who has consistently talked a big compromise game without ever working to do that. Not that the GOP Congress has been any better of course, they just blockade everything he does because he's the one doing it. But, hard as this is to admit, I kind of miss the days of Clinton and Gingrich actually working together to do a few things. We haven't seen much of that lately.

 

One other note - I hope the GOP is smart enough to see that they cannot continue to revolve their entire strategy around stopping Obama and the Dems when the economy has gotten so much stronger. It worked in November, but I'll be the farm it won't work in 2016 unless we dive into another recession by then. They need to have an affirmative theme at some point.

 

Tradition is nice and stuff, but clearly with communication advances this is not in fact for Congress, and instead for ...citizenry/democratic tradition, whatever.

 

If that's the case, I don't understand why they haven't tried to integrate some more media beside just a speech. I don't want a powerpoint with clipart, but why can't some context with infographics be added? Honestly a split screen with some quick facts while he/she's talking would be helpful.

 

But alas, I would settle for "no applause til the end please", with some weird 15-second NPR jazz samples to break up the sections.

[Jenksismyhero]

I watch every year, regardless of who is in the office. I feel like it is some sort of obligation, which is probably silly.

 

It's the same every year pretty much, though this year did have a little looser feel than others. A little more hooting and hollering, a little more humor. I liked that aspect. But damn, the game of sit/stand/applaud left/right/both is just plain irritating. Stop it, we don't need to do that with every point the President makes.

 

It's pomp and circumstance, and it's usually a series of goals most of which won't be met. But it does illustrate the priorities of the administration, which I think is worth watching.

 

Obama struck, I thought, the right tone... but he's also a guy who has consistently talked a big compromise game without ever working to do that. Not that the GOP Congress has been any better of course, they just blockade everything he does because he's the one doing it. But, hard as this is to admit, I kind of miss the days of Clinton and Gingrich actually working together to do a few things. We haven't seen much of that lately.

 

One other note - I hope the GOP is smart enough to see that they cannot continue to revolve their entire strategy around stopping Obama and the Dems when the economy has gotten so much stronger. It worked in November, but I'll be the farm it won't work in 2016 unless we dive into another recession by then. They need to have an affirmative theme at some point.

 

I honestly watch the VP and Speaker reactions more than the President. "oh, oh! is he going to stand?! He is going to clap?!"

 

But I do think you're right. the Repubs have to do something not named Keystone or repealing Obamacare. That's why I think there's a legit chance some of this middle class stuff may happen. Child tax credits, help with child care, etc. are things that Republican voters also want. The question is how many corporate tax laws are the Repubs going to throw in the same legislation?

Edited January 21, 2015 by Jenksismybitch

[Texsox]

It parallels a sporting match. Cheer for your team, ignore or boo the other team. Ties instead of face painting is about the only difference.

[StrangeSox]

It parallels a sporting match. Cheer for your team, ignore or boo the other team. Ties instead of face painting is about the only difference.

I think you've hit on a huge potential improvement...

[bmags]

Doesn't Boehner already participate in that?

[Balta1701]

Doesn't Boehner already participate in that?

[caulfield12]

I honestly watch the VP and Speaker reactions more than the President. "oh, oh! is he going to stand?! He is going to clap?!"

 

But I do think you're right. the Repubs have to do something not named Keystone or repealing Obamacare. That's why I think there's a legit chance some of this middle class stuff may happen. Child tax credits, help with child care, etc. are things that Republican voters also want. The question is how many corporate tax laws are the Repubs going to throw in the same legislation?

 

 

 

I’d have suggested he dispense with the cursory mention of a hundred topics and the anecdotes about people sitting in the balcony, and instead use the entire speech to tell a story — much as Bill Clinton did at the 2012 convention — about why the economy tanked in 2008 and why it’s rebounding now.

 

I’d have suggested he become the first president to use PowerPoint slides in a national address, so that Americans at home could see the graphs showing job growth (about 246,000 per month last year), falling unemployment (the largest annual drop in 30 years, even if some of that reflects a decline in workforce participation) and shrinking deficits. Also, it would have been a riot to see last month’s unemployment numbers projected onto John Boehner’s forehead.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-declares-victo...-043549344.html

Obama declares victory way too late, Matt Bai

[Balta1701]

Obama needs to use an "orange screen" technique behind him for TV so that the slides appear both in a box to his side and as Boehner's head.

[Reddy]

POTUS: I want to do things, and I can do them if the Repubs don't stop me!

 

GOP: We want to do things, and we can do them if the Dems don't stop us!

 

 

What a bunch of nonsense our government is becoming.

 

Just so you're aware, 81% of voters approved of the speech, and 72% approved of his policy proposals for the next two years.

 

So it's... actually... the GOP... that's out of touch.

 

Wah wah.

 

Link

Edited January 22, 2015 by Reddy

[EvilMonkey]

Just so you're aware, 81% of voters approved of the speech, and 72% approved of his policy proposals for the next two years.

 

So it's... actually... the GOP... that's out of touch.

 

Wah wah.

 

Link

And he promised 'free stuff' to 90% of the country, so the results are not surprising.

[Reddy]

And he promised 'free stuff' to 90% of the country, so the results are not surprising.

 

where does he promise that? lol

[caulfield12]

where does he promise that? lol

 

 

The community college idea, for one.

[southsider2k5]

I quit watching the State of the Union 10+ years ago when I realized it was basically an episode of Whose Line is it Anyway.

 

Everything is made up, and the points don't matter.

[Jenksismyhero]

Just so you're aware, 81% of voters approved of the speech, and 72% approved of his policy proposals for the next two years.

 

So it's... actually... the GOP... that's out of touch.

 

Wah wah.

 

Link

 

Right...

[Balta1701]

Right...

Come on, there's an easy way to reply to that. Go find Bush having like 75% approval responses for one of his 2005-2007 vintage SOTU speeches. I'm sure those exist somewhere.

[Reddy]

The community college idea, for one.

 

You mean it's free if you're willing to work for it?

 

I guess we have different interpretations of "free"

[Reddy]

Come on, there's an easy way to reply to that. Go find Bush having like 75% approval responses for one of his 2005-2007 vintage SOTU speeches. I'm sure those exist somewhere.

 

I'd be surprised, to be honest.

 

Now if you're talking 2002, that I could get behind.

 

[Reddy]

Right...

 

I know... it's a sore point for those on the right. Gosh darn facts and statistics!

[Balta1701]

I'd be surprised, to be honest.

 

Now if you're talking 2002, that I could get behind.

Here's 2006 with a 77% positive score. The summer before that a city drowned.

[Reddy]

Here's 2006 with a 77% positive score. The summer before that a city drowned.

81!

 

Love you, too, Balta.

[bmags]

Here's 2006 with a 77% positive score. The summer before that a city drowned.

Wasn't Katrina 2005? So that was after.