Last night, Barack Obama delivered his first official State of The Union Address, and my general reaction was very positive. As usual, the President displayed his ability to engage an audience and deliver a well written speech.
I have to admit that I don't put much stock into the efficacy of these annual addresses from a policy perspective. The circumstances under which todays promises were made will be different tomorrow, and it is likely that all of the things that were discussed in this years address, will again be present in next years. Not to mention the fact that Congress really is the entity that has the power to change policy, and so far that hasn't worked out so well for Obama. What these really seem to have an effect on are politics, and in that respect Obama did a great job. I liked James Carville's football analogy, calling it a "first down": certainly not a touchdown, but an incremental good step.
The election in MA was definitely a setback for the Dems, and I think Obama did a little bit of damage control last night. What follows are just some bullets laying out the things I thought he did particularly well last night. I may tackle a couple of these topics in more detail at some point, but I want to keep this post about last night.
- Redirect the attention to jobs. Healthcare has been Obama's focus to this point, but I think it has become apparent that without the support of Republicans, this is going to be more difficult than hoped. Undoubtedly, people have lost some confidence in the administration over this (which I find to be pretty ignorant- like a president can just get 'er done), and jobs are certainly a chief concern across the country. I also noticed that Obama used the term "health insurance reform" last night, which I thought was interesting and appropriate. This should still be a priority, but I think success will be more likely if it is negotiated quietly while jobs and the economy take the forefront...we shall see.
- Put everyone in their place. This was my favorite thing about last night. Obama's hit list was long and comprehensive. He took the American people to task by clarifying his role in our deficit, and laid down specific steps to pay it back. He once again reiterated that he inherited a bad situation (during a crisis no less), and people should not expect miracles. He also pointed out that while he sold hope during his campaign, he never said he could do it alone...and c'mon people lets admit it- you've been no help getting this healthcare thing done. Next on the list were Democrats and Republicans. He chastised Dems for running for the hills with the largest majority in decades, and the Reps for being the party of "No". I particularly enjoyed the part when he said something to the effect of "Republicans, if it is going to take a supermajority to get anything done in this town, then you are NOT doing your job representing the people of the United States." TAKE THAT! The other highlight was when he chastised everyone (including the media) for turning every topic into a political game, and turning the business of Congress into a constant campaign. If all we care about is who wins and loses elections, we will never get anything done, and that is not the solution. He also took it to the Supreme Court, who just messed up campaign finance, allowing unlimited contributions from corporations to campaigns. Lastly, he admitted mistakes made by his administration, and kind of took himself to task in a way.
- Got specific about plans. So often, these speeches are filled with very general plans (e.g. " we have to tackle the deficit this year"). I thought he did a great job of being specific with plans in almost every aspect of his address. It is nice to know that while Republicans (and Democrats I suspect for some!) may disagree with his ideas, they at least can't say he doesn' t have any.
Before I finish, I would like to just note that the rebuttal by Bob McDonnel was a huge improvement from weirdo Bobby Jindhal (note: not hard to do). It was kind of weird having all those hand picked supporters there clapping for him, but oh well. The content was pretty standard issue, but at least not blatantly sucky and ridiculous.
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