Live blogging: State of the Union
I'm watching it on NBC because Fox News is scary and I like Brian Williams molasses voice.
This post brought to you by The State of the Union drinking game and President Obama being awesome at Notre Dame.
8:00 PM The red carpet of D.C. commences.
The first lady has a "first lady box"?
8:10 PM Gosh, President Obama has such a bizzaro speaking cadence. I enjoyed it during the campaign, but it's starting to get annoying. I wish he could get through a whole sentence without pausing.
It's interesting that he's talking about how uncertain our future is when he campaigned on such a certain future.
8:13 PM Wait, the storm has passed? That, regardless of being entirely truthful, is hilarious semantics manipulation. "The storm has passed but the devastation remains." That's just fancy talk for "I haven't fixed it yet..." Yes, you did act, President Obama, but it didn't do anything.
Elkhart, Indiana! REPRESENT.
VP Biden seems to be paying pretty good attention (if his head nods are any indication), but Speaker Pelosi is already getting that glazed look in her eyes.
8:15 PM OF COURSE YOU ARE HOPEFUL FOR OUR FUTURE. HOPE IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME.
This "we do not quit" rhetoric is very reminiscent of one of his earliest speeches in office. He's a big fan of the "we will persevere, we are Americans" statements.
8:19 PM Awww, Geithner. Someone give him a hug. It's a good thing he's leading with the economy - it polls as the number one issue Americans care about right now - so very different from the campaign.
8:21 PM Yes, the first partisan applause. WITH A JOKE. Okay, that was awesome. That right there, is why he got elected. "I thought I'd get some applause on that one." If nothing practical comes from you reign, President Obama, I will forever love your candidness.
8:23 PM I always think it's so weird when they pan over the non-standing side of the room. "Stimulus bill...awkwaaaaard."
8:25 PM Not gonna lie, a democrat that is rocking advocacy of small business is extremely sexy.
8:27 PM I'm unclear how you feel about stimulus packages, President Obama. Explain.
8:28 PM "America was made to compete." I like that he is focusing on jobs, especially American jobs. Stopping tax breaks for outsourcing jobs is not going to make the right happy - you're alienating big business here.
8:30 PM There are a lot of happy people in this room, it's easy to tell, but I don't feel like he's owning the floor yet. I keep waiting for the light to the "Obama magic" to turn on but it hasn't happened yet.
8:31 PM "How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?"
A lot of talk about competition, reclaiming our status at a hegemonic power. This is why I like President Obama better than Senator-cum-Presidental-hopeful Obama, he is such a different politician than he was on the campaign.
"I do not accept second place for the United States of America." Awesome. I am smiling so hard right now.
8:33 PM Yes, educating people is always a good platform. He's got a great education program, he needs to talk about this more. Hopefully he'll rock it later.
8:34 PM He is taking SNEAKY potshots at the Senate tonight in heavy favor of the House. He seems to be saying that lobbyists are controlling the Senate.
8:35 PM Okay awesome whiplash from "we need to be all environmentally friendly and green" to "clean, efficient nuclear power and oil drilling." He's got the whole place standing for that. Yeah, because he's basically talking Senator McCain's energy program.
HOLY NANCY PELOSI. That was some serious glee for the climate bill there.
8:36 PM Took a shot at the 'non-believers' when it comes to global warming. He got some hissing from the right there. However, he has a great point in saying that no matter what you think about climate change you have to agree on the worth of clean energy.
I'm glad he's bringing it back to making America the number one global power again.
8:40 PM Yes, education here we go. "The best anti-poverty program around is a world class education." Word. That.
8:41 PM Seriously, I love when he talks about education. I really think it's one of his strengths. A strength I think he should emphasize in a political environment of growing skepticism.
8:44 PM More amazing jokes. Here is what distinguishes him from his predecessor - and it's not just his above average speaking skills. President Obama's approval rating has not been soaring through the roof in the few weeks leading up to this speech. He's been taking a significant amount of heat on a lot of different issues. But here he is, zen master, with an obvious calm and easygoing attitude. He's cracking jokes, talking to his wife, mastering a self-deprecating humor. It's really really great. "She gets embarrassed."
So unlike President Bush who was overly serious in response to the growing criticism surrounding him.
8:47 PM "I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber."
8:49 PM "Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Let's get it done." This is campaign throwback talk. He's still the "I want to reach across the partisan gap" guy he was back then.
I am glad that in a way he's acknowledging that he, and Congress, have not "been getting it done" this past year.
8:51 PM Now he's explaining his spending policies for the first year he got in office. This is good for all those people complaining about how he got into office and didn't "deliver" on his campaign promises. He is a much more practical and pragmatic guy than he let on in his campaign.
SENEATOR MCCAIN, WASSUP FRIEND?
8:52 PM His acceptance of government's failures and his outlook on the "real" situation is extremely refreshing. This is actual accountability - this is what the framers intended when they wrote the state of the union speech in to the constitution.
8:53 PM "This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that let us pretend we solve a problem." THAT, right there.
Another shot at the Senate for blocking reform.
8:54 PM "I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans."
Speaker Pelosi is truly the Paula Abdul of Congress.
8:56 PM "Let's try common sense. A novel concept."
"We face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust. Deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years." You are winning my bitter poli-sci major heart, President Obama.
8:52 PM WHOA, he just went after the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, they did not look happy sitting there in the front row. That was kind of great. It's true that with no limits to campaign finance politics will be bankrolled, elections bought.
8:59 PM Yeah, you didn't think you're election would bring about peace and harmony and a post-partisan world, but you convinced you're electorate that would happen.
His focus on bipartisanship is pretty great but almost feels like a blame-shift - like he hasn't gotten anything done in office because Congress is inept. What he is saying is important nonetheless. Change would actually happen if Congress wasn't so divided and full of partisan hate.
9:02 PM "We still need to govern."
"We still have the largest majority in decades and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills."
Ruthless towards the Senate. Ruthless.
"We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions." Quote of the night right there.
9:03 PM I sense foreign policy coming next. 9/11 references are usually a good indicator.
Did he just take credit for thwarting a terrorist attack that was stopped by an average joe and not an agent of the government? Just checking.
9:05 PM Supporting good governance and stopping corruption - excellent international policy, but pretty standard.
9:06 PM Getting all the troops home is ambitious and obviously a people-pleaser but it's going to be messy. Really messy.
9:11 PM Haiti. I was wondering if that would make the speech. The speech has a lot of talk about America as a global player, as a member of a global community but also as a strong force in that international arena. This is like a wet dream for the international politics major in my brain.
9:12 PM "If you abide by the law you should be protected by it."
9:13 PM What. Of all the gay rights issues, you picked don't ask, don't tell? Really? Yikes. That's the only "discrimination" that makes sense to me. Though, it was a good way to secretly advocate gay rights without coming out on the now controversial marriage issue.
9:16 PM I like that he's criticizing the news media and trying to bring back Americans to idealism and away from severe doubt.
9:17 PM "Remember this - I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That's just how it is.
Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what's best for the next generation.
But I also know this: if people had made that decision fifty years ago or one hundred years ago or two hundred years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren."
Great part of the speech.
9:19 PM "We are strong. We are resilient. We are Americans." I almost expected him to bust out into Pat Benetar here. We are strong. Heartache to heartache...we stand! LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD.
9:20 PM "I DON'T QUIT!" Poignant silence as he ended the speech, a great last few minutes.
RAHM, I SEE YOU.
President Obama did an excellent job, in my opinion. He really got the whole chamber with him for most of the speech. He was brutally honest at points even going so far as to call people out while still coming off as calm and optimistic.
There was a lot of catcalling which was hilarious and the democrats were EXTREMELY enthusiastic in their applauding throughout the speech. Reactions in the audience are obviously the best part of any state of the union speech.
I mark this down as a success. Much better than expected considering he's riding on the heels of the Massachusetts debacle and general skepticism that's growing throughout the country.
More legitimate and less capslocky reactions later perhaps...
This post brought to you by The State of the Union drinking game and President Obama being awesome at Notre Dame.
8:00 PM The red carpet of D.C. commences.
The first lady has a "first lady box"?
8:10 PM Gosh, President Obama has such a bizzaro speaking cadence. I enjoyed it during the campaign, but it's starting to get annoying. I wish he could get through a whole sentence without pausing.
It's interesting that he's talking about how uncertain our future is when he campaigned on such a certain future.
8:13 PM Wait, the storm has passed? That, regardless of being entirely truthful, is hilarious semantics manipulation. "The storm has passed but the devastation remains." That's just fancy talk for "I haven't fixed it yet..." Yes, you did act, President Obama, but it didn't do anything.
Elkhart, Indiana! REPRESENT.
VP Biden seems to be paying pretty good attention (if his head nods are any indication), but Speaker Pelosi is already getting that glazed look in her eyes.
8:15 PM OF COURSE YOU ARE HOPEFUL FOR OUR FUTURE. HOPE IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME.
This "we do not quit" rhetoric is very reminiscent of one of his earliest speeches in office. He's a big fan of the "we will persevere, we are Americans" statements.
8:19 PM Awww, Geithner. Someone give him a hug. It's a good thing he's leading with the economy - it polls as the number one issue Americans care about right now - so very different from the campaign.
8:21 PM Yes, the first partisan applause. WITH A JOKE. Okay, that was awesome. That right there, is why he got elected. "I thought I'd get some applause on that one." If nothing practical comes from you reign, President Obama, I will forever love your candidness.
8:23 PM I always think it's so weird when they pan over the non-standing side of the room. "Stimulus bill...awkwaaaaard."
8:25 PM Not gonna lie, a democrat that is rocking advocacy of small business is extremely sexy.
8:27 PM I'm unclear how you feel about stimulus packages, President Obama. Explain.
8:28 PM "America was made to compete." I like that he is focusing on jobs, especially American jobs. Stopping tax breaks for outsourcing jobs is not going to make the right happy - you're alienating big business here.
8:30 PM There are a lot of happy people in this room, it's easy to tell, but I don't feel like he's owning the floor yet. I keep waiting for the light to the "Obama magic" to turn on but it hasn't happened yet.
8:31 PM "How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?"
A lot of talk about competition, reclaiming our status at a hegemonic power. This is why I like President Obama better than Senator-cum-Presidental-hopeful Obama, he is such a different politician than he was on the campaign.
"I do not accept second place for the United States of America." Awesome. I am smiling so hard right now.
8:33 PM Yes, educating people is always a good platform. He's got a great education program, he needs to talk about this more. Hopefully he'll rock it later.
8:34 PM He is taking SNEAKY potshots at the Senate tonight in heavy favor of the House. He seems to be saying that lobbyists are controlling the Senate.
8:35 PM Okay awesome whiplash from "we need to be all environmentally friendly and green" to "clean, efficient nuclear power and oil drilling." He's got the whole place standing for that. Yeah, because he's basically talking Senator McCain's energy program.
HOLY NANCY PELOSI. That was some serious glee for the climate bill there.
8:36 PM Took a shot at the 'non-believers' when it comes to global warming. He got some hissing from the right there. However, he has a great point in saying that no matter what you think about climate change you have to agree on the worth of clean energy.
I'm glad he's bringing it back to making America the number one global power again.
8:40 PM Yes, education here we go. "The best anti-poverty program around is a world class education." Word. That.
8:41 PM Seriously, I love when he talks about education. I really think it's one of his strengths. A strength I think he should emphasize in a political environment of growing skepticism.
8:44 PM More amazing jokes. Here is what distinguishes him from his predecessor - and it's not just his above average speaking skills. President Obama's approval rating has not been soaring through the roof in the few weeks leading up to this speech. He's been taking a significant amount of heat on a lot of different issues. But here he is, zen master, with an obvious calm and easygoing attitude. He's cracking jokes, talking to his wife, mastering a self-deprecating humor. It's really really great. "She gets embarrassed."
So unlike President Bush who was overly serious in response to the growing criticism surrounding him.
8:47 PM "I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber."
8:49 PM "Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Let's get it done." This is campaign throwback talk. He's still the "I want to reach across the partisan gap" guy he was back then.
I am glad that in a way he's acknowledging that he, and Congress, have not "been getting it done" this past year.
8:51 PM Now he's explaining his spending policies for the first year he got in office. This is good for all those people complaining about how he got into office and didn't "deliver" on his campaign promises. He is a much more practical and pragmatic guy than he let on in his campaign.
SENEATOR MCCAIN, WASSUP FRIEND?
8:52 PM His acceptance of government's failures and his outlook on the "real" situation is extremely refreshing. This is actual accountability - this is what the framers intended when they wrote the state of the union speech in to the constitution.
8:53 PM "This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that let us pretend we solve a problem." THAT, right there.
Another shot at the Senate for blocking reform.
8:54 PM "I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans."
Speaker Pelosi is truly the Paula Abdul of Congress.
8:56 PM "Let's try common sense. A novel concept."
"We face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust. Deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years." You are winning my bitter poli-sci major heart, President Obama.
8:52 PM WHOA, he just went after the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign financing, they did not look happy sitting there in the front row. That was kind of great. It's true that with no limits to campaign finance politics will be bankrolled, elections bought.
8:59 PM Yeah, you didn't think you're election would bring about peace and harmony and a post-partisan world, but you convinced you're electorate that would happen.
His focus on bipartisanship is pretty great but almost feels like a blame-shift - like he hasn't gotten anything done in office because Congress is inept. What he is saying is important nonetheless. Change would actually happen if Congress wasn't so divided and full of partisan hate.
9:02 PM "We still need to govern."
"We still have the largest majority in decades and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills."
Ruthless towards the Senate. Ruthless.
"We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions." Quote of the night right there.
9:03 PM I sense foreign policy coming next. 9/11 references are usually a good indicator.
Did he just take credit for thwarting a terrorist attack that was stopped by an average joe and not an agent of the government? Just checking.
9:05 PM Supporting good governance and stopping corruption - excellent international policy, but pretty standard.
9:06 PM Getting all the troops home is ambitious and obviously a people-pleaser but it's going to be messy. Really messy.
9:11 PM Haiti. I was wondering if that would make the speech. The speech has a lot of talk about America as a global player, as a member of a global community but also as a strong force in that international arena. This is like a wet dream for the international politics major in my brain.
9:12 PM "If you abide by the law you should be protected by it."
9:13 PM What. Of all the gay rights issues, you picked don't ask, don't tell? Really? Yikes. That's the only "discrimination" that makes sense to me. Though, it was a good way to secretly advocate gay rights without coming out on the now controversial marriage issue.
9:16 PM I like that he's criticizing the news media and trying to bring back Americans to idealism and away from severe doubt.
9:17 PM "Remember this - I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That's just how it is.
Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what's best for the next generation.
But I also know this: if people had made that decision fifty years ago or one hundred years ago or two hundred years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren."
Great part of the speech.
9:19 PM "We are strong. We are resilient. We are Americans." I almost expected him to bust out into Pat Benetar here. We are strong. Heartache to heartache...we stand! LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD.
9:20 PM "I DON'T QUIT!" Poignant silence as he ended the speech, a great last few minutes.
RAHM, I SEE YOU.
President Obama did an excellent job, in my opinion. He really got the whole chamber with him for most of the speech. He was brutally honest at points even going so far as to call people out while still coming off as calm and optimistic.
There was a lot of catcalling which was hilarious and the democrats were EXTREMELY enthusiastic in their applauding throughout the speech. Reactions in the audience are obviously the best part of any state of the union speech.
I mark this down as a success. Much better than expected considering he's riding on the heels of the Massachusetts debacle and general skepticism that's growing throughout the country.
More legitimate and less capslocky reactions later perhaps...