Click here to watch it
Well, I watched the SOTU last night and it was pretty typical as SOTUs go.... I wasn't too inspired nor thrilled by the speech. I would have to agree with the analysis that the President delivered it more flat/tone deaf then usual. Plus even I was somewhat confused during parts of it as to where he was going.
I could analyze it line by line yet, I'm just gonna pick out one point of it here in this post. The President stated that "So tonight, I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks...."
If you didn't catch it, he basically stated that we are now going to bail out the little community banks. We just bailed out the big ones and now we are going to bail out the little guys. What's that mean to you and me? Our tax dollars at work saving the little bank down the street in your hometown. Though isn't it surprising we are going to throw $30 billion in dollars at the banks again? Will that really solve our problems? You tell me.
How would you like it if say Phil or Katie took your $60 dollars in order to help pay for their food and part of their hotel bill while staying at your town? Then after they paid you back the $60 dollars they needed another $30 dollars in order to buy a little toy at the gift shop before he or she left? That's $90 bucks right there you just handed over to them without able to say no due to they stole it outta your wallet or purse.
Granted my example is rather odd/extreme yet, it is the same thing that the government now wants to do with our hard earned money. We can't do much more considering some of us are already stretched to our limits plus a decent chunk of us are still unemployed.
I personally found the SOTU rather lame and a bunch of talk. Why? It all sounded good yet, at the end of the day I don't expect any real change or progress to happen.
I'm not the only one who is upset regarding our current situation as well. Don't believe me? Watch this video clip of a focus group of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who stated even they are ticked off regarding our current situation.
Still don't believe me? I'll use another source.
Take this CNN poll for example; people are stating that they are in the "worst economic conditions in a lifetime."
2/3rds said that they were not happy with how the current situation is going. That's the main jest of the poll.
How about a general picture across the board?
Overall, most Americans fill the stimulus money has been wasted. That's not good gang.
How about the reaction from the Democrats themselves?
Here's just an excerpt:
One powerful House Democrat released a scathing statement about the White House before Obama had finished speaking.
"Somewhere along the line, the White House lost its way," said Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "Instead of focusing on solutions to help America's families wade through the wreckage of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, Washington has wasted valuable time wrestling with partisan politics in an effort to rush through drastic reforms that do not directly address our most immediate needs."
Are you getting the picture? Notice I've used various sources here and one cannot bash me for only using only one source. I've used Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. The reactions are the same coming from every angle, not just one particular poll or network.
Another thing that is scary is the that President stated he would overrule the Senate via executive order to get something passed. This issue is scary in that it is basically undoing the various checks and balances of the branches of the government. Another example of the President ramming things through/down our throats.
Here's what he said:
Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, we'll still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. That's why I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. (Applause.) This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline.
Now, yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I'll issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward...
Don't you feel scary about that? The checks and balances are there to make sure people stay within the lines and don't bypass other branches. The executive order will basically do that leaving those in the House of Representatives and Senate left to dry i.e. you and I have no voice in the matter whatsoever.
So, if you think we are going well consider yourself one of the few in American who do. Why? The focus groups, polls, and other data say we aren't.
Which begs a question: is the President really connected with what is going on? Some might say he is though he is going to continue to push through this health care thing, supposedly focused on jobs (remember we according to him have lost 7 million), and whatever else we plan to do.
That's my take on it, what's yours?
JB
