Posted on 01/27/2010 9:19:02 PM PST by OK Right
The most truthful line in President Barack Hussein Obama’s first State of the Union address referred to Washington’s current politicians. “We face a deficit of trust,” said the president. Unfortunately, Obama refuses to acknowledge that he also faces a deficit of accountability. Until he does, his presidency seems destined to remain broken.
Unification was definitely the theme of Obama’s first State of the Union address. A slightly more humble and substantially less angry Obama showed up to deliver the speech, which was itself comprised of many promises – some new, some old and all hard to deliver. Indeed, except for adding a few new promises to the list, Obama’s address sounded more like a recycled campaign speech, complete with many of the talking points that helped get him elected.
What stands out most about the speech, however, is that Obama refuses to own up to being America’s leader. It seems that this president will never stop his George W. Bush blame game. As a result, he still comes off like an adolescent trying to do the work of Commander-in-Chief.
Obama walked in battered and on the ropes. It’s not just the Republicans delivering the punches. His own party is furious with him for not being liberal enough and following through on reckless promises such as health care. Tonight, Obama sought to unify the parties and called for more genuine bipartisan work from Congress.
Unfortunately, he also raised specters that have helped to cripple his own administration and cast a cloud over the Democratic Party. Obama wants to fix the economy and create more jobs. He called for tax cuts for small businesses to get them to hire more people and raise their wages. But he also called for banks to pay “A modest fee . . . to payback the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.” Yet many banks have paid their debts. Some tried to pay off their loans early and were turned away by the government.
One of the scariest aspects of the Obama administration has been its massive government expansion, which includes the substantial shadow government he’s erected (think czars here). During the speech, Obama called for establishing several new government sectors – a National Export Initiative and a Fiscal Commission. This move begs the question: Do we really need to fund more government bureaucracies during our economic crisis?
In spite of some new goals, there were a lot of re-runs in the speech. We heard more about giving those who educate themselves big tax and loan cuts. We heard about 1.5 million jobs either saved or created and another million to be saved or created in the coming year. We heard about the need to continue to push for health care reform. We heard about the need for transparency and earmark exposure. Sound familiar? It does to OK too.
The health care re-run was especially disturbing. Obama made it clear that he's not backing off on health care. He plans to move it forward despite the fact that most Americans want health care left alone.
What's more, Obama dared to talk about “peace and harmony” with regard to the right and left working together. But what about those closed-door meetings on health care? Republicans weren’t allowed in, yet Obama targeted “the right” for not working together with Democrats.
There were a lot of straw men and straw women mentioned in the speech. Obama used these references as representative types that are supposed to stand for We the People and help us believe that the president has our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, given the track record of alienating, ignoring and even occasionally denigrating America’s middle class, Obama’s vow to fight for us rings false.
Obama was out to call everyone on the carpet tonight. He targeted special interests and the Supreme Court’s recent decision “to spend without limit in our elections.” With regard to campaign funds, President Obama, you should recall that you broke your own campaign promises and violated the Constitution by taking foreign funding during your presidential campaign. (Isn't GE/NBC a corporation?)
And unfortunately, we heard too much Bush-bashing. Again. Obama reminded the country that a decade ago, America had a $200 billion budget surplus that was depleted before he was sworn in. “All this was before I walked in the door.” Yawn. How many times are we going to hear Bush blamed for every single setback that our country has suffered under Obama’s watch and before he took over? (It was great – and all too easy – to lip-read John McCain’s disappointed “Blame Bush” mouthing after Obama delivered the “walked in the door” line.)
Obama mentioned that “over the past few years” – in other words, while W was still president – seven million jobs were lost. But President Obama, four million jobs have been lost this past year alone. It hasn't been this bad since the early 1940s.
Adolescents pretend that problems will go away if they’re ignored. With that in mind, what about your vow to close Gitmo, Mr. President, and the fact that a special panel has now determined it’s best to leave a substantial portion of the detainees incarcerated? What about the 9/11 New York City trials that both Republicans and Democrats believe should be cancelled in favor of military trials (how’s THAT for bipartisanship)? What about reading Miranda rights to airplane terrorists and in essence giving them free passes to clam up?
In the end, Obama came off a little less angry, yes, but unfortunately, just as immature and two-faced. His joke attempts (“That's how budget's work”) had a condescending tone. In one sentence he promised bipartisan work and in the next he targeted “some on the right” and followed up with an it’s-not-my-fault reminder: “That's what we did for the last eight years.”
Tonight, the president hardly owned up to much that’s wrong with the country. Maybe a more mature Obama will deliver next year’s State of the Union address, but we don’t think so. His track record is well established. That’s why it’s almost certain that he will deliver the 2011 speech to a more conservative Congress.
It was a great night for Republicans!
Pray for America’s Freedom
I hope & pray so. I want that bastard commie pig usurper 0bozo AND his family AND the socialist demoRAT party to absolutely miserably fail in 100% of everything he either tries or even things of trying. I want to see him hobbled out of Washington DC in chains & leg irons, for high crimes & treason against the U.S.
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