State of the Union reaction

Pell Grants for Children. A great idea.

It was fun watching Pelosi wait a few moments before she would join in the standing ovations.

I noticed some delayed reaction when he discussed the surge in Iraq and that it was working. I think many Democrats were too heavily invested in our defeat and don't like the idea of us having success while Bush is president.

I like the earmark talk. But it went in one ear and out the other for ALL legislators!



I was watching NBC. Afterwords Brian Williams asked Hillary Clinton about the Kennedy endorsement of Obama. She gave a "non-answer" and Williams did not push her to really answer the question. She still has Williams in her grasp. I wonder how many wins and endorsements for Obama will it take before the media stops treating Hillary with kid gloves?

On several issues the presidents remarks suffered in terms of credibility. In fact they almost seemed paradoxical in light of past actions. His so called accomplishments; tax cuts and ecconomic growth were created through the slight of hand that a lose monetary policy and extreme borrowing can produce. Now he calls for restraint comparing government debt to persoanl debt. Ironic considering the presidents lack of responsibility in using the country's Chinese "visa card" taking us from a surplus to a deficit of 250 billion. With the addition of the current stimulus package, that debt is projected to be 350 billion by years end. That kind of spending has taken Our national debt to nearly 10 trillion. What individual could sustain debt of 4 times annual income without declairing bankruptcy? "We can all see that growth is slowing," he said in a blunt acknowledgment of rising food and gas prices, increasing unemployment and turmoil in the housing and financial markets. It seems that irresponsible borrowing was largely to blame yet the President called for congress to quickly pass a stimulus package that calls for another 100 billion in US debt. The Presidents overall theme of individual freedom and the sanctity of the constitution seemed hypocritical in the wake of revelations on the use of torture, the suspention of constitutional rights such as habeus corpus and illegal wire tapping. Was the asertation that big government is not the answer a step towards reform? Does he feel that the massive subsidies to big oil, influence pedling scandals and the growth of government spending that characterized his administration were wrong or was he just being incredulous? He touted the success of "No Child Left Behind" but that is just another example of the big government interfering in areas traditionaly left to the states. Ask any teacher about the sucsess of that program and prepared for an earfull of explitives. The president also recycled ideas on alternative energy, affordable healthcare, international and domestic social initiatives but, if past is prolog, it was purely rhetoric... at least until the end of his term and a new administration comes in to clean up the mess.