{"id":19006,"date":"2016-01-13T10:43:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T18:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=19006"},"modified":"2016-01-13T10:43:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T18:43:52","slug":"the-state-of-our-union-is-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/01\/13\/the-state-of-our-union-is-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of Our Union Is Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night I watch President Barack Obama give his eighth and last State of the Union address.  I only noticed one actual lie.  He said it would be a short speech.  He appeared more interested in establishing legacy than lining up support for a progressive agenda.  It was an excellent speech! However, he was, in my opinion. far too conciliatory toward Republicans.  Rather that calling the extreme partisanship in Washington his failure. he should have made it clear that even when he gives far too much, it is never enough to satisfy Republican demands.  Even when he gives them what they ask for, they reject it and demand more.  The blame for extreme partisanship rests totally with the Republican Party.  I have the complete video and a transcript for you.  Lets start with some highlights:<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"0113Obama-SOTU-2016\"<\/p>\n

I’m going to give you my totally-biased, unvarnished impression of the State of the Union address in one sentence: I will never see another President as gifted as this one in my lifetime, and he will be missed.<\/p>\n

And hey, when Kim Davis’ only comment about the speech was that "it was good,"<\/a> then you know he must have done something right. But give it time, and the spinners and haters will have you believing he cast a spell on everyone that only they can break. Before they do that, here are my favorite moments. The entire speech is at the top of the page, and my quotes are from the transcript as released ahead of the speech.<\/p>\n

The central theme<\/strong>: "But such progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people?<\/strong> Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?<\/em>"<\/p>\n

Perfect framing, contrasting the fearmongering of the Republican field with a more confident, hopeful outlook of what the future can be. <\/p>\n

The real reason we’re anxious<\/strong> : "Anyone claiming that America\u2019s economy is in decline is peddling fiction<\/strong>. What is true \u2013 and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious \u2013 is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes that started long before the Great Recession hit and haven\u2019t let up. "<\/em><\/p>\n

I thought he did an excellent job of addressing the anxiety that many still do feel, even if many probably won’t have ears to hear.<\/p>\n

Calling out deniers<\/strong>: "Sixty years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we didn\u2019t deny Sputnik was up there<\/strong>. We didn\u2019t argue about the science, or shrink our research and development budget. We built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon. "<\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted to give that first line a standing ovation, but he didn’t stop with that\u2026 [emphasis original<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars<\/a>><\/p>\n

Click through for more great high points.<\/font><\/p>\n

If you missed toe speech  or want to review, here\u2019s the complete video.<\/font><\/p>\n