The Sad State of the Union and the Presidency

When I hear State of the Union speeches I always come away with a cynical attitude about politicians and the President didn’t let me down last night. He was supposed to talk about the state of the union but we got another campaign speech. Of course, he concluded on a high note about how great we are as a people in difficult times, but continues to be tone deaf to what the people are telling him. He forges ahead with his big government programs and his rhetoric does not match his actions.

We still have a President in a state of denial that he can ever be wrong in anything he does, while he makes me dizzy with programs and initiatives that do little to affect a “change we can count on”. Asking Republicans (or anyone) to give him some ideas on healthcare was disingenuous, saying things were “a mess when I walked in the door”, talking about more exports when he has pursued protectionist trade policies (the Columbia free trade pact has been on his desk for a year), and now saying he’s for nuclear energy and off-shore drilling while pushing windmills and solar for years, is an insult to our intelligence.

In terms of national security (which was hardly mentioned in his speech), he talked about swift action against terrorists, disrupting terror plots, and taking credit for ending the Iraq war. All of this was another affront to an informed public. I was glad to hear that Michelle and Joe Biden are working together on helping military families. Now I understand why Michelle needs 22 aides when all the previous First Ladies had one.

Then he had the audacity to talk about putting all earmarks on the Internet, when he signed a stimulus bill with almost 9,000 earmarks, more of the hypocrisy that is a trademark of his presidency. Not to mention his scolding of the Supreme Court for “opening the floodgates” to corporate and foreign campaign contributions; after he just raised more money in history for his recent presidential campaign while the current rules were in effect and won’t tell us where all that money came from.

By contrast, the Republican response by Bob McDonald, the newly elected governor from Virginia, was well organized, concise, and focused on the issues that concern voters as evidenced in the recent Massachusetts special election. No heart-tugging platitudes or a lengthy list of initiatives, McDonald said it very clearly, “the Federal Government is doing too much”, illustrating the disconnect between Obama and the people.

If you ever had any doubt that Obama is an ideologue leftist who thinks government can create jobs, prevent poverty, and spend your money with abandon, you should be convinced after this speech. Given the poor performance of this administration, this President continues to push his progressive agenda despite putting this country on the brink of insolvency, and severely weakening our national security by giving foreign combatants and terrorists the civil rights of American citizens. One of the basic tenets of elite liberals is that the public is stupid or just doesn’t have the time or desire to become politically informed. This speech was an excellent example of that.

Obama will eventually pay for this condescending address to all the informed voters of this nation.