What is The State of The Union President Obama?

I had a hard time finding any substance in the State of the Union Address last night.  Maybe it was because I kept looking at John Boehner thinking how much resembles Tommy Lee Jones, or maybe it truly was lacking.  I have to believe the later because had Obama’s words been anything worth listening to, I would not have been distracted.  Those who said no one would remember this speech in a week were right on the mark.  In fact I am having a hard time remembering now what he said, however I want to go over some of his main points.

Spending cuts are a big deal.  The government needs to exercise many.  Right now everyone is a little sceptical about this.  What an impact it would make if legislators agreed to cut their own salaries, if they cut back on extravagant travel expenses and in-house operations.  How differently people would feel if the President and Vice President cut their own salaries and operating expenses.  These measures might only save figures with six or seven figures when our deficit has 13, but it would reinstate the trust of the American People in our government.  Hey, every penny counts.

I responded to the talk of high-speed Internet and high-speed rails with confusion.  I live in the middle of nothing and have no land-line.  I have no problem with my access and I haven’t seen a single piece of evidence to suggest that there are communities who think that they would have lower unemployment if they only had better access.  Or that faster Internet would decrease crime or the number of those on welfare.  Preposterous.  The same is true of high-speed rail.  Obama referenced Europe’s superior rail system while ignoring the obvious geographical differences between Europe and the United States.  This is all besides the point that these projects will likely add even more to the deficit.

Obamacare.  Oh boy, here we go!  America has made it clear that this current health care bill is unwanted.  Even so, Obama is defending it to the death.  Did he forget how he came to be president?  Right.  Election, meaning We the People.  The same people who do not support Obamacare by quite a majority.  Sticking to it in this issue will really hurt his chance of reelection.  Ousting the headache for businesses is just a drop in the bucket and will not make this bill more favourable to the electorate.  In short, he needs to let it go.  If Republicans fail to get the bill repealed, I hope they will change it so much that it will be deserving of a name much different than Obamacare.

In summary, this address likely put a few bumps in his road to reelection.  American people were already cautious about the President.  We wanted to hear something with substance, validity and promise; we received none of the above.  If this speech is remembered at all come election 2012, people will remember how empty and dissatisfied they felt.  They will remember that he spoke of Internet and high-speed rail when America is in dire need of an honest, responsible and dignified government.