Wow - a Democratic President of the United States opens his State of the Union address by offering well-deserved praise to US troops and then urging the rest of our citizens to embrace their values:
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought -- and several thousand gave their lives.
We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. (Applause.) For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. (Applause.) For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. (Applause.) Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. (Applause.) Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
Go, Sparta! The President closed with the same theme:
...Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.
One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates -- a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary -- and Hillary Clinton -- a woman who ran against me for president.
All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn’t deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job -- the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other -- because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s somebody behind you, watching your back.
So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those 50 stars and those 13 stripes. No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together. This nation is great because we worked as a team. This nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we are joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, and our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Pardon me, but the military unites behind the mission established by the Commander-in-Chief, as I hope Obama knows. Is this really how the President of the United States thinks a democracy ought to work? Is this the way to tell the world that the dictatorships of Cuba Korea and Iran have it wrong and we have it right?
And since Obama is basking in our exit from Iraq (no mention of "victory", but still...), does he consider himself to have had George Bush's back during the surge Bush launched in January 2007? Did Obama join with Bush in common purpose? Did he help to promote our common resolve?
I may be wrong, but my impression is that when back when Obama disagreed with a President it was a vital contribution to a robust democratic debate; today, people who disagree with our President lack fundamental American values such as teamwork and shared commitment. Whatever.
THE EDUCATION OF A PRESIDENT: Back in May 2008 Candidate Obama (pinch hitting for the ill Ted Kennedy) gave a rousing commencment speech at Wesleyan. His theme - the importance of public service. His mentions of the military? None.
And now that he is Commander-in-Chief he wants all of us to join the army. His army.
This is not the full speech, but an extended excerpt:
Now each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the years to come. And I say “chance” because, as president Roth indicated, you won’t have to take it. There’s no community service requirement in the outside world; no one forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and the other things that our money culture says you should buy. You can choose to narrow your concerns and live life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America’s.
But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, although I believe you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get to where you are today, although I do believe you have that debt to pay.
It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role that you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in the American story.
There are so many ways to serve and so much that needs to be done at this defining moment in our history. You don’t have to be a community organizer or do something crazy like run for President. Right here at Wesleyan, many of you have already volunteered at local schools and elementary schools, contributed to the United Way, and even started a program that brings fresh produce to needy families in the area. One hundred and sixty-four graduates of this school have joined the Peace Corps since 2001, and I confess a special pride that two of you are about to leave for my father’s homeland of Kenya to bring alternative sources of energy to impoverished areas. I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here, because the future of this country – your future, my future, my children’s future – depends on it.
At a time when our security and moral standing depend on winning hearts and minds in the forgotten corners of this world, we need more of you to serve abroad. As President, I intend to grow the Foreign Service, double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage young people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all of humanity.
At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy projects, and if we teach people about conservation, and help clean up polluted areas; if we send talented engineers and scientists abroad to help developing countries promote clean energy in a way that’s compatible with economic growth.
At a time when a child in Boston must compete with children in Beijing and Bangalore, we need an army of you to become teachers and principals in schools that this nation cannot afford to give up on. I will pay our educators what they deserve, and give them more support, but I will also ask more of them to be mentors to other teachers, and serve in high-need schools and high-need subject areas like math and science. We will need you.
At a time when there are children in the city of New Orleans who still spend each night in a lonely trailer, we need more of you to take a weekend or a week off from work, and head down South, and help rebuild. If you can’t get the time, volunteer at the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen in your own community, because there is more than enough work to go around. Find an organization that’s fighting poverty, or a candidate who promotes policies you believe in, and find a way to help them. We need you.
At a time of war, we need you to work for peace. At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again. That’s your task, class of 2008.
The closest he comes to the military that I can find is "At a time of war, we need you to work for peace".
I will answer Rick's query here before going off to an ed breakfast where I may hear more.
All of ed, K-12 and higher ed, is going political. The desire is to get everyone to a common (low) level of knowledge. skills, and attitudes. A huge part of what goes on in the classroom will be about inculcating and changing values.
So it's a sop to the unions but they will have been tracking who each student is and what they believe at a fundamental level. They will also know what seems to shift it. You are not getting out until you are the desired citizen.
USSR had gulags. We have schools where people assume because they vote all must be OK.
Education is becoming a classic case of widespread costs and concentrated benefits. Billions in tax dollars to limit what kids can know and do. And to manipulate their personalities. That's the whole child emphasis. Affective, not cognitive.
Posted by: rse | January 25, 2012 at 07:03 AM
It won't take, rse; we are human, not robots.
================
Posted by: Not that it won't stick for awhile. | January 25, 2012 at 07:09 AM
All one can hope for is that this was his last SOTU. We'll never be done with this fool. The change he has done will never be fully uncovered or undone.
Posted by: peter | January 25, 2012 at 07:11 AM
SO TM thinks O is full of it. Me, too. I cannot bear to listen to a full sentence uttered by this sophomoric narcissist.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 07:16 AM
So can we get to a brokered convention, and run a ticket of Mitch Daniel and Paul Ryan? Is that doable, or am I still dreaming?
Posted by: peter | January 25, 2012 at 07:37 AM
As nauseating as it is when a guy like Obama wraps himself in the flag, take heart. Dem presidents only do this when they're scared.
Similarly, they gave Michelle her recent "support military families" assignment when it became abundantly clear that her food Nazism was unpopular and so was she.
Posted by: Porchlight | January 25, 2012 at 07:53 AM
"It won't take, rse; we are human ..."
So that whole suicide bomb vest thang must be genetic rather than cultural huh ...
They may not get exactly what they think they want but they can sure
fuckmess up a lot of kids in the attempt.Posted by: boris | January 25, 2012 at 08:06 AM
I must be hanging out here with a bunch of kids who sat in the front row, always got their assignments in on time , and listened and harkened to what they were told.
Me, I graduated with national honors but with the lowest conduct marks any honors student ever got.. I was told this by the principal, Arlie Schardt whose son went on to become a major flak for Fenton and every left wing and green operation known to man,
Me and Ferris Bueller..a match made in heaven.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:21 AM
I didn't watch. We could have jointly written his SOTU here. Most of it was recycled. He's small, petty, petulant and willing to do or say anything for four more years of power.
Haven't we had enough of the Inexperience Experiment?
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 08:23 AM
I thought Ferris was too much of a goody-goody.
Big news. Duke at Maryland tonight. Capt'n Hate, what you got, man?
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 08:27 AM
Clarice, that was intended to make you laugh. It's early.
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 08:28 AM
He might have been, MarkO. But he was my kind of guy.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:30 AM
I did not listen to single syllable, somehow I think I am the better for it.
Tom Price of Ga this morning says that the President failed to even acknowledge his wife or Gabby Giffords, which he found unsettling and self absorbed.
Posted by: GMAX | January 25, 2012 at 08:32 AM
gmax, must of been the fault of the teleprompter.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:34 AM
Au contraire Clarice. Natl Merit Semifinalist and a direct admit to the Honors College at MSU yet they never let me into the National Honors Society in high school. Fifth in my class. Might have had something to do with that unwillingness to accept any pablum and malarky that was served up in the classroom. Authority does not like challenges, even intellectual ones.
Posted by: GMAX | January 25, 2012 at 08:37 AM
EXactly, but people aren't zombies and smart kids in high school know more than most of their teachers do.
Did you have to watch this? We did. Now marijuana was not a big thing when I was in high school, but probably because it wasn't easily available , not because of "Reefer Madness"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1jB7RBGVGk
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:41 AM
I got into the habit of only reading the transcripts when GWB gave 'em. (His speaking was so cringeworthy it was excruciating.) Continued for Obama because it was easier on the ol' blood pressure.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | January 25, 2012 at 08:46 AM
I did not watch the SOTU because I feared it would induce nausea, vomiting, and HDTV-destroying projectiles.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 25, 2012 at 08:47 AM
“An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.”
This sounds racist by the measure used for comments by Republican candidates.
Posted by: Neo | January 25, 2012 at 08:49 AM
JPod NYPost:
Barack Obama doesn’t have his mojo back. Last night’s State of the Union was so pedestrian that even its most provocative sections — proposing new taxes and new witch hunts — had little rhetorical power or oomph.The candidate who suggested his victory in the Texas primary would be remembered as the moment at which the waters of the ocean would literally begin to recede has entirely lost his capacity to inspire — or to frighten his rivals — by his oratorical gifts alone.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:49 AM
VDH: One bright note: In a brief, matter-of-fact rebuttal, Mitch Daniels said more in ten minutes than Obama did in over an hour — in over three years, in fact — and more than all the Republican candidates have said in four months.
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 08:50 AM
Or maybe most people finally recognize he's an empty suit.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 25, 2012 at 08:50 AM
No Clarice but they did show it on campus at MSU and we all went to see it as a group and laughed and laughed. Hamhanded as I recall...
Posted by: GMAX | January 25, 2012 at 08:50 AM
This Pelosi remark - "There is something I know" - is being interpreted as some sort of secret knowledge she has that will sink Newt.
Maybe, but Nancy's English is often stilted. I understood it to mean something more akin to "If there is one thing I know, it is that" or "I know one thing for sure" etc.
Posted by: Porchlight | January 25, 2012 at 08:52 AM
On the other hand, MarkO--probably because we were only in 6th grade when we were shown it, "Man Without a Country" left a lasting impression.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 08:53 AM
But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates -- a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary -- and Hillary Clinton -- a woman who ran against me for president.
Posted by: Janet | January 25, 2012 at 08:53 AM
Its been raining in Dallas all night. Low water crossing gates across the road south of my subdivision this AM. Forecast for 2 -4 inches of rain in 24 hours. I think we get about 32 inches annually on average so almost 15% in one day? Anyone have plans for an Ark laying around they can send me by PDF file?
Posted by: GMAX | January 25, 2012 at 08:55 AM
Nancy P, 'doesn't even know what she doesn't know' so that wonderful Peter Sellers performance last night, like Chauncey Gardner
spliced with President Muffer from Strangelove, that wasn't real.
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 08:56 AM
Nancy will have to read the speech script to know whats in it. Not a very bright lady in my assessment and vindictive and meanspirited to boot.
Posted by: GMAX | January 25, 2012 at 08:58 AM
Nancy was just a slightly more electable Bernardine Dohrn, IMO.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 25, 2012 at 09:01 AM
I graduated with national honors but with the lowest conduct marks any honors student ever got.
You ain't alone, sister Clarice.
I was the
Only Special Progress Enrichment kid in Junior High with 50 demerits.
Posted by: peter | January 25, 2012 at 09:04 AM
TomM-- en fuego, nailing Barry's complete self absorbsion trying to take credit for the fantastic dedication and success of the men and women of the armed services. Porchlight puts the exclamation point on-- Lefties like Barry only cozy up to the military when they're desparate. How much did we hear about Obamacare and forcing catholic church employers to cover contraceptives and abortion? None? Barry's desparate and not very smart-- he's just sputtering.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 09:05 AM
Clarice, indeed it was stunning. I think I've said before that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance still haunts me.
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 09:06 AM
Narc-- that's an insult to Pres. Muffer.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 09:06 AM
does he consider himself to have had George Bush's back during the surge Bush launched in January 2007?
This is a great point. Tom's whole post is wonderful.
No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together.
Yet all I hear from the left is how terrible we are. Only carved out little "tribes" are wonderful to the Dems...& only for a brief time while the "tribes" are used to get the leftist agenda in place.
Posted by: Janet | January 25, 2012 at 09:07 AM
This was the one substantive thing, besides the bank tax, he suggested;
http://blog.american.com/2012/01/obama-pulls-trigger-on-january-surprise-a-mass-refinancing-plan-for-u-s-mortgages/
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:11 AM
When you've sort of lost the AP, well it's a good start
http://tinyurl.com/6wbhmws
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:14 AM
They may not get exactly what they think they want but they can sure mess up a lot of kids in the attempt.
Exactly. rse's comments are worth deep consideration. Just because you and your friends care about their children's education enough to monitor it (and I yanked my youngest daughter out of the public indoctrination center and sent her to private school, at an unwelcome but necessary financial sacrifice, because of that concern) doesn't mean that an equal or greater number of people aren't submitting to the garbage for various reasons (talk to a lib and invariably they will give unquestioning support to public schools; the only difference between them is whether they're willing to sacrifice their children to this dogma). A college physics prof told me this summer of an alarming trend among his students of not being able to link concepts together to solve problems; but they're able to mindlessly regurgitate individual things back to him. If that doesn't profoundly bother you I don't know what to say.
Posted by: Captain Hate | January 25, 2012 at 09:15 AM
Someone on the Ace morning thread pointed out, that one of the companies, that Obama was taking credit for is in Wisconsin, under
Walker's stewardship.
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:24 AM
Watching the requisit dollop of Morning Joke, with Zbig expounding on American ignorance in Foreign Policy, well that's like Bill Buckner
on catching strategies, no,
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:25 AM
really, he was surprised by this,
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/some-thoughts-south-carolina-results/329466
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:32 AM
Good morning. I am posting this just for Sue because I know she will be doing the Seal happy dance all day long:
BreakingNews
Pentagon: No known survivors among kidnappers who held American, Dane hostage until Navy SEAL rescue -
No known survivors among kidnappers sounds really good!
Posted by: centralcal | January 25, 2012 at 09:32 AM
Big news. Duke at Maryland tonight. Capt'n Hate, what you got, man?
Although anything can happen on a night that they're naming the court for Gary, I don't think Turgeon, whom I like very much, has enough horses to stay with Kazooski's guys.
Posted by: Captain Hate | January 25, 2012 at 09:34 AM
...WaPo observes today that last year 1,000 Americans repudiated their citizenship for tax reasons.
drip drip drip
Posted by: Old Lurker | January 25, 2012 at 09:35 AM
Gosh - Tom Maguire's post above is on Memeorandum and in The Corner this morning.
Good job, TM.
Posted by: centralcal | January 25, 2012 at 09:35 AM
The man makes me sick. I watched nary a second of it.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | January 25, 2012 at 09:39 AM
Minus 16 at Raz today.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | January 25, 2012 at 09:41 AM
Oh yeah...my SEALs have done it again...hoowa!
I was watching F&Fs this AM and saw that Ramsey guy they have on from time to time. He sounded so depressed. A stat from him...it takes the average millionaire 17 years to make his 1st million, working 70 to 80 hours a week. And for all that hard work and years of sacrifice they get to hear the president say they aren't doing their fair share.
Pretty depressing.
But...how about my SEALs? Oh. Yeah!
Posted by: Sue | January 25, 2012 at 09:45 AM
I watched a re-run of Criminal Minds. Followed by a dose of Justified. I have never watched that show until last week. I think I like it.
Posted by: Sue | January 25, 2012 at 09:46 AM
So Mitt,is basically echoing the rantings of Cooter, Uncle Jesse was unavailable for comment;
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/what-really-happened-gingrich-ethics-case/336051
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 09:48 AM
CC-- thanks for letting us know about TomM's post being picked up. Instapundit must be next. Congrats TomM!
PS: Hemingway on Weekly Standard says 'Bam said 42 WORDs about Obamacare-- ZERO WORDs about the Stimulus Act. 'Bam takes credit for the Military and Natural Gas production -- which he had nothing to do with and is actively cutting-- and runs away from what he actually did do. 'Bam's got NOTHIN' for Indy voters.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 09:51 AM
ch-
I know why that is the case. It is deliberate and I will cover.
And if you think it is bad now, this is what these national standards are all about. And the new assessments are to obscure the poor effects on academic ability. Having just listened to a legislator (public forum)proclaim "we aren't going to try to create Rhodes scholars anymore, we just want productive citizens." Well when the focus was supposedly on academics, the results were terrible. What will be the result when you are focusing on basic skills? Plus they loved the online gaming idea for the classroom, henry. And broadband for all. It's what rural areas need to turn things around. Not if it costs more than the benefit.
clarice-my younger brother is a non student good ol boy. And I was known to ask questions teacher couldn't answer back in elem. When teachers who had both of us would gush to my mom about how wonderful my brother was, my mom would ask them what they valued in a student. I remember spending much of 4th grade exiled to hallway for being disruptive. I thought I was asking follow-up questions.
Posted by: rse | January 25, 2012 at 09:52 AM
Via Instapundit this morning:
Forget about Economic Recovery: Obama Is Toast
This pretty much sums it up:
...the way unemployment feels to Americans: one in four Americans who could be working, isn’t. That’s roughly twice the pre-recession level.
As they say, read the whole thing.
Posted by: Ranger | January 25, 2012 at 09:53 AM
I'm surprised that the President didn't run highlight clips showing the success of his Arab Stink initiative. Surely the replacement of Field Marshal Mubarak by Field Marshal Tantawi and a strong majority of the Mohametan Fanatics in the Egyptian Parliament warrants mention.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | January 25, 2012 at 09:53 AM
I wonder if Pelosi's secret involves "open marriages". They did look cozy on that park bench.
Posted by: Threadkiller | January 25, 2012 at 09:53 AM
President Pusillanimous Poltroon
Posted by: Comanche Voter | January 25, 2012 at 09:53 AM
This fine article offsets and/or compensates for yesterday's silly article titled, "Panic Sets In", imo. Nice. :)
Posted by: A Casual Observation | January 25, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Corrected link:
Forget about Economic Recovery: Obama Is Toast
Posted by: Ranger | January 25, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Drudge reporting Newt told Pelosi to bring it on.
Personally I read Pelosi as saying there won't be any elections And Obozo is prez for life.
Posted by: Stephanie | January 25, 2012 at 09:56 AM
Pelosi is crazier than she looks if they think that Obama will be president for life. This may feel like Venezuela at the moment, but it isn't.
Posted by: Sue | January 25, 2012 at 09:58 AM
BTW, I watched 3 episodes of Rome on DVD last night, rather than sit through another of his yammerfests.
Posted by: Ranger | January 25, 2012 at 10:00 AM
I'm meeting my senior chief (He actually made master chief, but it was right at the end when I was leaving, so I can never remember that as a rule) in Coronado on Sunday.
Question for danube. I'm taking him and his wife out Sunday. He's not a Hotel Del guy, and all I really know that's still there is McP's. Where is the best damned place to take them? This has to be great, I've got to tell them about my wife. He could make her laugh for hours, dead panning Navy acronyms. Comnavdogpac indeed. Help! Please!
Posted by: donald | January 25, 2012 at 10:01 AM
I just thought of something...were the Supremes there last night?
Posted by: Sue | January 25, 2012 at 10:02 AM
Some Sue. Not Alito.
Posted by: Janet | January 25, 2012 at 10:09 AM
Donald, there is a reason why I picked the Coronado Firehouse, when my eventual loss to DoT occurs. It is very good. It is a more casual setting also.
http://www.coronadofirehousebarandgrill.com/
If he lives in Coronado, chances are he has already been there.
Posted by: Threadkiller | January 25, 2012 at 10:10 AM
rse, the boys--even then--had it worse. The smartedt boys were far better at statistics and science than the non-math and science teachers and because they questioned social science garble they really got teacher's riled up no matter that they--like I--were quite polite in their dissent and questioning.
Ranger, I love that series. It was so well done and so well researched..It made that time and place really come to life.
Gingrich has told Pelosi to put up or shut up on her threat.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 10:11 AM
So Mitt,is basically echoing the rantings of Cooter, Uncle Jesse was unavailable for comment;
Mark Levin was ranting about this the night before last and challenged Krispy Kreme Christie to debate him on the facts of the matter, which he misstated as badly as Willard did.
Posted by: Captain Hate | January 25, 2012 at 10:12 AM
How does Tom M do it? A mighty fine post from our host. It deserves wide recognition.
Thanks, Janet, for reminding us of who is steering our ship in D.C.
Posted by: Frau Witzbold | January 25, 2012 at 10:12 AM
All of TM's posts are great..this one , too.
From Insty a side by side of this SOTU and the 2010 one--same song, different tie and House Speaker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDDRiGIUYQo
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Ranger,
Thanks for the Spengler link. He has it nailed regarding the sense of the Muddle. They won't look at the charts confirming why they feel what they're feeling but blowhard BOzo's incantations won't change the feeling and neither will his much too little, far too late mortgage refi scheme.
He's toast - and as Spengler notes, it doesn't matter who ABO turns out to be.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | January 25, 2012 at 10:18 AM
I think so, too, Rick, PJTatler has a post up quoting NR's assertion that Gingrich is too big a risk. Honestly, I don't see that at the moment. His campaign is uninspiring and he has to be one of the slowest guys on the uptake.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
"He's toast - and as Spengler notes, it doesn't matter who ABO turns out to be."
Rick, I wish I could believe this.
Posted by: MarkO | January 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
RickB-- I disagree with one point you make. I think Gingrich is UNelectable. He's such a lousy human being-- even I would have a hard time voting for him- and I'm a charter member of ABO.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
"His"=Romney.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Obama's most outrageous line last night, which nobody picked up on, was when he made the preposterous assertions that at no time in our history have we ever been more respected and admired by our allies, well, the few that we have left. (Implying that he and he, alone, has regained the stature that our country lost during GW's administration.) I was incredulous when I heard that.
You realize, don't you, that he is a madman and he is delusional - not just nuts, but certifiably nuts? I'm not being mean. I'm serious. He is nuttier than a squirrel turd. Wacko. Crazy. Batty. Insane. And [not] in a cute, warm 'n fuzzy way.
But, but, but it's so cool to have our first black president, right?
Posted by: A Casual Observation | January 25, 2012 at 10:24 AM
Newt is often fortunate in his enemies. Pelosi's comment is truly useless, unless she backs up what she says. It's almost like Nancy wants Newt to get the nomination...
If there is anything criminally actionable in newt's past, it probably is some kind of ethical foot fault of the sort a guy who lives on the edge does. And that kind of foot fault just isn't going to dispatch Newt.
I doubt there is really any great secret in newt's life. For better or for worse, his warts are plainly visible to all who aren't over-exerting themselves in trying to miss them. If the grandisoity, bellicosity, assinity of a typical Newt performance attracts rather than repels, and excites rather than disgusts...well, its the electorate having an ymmv moment, I guess.
One suggestion for Romney in dealing with Newt. Try humor. Frankly, Newt is radically, fundamentally absurd as often as he is tactically brilliant. Treat him as anything but serious. That might cause the Newtdown the Romney campaign, at this points, needs.
Posted by: Appalled | January 25, 2012 at 10:27 AM
ACasual-- 'Bam IS DELUSIONAL no question. I think-- I can't prove it-- that he is a clinical case.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 10:27 AM
Donald, I would recommend Il Fornaio. It's right on the bay, with a wonderful view of the SD skyline. Another option would be the Brigantine. They're both a little bit more family-oriented than McP's or the Firehouse, I think.
You're gonna love this, Iggy: one of my nieces used to be married to McP.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | January 25, 2012 at 10:28 AM
Why don't we run Bob Ehrlich instead, he has executive experience, without the albatross of Masscare;
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/01/25/national-review-comes-out-against-the-gingrich-gamble/#comments
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Clarice,
Yes, Rome is/was an excellent series. Oddly appropriate to today's situation, where we have a corrupt national elite brutally protecting their own turf, and destrying anyone who they feel doesn't deserve to belong to their club.
Posted by: Ranger | January 25, 2012 at 10:33 AM
I agree clarice which is why the subject of this post has special poignancy for me. Brilliant and bored boys hurt everyone. When you realize just how noncognitive this new curricula is and why, you will join in with the bound post it brigade against the walls as well.
I told the story about the new principal asking teachers which Disney princess they had identified with. If the group was mixed gender, he asked each one to pick their favorite super hero. His teaching experience was in an Alternative high school in an urban school district. Brought in by a super who knew he was an idealogue and would implement without question.
Posted by: rse | January 25, 2012 at 10:33 AM
It reminded me very much of D.C.
Posted by: clarice feldman | January 25, 2012 at 10:34 AM
Didn't Newt need the votes of moderates in part to get elected, but he didn't need
Democrats,Romney's experience is MassCare and the RGGI.
Romney has executive experience, unlike Gingrich or Santorum, and in past elections voters have seemed to value that experience. But at least Santorum, like Romney, has been elected to statewide office before, and like Romney has shown himself able to reach beyond the Republican base in doing so. Santorum’s record in this regard beats Romney’s, since Santorum won statewide in Pennsylvania twice. Only Gingrich has never been elected to office from anything larger than a congressional district; only Gingrich has never had to reach beyond the Republican base vote to win an election.
Posted by: narciso | January 25, 2012 at 10:34 AM
Casual, I pointed it out, in my own special way:
--Does he think we are exceptional?
Posted by: Threadkiller | January 24, 2012 at 10:10 PM--
Posted by: Threadkiller | January 25, 2012 at 10:34 AM
I remain convinced that Newt has been SO hated and detested by the crazy Left for so long that they would have ALREADY revealed a major skeleton hiding in his closet if they'd known about it before now.
I just don't think they have much else.
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 25, 2012 at 10:36 AM
Obama is not toast. The muddle have been dumbed down and misinformed by the news media and the schools for fifty years to the point that Obama has a reasonable chance of reelection. As a supplementary tactic, the news media have made it intolerable for a level-headed person to run for POTUS on the GOP side. The left is winning.
The only chance of reversal is results. Manage to get a conservative Senate and POTUS in there by the skin of our teeth and turn the economy around big time. Only results like that can convince the muddle to rethink.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | January 25, 2012 at 10:37 AM
That AP factcheck piece was pretty good (if not entirely fact-checking). But I was surprised they left the big howler alone:
The CBO had a slightly different spin:"Profound challenges"? That sounds bad. And I notice the three largest deficits (since WWII) are the last three years. If Obama wants to take credit for something, maybe he ought to take credit for setting the record. At least that'd be honest.
As to what to do about it, the prescription hasn't changed in the last year or so, except the medicine gets a little more bitter with age. And it is the exact opposite of trying to soak more money out of the rich, or other wealth spreading schemes proffered by our merry band of social experimenters.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | January 25, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Given the abject failure of Obama's Presidency, how can he even show his face in Public?
Posted by: PDinDetroit | January 25, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Did you notice that Hillary Clinton has morphed into Madeline Albright? Gross.
Posted by: A Casual Observation | January 25, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Tom Price of Ga this morning says that the President failed to even acknowledge his wife or Gabby Giffords, which he found unsettling and self absorbed.
He was sure he covered that with his unseemly groping of Giffords on the way to the podium. Michelle's new diamond neckless was all the recognition she needed.
I dunno, I think it is rather brilliant and feeds right into the anti-Newt rhetoric.
And I bet he slept with her.
Posted by: Jane | January 25, 2012 at 10:40 AM
ACasual-- standing in the world? as 'Bam brought it up, let's look at the substance. TRADING PARTNERS: outraged that 'Bam's Dollar debasing has delivered inflation to their door step and demagogued on trade - like Keystone(China and Canada); TRADITIONAL ALLIES: realize he's a radical Lefty who identifies with the International Left and Thugs rather than democracies, but an empty suit for not delivering on Global warming commitments and 'leading from behind' when military action in Lybia was agreed to (Israel, GB, Japan and NATO); ENEMIES: they pay no price for attacking US interests and get benefits at no cost (except AQ in Pakistan-- hey he's right about 1 thing!) so they mock and humiliate 'Bam (Putin's Russia, the Mullahs, Syria, Jihadis). So the best we can say about 'Bam is that the soft -Left is disappointed in him for being an empty suit on global warming and world government nonsense. The rest?-- outrage humiliation and mocking. Yeah Barry, you're doing great.
Posted by: NK | January 25, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Oops that last part of my comment was in response to this:
Newt is often fortunate in his enemies. Pelosi's comment is truly useless, unless she backs up what she says. It's almost like Nancy wants Newt to get the nomination...
I dunno, I think it is rather brilliant and feeds right into the anti-Newt rhetoric.
And I bet he slept with her.
Posted by: Jane | January 25, 2012 at 10:41 AM
GMAX - He also didn't mention Sen. Mark Kirk who just recently suffered a very serious stroke.
Clarice-Could you please tell American Thinker to get a tweet button! Thx
Posted by: cajunkate | January 25, 2012 at 10:42 AM
MarkO,
If the crack running through Governor Romney's Waterford™ jaw heals quickly (say by next Tuesday) then he'll be the apparent nominee by April 24th. If it doesn't heal, then all that Gingrich/Perry/Palin did was reveal a flaw that BOzo intended to hit with a sledge hammer for six months.
The fight is tough because of the value of the prize and that's the way it's supposed to be.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | January 25, 2012 at 10:42 AM
It's almost like Nancy wants Newt to get the nomination...
There's a theory: Pelosi as evil mastermind. I can't even type that with a straight face.
Posted by: Cecil Turner | January 25, 2012 at 10:43 AM
rse & Clarice, as far as bored boys go I spent much of 4th grade hiding in the coat room in the back of class playing cards. The teacher started out in a one room schoolhouse so knew when to let boys be boys. Plus my older brother charmed all the teachers so well I got extra room to be me -- incorrigible. As far as gaming instead of educating, if you can't blow up the chemistry lab you won't bother to learn any chemistry.
Posted by: henry | January 25, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Well, I can see Nancy withholding THAT bit of info until now. I stand corrected. LOL
Posted by: fdcol63 | January 25, 2012 at 10:44 AM
Santorum won statewide in Pennsylvania twice.
I thought he was a Pitts area Rep for 1 term and a Senator for a single term.
Posted by: Captain Hate | January 25, 2012 at 10:44 AM
One suggestion for Romney in dealing with Newt. Try humor.
Humor:Mitt = Humility:Barry
Posted by: jimmyk | January 25, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Cecil:
Don't completely discount Nancy's skills. She got Obamacare passed, against a lot of people's second thoughts and better judgement.
Posted by: Appalled | January 25, 2012 at 10:49 AM