Open thread for the SOTU speech
Talk amongst yourselves.
I assume it’s going to be a mite rowdy—not here, but there.
“To make America great again for all Americans.” A few Democrats manage to stand up and applaud that sentiment, at least.
A big “togetherness” theme so far.
Nice heads-up for Steve Scalise, who is beaming. He must be mighty glad to be alive.
Now it’s the economy, the economy, the economy, stupid.
(Is it my imagination, or does Trump’s face look a tad less puffy than usual? Is it possible he’s lost a couple of pounds?)
All this togetherness rah-rah talk is making the Democrats look especially curmudgeonly when they don’t stand.
If I was playing the drinking game, I’d say the word to drink on would be “America.”
The Democrats aren’t even standing for the idea of getting Detroit in gear again?
“Americans are dreamers too.”
Justified bragging about ISIS defeat.
These stories of heroes like Bronze Star recipient Justin Peck (I’m not sure I got that name right) are very moving. You can see the strength and determination on his stoic face.
Incredible story of a man named Sung Ho (spelling?) who escaped from North Korea and now helps other escapees.
Now he’s closing with a paean to America and its spirit. Sounds very Reaganesque to me.
I also was struck by the deliberate slowness of Trump’s delivery and articulation in this speech. That’s actually not easy to do; to pace a speech properly. I think he’s gotten quite good at it.
It’s the people who are making America great again.”
I think it was an excellent and thematically unified speech. He has a lot to brag about. The message of unity and Americans working together was almost constant. The failure of the Democrats to react positively to those things made them look mean-spirited. They couldn’t even muster up public approval for issues which would ordinarily by their issues, or at least obviously bipartisan issues.
Trump’s best speech ever. Believe me!
My heart broke for the Long Island parents.
And how about his attack on the Iranian dictators.
Mr. Song Ho was the star. What a story.
I thought it was terrific. He had some good writers and worked the audience. Acknowledged many people and every day people were there too for their kudos
No booing they acted like sdults
It needs to be admitted he has some charisma. he just does & he uses it. Maybe his loving the US, resonates with us all
Nailed It ! ! ! ! !
“The failure of the Democrats to react positively to those things made them look mean-spirited.” [Neo]
The Democrats call illegal aliens “dreamers” and call American citizens “deplorables.” That’s really all one needs to know about the Democrat party.
Did a quick switch to NBC, they. Mitchell. Brokaw Tod etc they were talking about “sure thing Russia will be meddling in fall elections ” not trumps speech. Russia Russia Russia these sickos need psychotherapy.
MollyNH:
I guess the 80s called.
I decided to watch SOTU on cspan. Trump was a master of ceremonies. His delivery was far better than good. He made extraordinary people the examples of American greatness. He made gestures of commonality to the black community. He made gestures to the left on ‘dreamers’ in exchange for his core issues of border security and uncontrolled immigration.
The dems rejected everything with sullen faces. Masterful. Didn”t know until now he had it in him.
Parker, I underestimated this guy. The one thing you need to know about me is i don’t keep making the same mistakes.
Speech was well done. A narrative of what he’s done and what he plans to do interwoven with stories of ordinary Americans who have done extraordinary things. It was not a message of outreach to the progs. In many instances he put his thumb in their eyes – such as reauthorizing Gitmo and treating terrorist prisoners as unlawful combatants. YES!
His love of country shone through and is what impresses me most about him. Glad I watched, even though it was too long for me.
parker:
Maybe he didn’t have it in him till now.
I wanted to watch it before the media commentary. Great speech, played well in my house, even for my grouchy husband:-)
Trump was sane and presidential for the entire speech, which is a conservative, traditional value I yearn for in a president.
Though I think his controversial persona is the shiny object that’s distracting the opposition and media so he can get stuff done.
wow.
democrats are against America
My highest award was a Navy Com. You can get those for valor, but mine were not for valor but just for service. I am going to have to word this carefully because it may appear I am disrespecting when I am not. The Bronze Star with the “V” device, not something to be disrespected. Something to be admired. By starting his statement by talking about the Bronze Star he started by talking about the broadest range of heroes. Good on him.
The story of the police officer and his wife adopting the child was a very subtle but effective pro life comment.
Baklava said:
January 30th, 2018 at 11:46 pm
Didn’t they just tell us that when they declared themselves ready willing and able to starve American military families for the sake of illegals? They’re not rolling in cash. I signed up for Navy and Marine Corps Relief that very same day. Prior to that day I had the ‘tude I had given at the office. I was wrong. And if any one knows the Army or Air Force version let me know.
Loved the speech. Happy to see the Republicans so happy, especially the cabinet. Are the Dems insane? They looked and acted like spoiled brats. La Pelosi’s twisted mouth was a sight to behold. She’s going to regret that big time.
“They couldn’t even muster up public approval for issues which would ordinarily by their issues, or at least obviously bipartisan issues.” – Neo
That’s the biggest problem for the Democrats (as somewhat distinct from the Left, being the ones in Congress with a “job” to do): they demonized Trump so badly they don’t dare vote for the bipartisan issues, and therefore they can’t forgive him for “infecting” their signature issues.
T Says:
January 30th, 2018 at 10:44 pm
The Democrats call illegal aliens “dreamers” and call American citizens “deplorables.” That’s really all one needs to know about the Democrat party.
* * *
Indeed.
I am not too surprised that Trump can sound serious and presidential when he wants to (I have not listened to this speech yet, but I’ve seen it in others).
He is an experienced media personality, in more ways than one.
I agree that his love for America comes through, even in his, um, more improvisational moments.
He also has speech-writers who love America, and cabinet members who love America, and other supporters who love America.
That’s the kind of unity that we want and need.
Let me guess.
https://www.aerhq.org/
Army Emergency Relief.
“Soldiers helping Soldiers.”
Well, sometimes Sailors, Soldier.
https://www.afas.org/
Air Force Aid Society.
“Airmen helping Airmen.”
What’s the deal, aren’t we all in this together? What happened to jointness?
I suspect all of the pundits we usually read will have interesting and thoughtful comments on the speech (if not always complimentary), but I want to put this one out there because I think it says a lot about why Trump is President instead of Hillary.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/01/31/state-union-2018/
“It’s better if you watched the SOTU this evening and aren’t relying on the media to tell you about it. Even a friendly group like Fox News is speaking about the speech in terms too politically thematic. It wasn’t a politically thematic speech.
Trump wove statements about policy in with vignettes of American life, heroism, courage, kindness, loss, and redemption — and the latter were the emphatic punctuation points. The speech was about good news, hope, and a positive outlook.
It lacked any ritual references — I don’t remember any — to “our big problems,” or “our deep divisions,” or “our profound disagreements.” Obama used to talk about those all the time. Tonight, Trump didn’t.
[anyone doubt that President Hillary would have sounded a lot more like Obama than like Trump?]
One group of Americans “gets” that if you focus your mind and your dialogue on problems, divisions, and disagreements, you create your own quagmire.
…
We have been mired for years in an attitude that problems are all too big to “fix,” as if that is a wiser insight than the simple courage to take them on. You can’t out-insight your faithful correspondent here on the difficulty of big problems, so don’t waste your time. But Trump is right, in his straightforward attitude. It is not actually more intelligent to babble about how big and complex the problems are than it is to start taking the actions that can relieve distortions and disincentives, and get things moving again.
What Trump is good at “getting” is that when you unleash people — not “structure incentives” for them, but actually unleash them, on the understanding that they will do amazing things without your dictation — they, and you, reap tremendous rewards. If you want the key to why what he’s doing is working, that’s a big one.”
There is no way Hillary Clinton could give a speech like this; she doesn’t think like this.
Neither do the Democrats-in-leadership, anymore, although I think the Democrats-in-general (especially older ones) do — which is why Trump won the blue-state worker demographic.
A very good speech all around. The dems were comical in their staged dourness. If Trump had announced a free and universal cure for all forms of cancer they would still not have responded. Ha ha ha . . . and Fancy Nancy looked like she spent the evening slumped in her chair sucking popcorn kernels out of her teeth.
Despite lamenting how he’ll never drive his Rolls again if he became President.
Hey, how do you make an expensive car a really, really expensive car? Hot rod it. Melania must have some kind of sense of humor for that to happen.
Somewhat tangential, but if you are staying up late or getting up early, here is a rare astronomical SIGN that Trump is the Hero of the Ages, or something..
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/31/super-blue-blood-moon-where-and-when-to-see-rare-lunar-eclipse
neat video, times for the eclipse, and a live streaming link included
https://www.steynonline.com/8425/the-state-of-the-state-of-the-union
“As he demonstrated at his first appearance in Congress, President Trump has an ease in this format that many Republicans do not. But I retain my queasiness about the whole ghastly ritual, and I have a general preference for the non-house-trained Trump – the Trump that demolished Jeb! & co by not playing by their rules. For the next State of the Union, I renew the suggestion I first made re the inauguration: hold it at the southern border, deliver the speech, and then ceremonially lay the first brick in the wall.”
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/01/a-tremendous-performance-by-president-trump.php
(from the comments)
And he did it without insulting an attending justice of the Supreme Court.
It’s nice to have an American President.
The other refreshing and remarkable thing about the speech…I don’t believe Trump said “I”, “me” or “mine” once. Quite a contrast to the last 8!
I predict that tomorrow, all the morning shows will be telling Americans that what the saw the night before was not what they saw the night before.
That started on CNN and MSNBC after 2 microseconds.
Americans want citizens who speak english, not politicians who speak spanish
The day he “mceed” the tax bill ceremony I thought, “He’s REALLY good at this!” It wasn’t a planned out, scripted ceremony, but he was so smooth and was truly a MASTER of ceremonies. Most impressive–for a 70 year old man–was his his complete familiarity with the names of dozens of people he referenced with no notes, etc. Just think of how many thousands upon thousands of new people he’s met this past year!
[but but but .. WaPo told me he was senile!]
Second best president in my lifetime. Ronaldus & Donaldus Magnus.
Haley/Sanders 2024…because, seriously snarky
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/01/will-state-of-the-union-focus-on-russia-fever.php
Q … [C]an you say, in the State of the Union Address, whether the President will mention at all this ongoing Russia probe which you said, you know, is really “Russia fever” that the country needs to get out of its system? Will he address it in any way?
MS. SANDERS: … In terms of the State of the Union, I’m not going to get ahead of the President’s address. It’s tomorrow night. I know you are all excited and will eagerly tune in, and can see, at that time exactly, what is going to be included.
Q But he doesn’t feel a need to address it?
MS. SANDERS: I think we’ve addressed it every single day that we’ve been here. It’s one of the questions you guys ask over and over and over again. In fact, we spend more time on that than we do any other topic, despite the fact that, time and time again, poll after poll says that, frankly, no one cares about this issue, and it’s certainly not the thing that keeps people up at night.
We’d love to talk about all of the things that do. And my guess is, that will be the focus of the President’s State of the Union tomorrow.
Russia Russia Russia these sickos need psychotherapy.
Relics from a Soviet-era, who are seeking a raison detre, and are prone to conflate Russians and the left kind.
“Parker, I underestimated this guy.”
Me too. While supporting him over Hillary was easy despite any doubts I had, the real “conversion” point for me was Trump winning the election. Then I realized he had to be vastly more engaged and in tune with what is going on than I had thought, in order to overcome not only the near-unanimous derision of the media but a 2- or 3-to-1 spending advantage by the opposition. Not only the fact that he won, but the way he won by sweeping the industrial Midwest. Many of those states hadn’t voted Republican in decades. It was clear that none of the other Republican candidates could have done this.
I see why Mrs. Pelosi was fixated on slobbering and drooling. Did you watch Joe Kennedy III give the response? Sad.
According to Daily Caller, Trump used “we” 129 times and “our” 104 times. He used “I” 29 times.
Trumps greatest achievement is inheriting the Obama Recovery, as exemplified by his repeated attempts to take credit for lowest black unemployment ever recorded.
But this is obviously a trend he inherited from the previous admin. Trump’s like a backup QB who takes over a game with a 50-3 lead , scores a TD, and brags about his lead being the largest of the game.
It’s like a Democrat saying North Korea is closer to delivering a Nuke under Trump than it ever was under Obama or before. True but meaningless.
If there was an “Obama Recovery” how did Trump win the election? How did he win Midwestern states that hadn’t voted Democrat in decades? And why was there a challenge to Obama’s anointed successor from the *left* based on economics? I guess they weren’t feeling the “Obama Recovery” the way you boys in the boiler room do. It’s because it was the slowest recovery ever.
As for your last paragraph it is so typical of trolls to pretend to fake “even-handedness”. Hope you got your cookie, manju.
Yes Manju, we know the drill.
Everything bad during the Obama administration was inherited from Bush. Everything good was something for which Obama gets full credit.
Everything bad during the Trump administration is Trump’s fault. Everything good—even good things that somehow didn’t really quite manifest themselves during the Obama years—are the result of something Obama set in motion.
Oh, and by the way—whether or not the drop in black unemployment was due to Obama or Trump or the sun in Capricorn and the moon in Scorpio, it’s something the Democrats should have stood for and applauded.
The audience for this SOTU was the 12% of the population who are not part of the 39% that support POTUS but are not anti-Trumpers. And it was brilliant in that regard. Watch the bump in the polls.
Maybe Trump turned a corner last night. He has really grown in the job. Imagine in your mind’s eye Hillary delivering the SOTU and where we would be now.
Trump’s speechwriters are great.
There is a REAL cost to illegal immigration. MS13 and illegal drugs are two of the biggest human costs. And contrast the North Korean refugee versus the temporary humanitarian refugees from the Central America earthquake years ago.
This week we find out how the Clinton-Obama FBI spied on the Trump campaign.
Just saw the clip. United States Congressman Luis Gutierrez left the House Chamber when the crowd chanted USA, USA.
I didn’t plan to watch but the Bruins’ play was lackluster and they were on their way to defeat, so I tuned in.
Overall impression: Trump truly loves the ideal of America and Americans. His themes were positive and uplifting, the stories compelling and moving. He was not conciliatory to his political opponents, but he did invite them to work with him. If he criticized them it was only indirectly.
Such a pathetic and disrespectful display by the Democrats in the room. Not of President Trump but of the American people. This is one of the few SOTU speeches I’ve watched live, but I’ve seen video of several. Trump was Reaganesque in his positive outlook. GW Bush was usually too but not nearly as well. Democrats are just so tiresome and glass half-empty sorts. I almost always feel as if they are scolding me for one thing or another.
Trump comes across to me as genuine and optimistic, and that energy is infectious. Picked a good time to end my SOTU boycott.
Trump used the word “we” 129 times. With Obama it was always “me” and “I.”
Doesn’t Stephen miller supposedly lack the ability to compose the most basic sentence according to the Wolff book. Trump hires the best people, and make changes when he realises he has made an mistake, unlike obama and his admin, where hiring important White House posts was returning political favourites to his donors and hanging on to his staff even when evidently they were losers simply bc firing anyone would be a sign of he had made a mistake and Narcissist obama would never do that.
I repeat trump is exactly what liberals imagined obama to be, a patriotic competent man with a heart of gold and wants nothing but put America back on track while obama was what liberals imaging trump to be, a narcissistic incompetent pretender who hates America who did everything he could to destroy America.
The Democratic (Socialist-Progressive) members of Congress made themselves look silly – there’s no other word for it.
At all points in the Donald’s speech where he lauded our country, there was no rational reason why they couldn’t have stood and applauded – they didn’t look “mean-spirited,” they looked like a bunch of anti-American Europeans at Davos, unhappy with the recent progress of American economy.
I got up early this morning to watch the moon eclipse, started out with a full, bright moon so strong I could almost read a newspaper outside. My wife and I watched the eclipse until it was just a small sliver slipping over the horizon in the West, in our part of Texas in the Hill Country that was it and I called my son in Colorado so he could take over watching. As I came in to make our breakfast I realized that I felt better about my, our country than I have since 9-11-2001.
Watching Trump last night we saw and heard about things that were good and getting better, a call for a brighter future and outcome for our fellow countrymen, and women, and most of all the defining of those who are with us and those who are not. We are not trying to make nice and win friends with those who are not working with us but trying to tear us down and destroy us.
Yep, Trump is our president and at the end of the first quarter of his term he actually has points on the scoreboard and he strong support of his party, without apologies he is winning and that, in my ever love’n, good ole boy, American Vet heart makes me happy on this bright sunshine day. Kind of sappy but I enjoyed hearing USA, USA, USA last night and I kind of quit holding my breath for the first time since 9-11.
🙂
75% liked…
oh oh…
AesopFan,
I agree with you completely about unleashing people. This is the theme that should be used by other Repubs in the future. The 12 year old probably has done more to awaken the interest of other young in American History than all the campus snowflakes. The black father of the MS13 victim did more to show a united America when he shook the hand of the Bronze Star Master Sergeant than any Black Caucus member has ever done. And the policeman and his wife who adopted the baby of a heroin addict showed that individual acts that don’t make headlines are what makes us great. We don’t need huge marches of pussy hats, we need individuals with humility who do small things every day. We create the country we want every time we smile at a person on the sidewalk, when we donate to Meals On Wheels, when we learn to use local resources that can solve problems locally. Each of these types of things means we are raising the heroes we may someday need.
Does Ethipiopia need more white immigration? If not, shut the f*** about diversity.
Ethiopia
Silly me. I picked the one country in Subharan Africa that might just put up with me.
Well, in the very comment you’re responding to, I pointed to something bad that Trump inherited from Obama.
I hope somebody at the RNC is smart enough to use a clip of the Dems, particularly the black Dems, sitting there and scowling when the two black couples whose daughters were murdered by MS13 were introduced, or when the Pres gleefully announced that African-American unemployment was the lowest on record. And then play it heavily on urban media.
Manju:
You’re aware, I believe, of the uses of hyperbole in sarcasm.
Although, by the way, you did not ascribe the situation to Obama. Actually, the N. Korea situation is a bipartisan inheritance. Obama inherited it but made it worse. I actually believe Trump has, if anything, improved it, at least potentially—talks between the Koreas, for example. Possibly more cooperation from China, and more potentially effective sanctions.
Neo: “We don’t need huge marches of pussy hats, we need individuals with humility who do small things every day. We create the country we want every time we smile at a person on the sidewalk, when we donate to Meals On Wheels, when we learn to use local resources that can solve problems locally. Each of these types of things means we are raising the heroes we may someday need.”
Just so. (And one of many reasons I love your blog.) Ordinary people doing responsible things that foster a culture of purposefulness and good will. The progressives are full of ideas for mass protests. Actions toward solving problems…..not so much.
Richard Saunders, 1:34 pm — “I hope somebody at the RNC is smart enough to . . . .”
Stop the sentence right there.
We’re talkin’ about the RNC here.
See ya later . . .
OldTexan Says:
January 31st, 2018 at 9:22 am
* *
We watched the eclipse in Colorado — despite a bit of haze, which at least made a nice halo around the full moon before the shadow started covering it — and I appreciate your hopeful and encouraging comments.
We lived in San Antonio at one time, and could have happily retired to the Hill Country, but life didn’t work out that way for us.
expat Says:
January 31st, 2018 at 11:04 am
AesopFan,
I agree with you completely about unleashing people.
* *
I can’t take credit for Ms. Dyer’s phraseology, but I certainly agree with her, and appreciate your extension of the idea.
I also have to fight the urge to link a clip of “Release the Kraken!”
Amadeus 48 Says:
January 31st, 2018 at 5:13 am
According to Daily Caller, Trump used “we” 129 times and “our” 104 times. He used “I” 29 times.
* *
Well, I counted 30 “I” and 4 “my” but nearly every one of them is in the context of an action or a promise, which is fine by me.
The “we” and the “us” and the “our” certainly dominate the speech.
* * *
Less than one year has passed since I first stood at this podium,
Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences,
And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago
Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have,
Last year, the Congress passed, and I signed, the landmark VA Accountability Act.
I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey.
All Americans deserve accountability and respect — and that is what we are giving them. So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers — and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.
In Detroit, I halted government mandates that crippled America’s autoworkers — so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once again.
People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure — I want to give them a chance right here at home.
One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities.
I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve.
Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5tn for the new infrastructure investment we need.
Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminals, to break into our country.
I want our youth to grow up to achieve great things. I want our poor to have their chance to rise.
So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties —- Democrats and Republicans — to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed. My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans —
My administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic
I am asking the Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military.
Last year, I also pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish Isis from the face of the Earth. One year later, I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat Isis has liberated almost 100% of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria.
So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed an order directing Secretary Mattis to re-examine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities at Guanté¡namo Bay.
I am also asking the Congress to ensure that, in the fight against Isis and al-Qaida, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists — wherever we chase them down.
Last month, I also took an action endorsed unanimously by the Senate just months before: I recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
That is why, tonight, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America’s friends.
When the people of Iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship, I did not stay silent. America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom.
I am asking the Congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible Iran nuclear deal.
My administration has also imposed tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela.
I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.[in re Korea]
Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep those crutches as a reminder of how far you have come.
Here’s Obama’s I stats in his first SOTU for 2009. This was a very interesting exercise. Setting aside what we know he was lying about, and what he just wasn’t able to do, it was a good speech, but very different from Trumps, and not just in the self-references.
Obama mentioned a lot of people and their “relationship” to his policy proposals, but there were no names or faces, let alone bodies in the gallery.
He was very downbeat through most of the speech, although his situation was in no way worse than that faced by Trump and in some ways better; ending, however, on a more positive note that wouldn’t have been out of place in Trump’s speech.
If he had delivered on his promises, instead of his actual agenda, we would be in a better place today.
I didn’t count, but there are some places where his use of “I” was warranted and parallel to Trump’s.
On the whole, though, he definitely wanted the focus on HIM not on the country.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/27/sotu.transcript/index.html
One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a gove
nment deeply in debt.
So I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They’re not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for president. These struggles are what I’ve witnessed for years in places like Elkhart, Indiana, Galesburg, Illinois.
I hear about them in the letters that I read each night
It’s because of this spirit — this great decency and great strength — that I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.
it’s that we all hated the bank bailout. I hated it.
(APPLAUSE)
I hated it. I hated it.
But when I ran for president, I promised I wouldn’t just do what was popular, I would do what was necessary.
So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program.
I’ve proposed a fee on the biggest banks.
I know Wall Street isn’t keen on this idea,
I thought I’d get some applause on that one.
But I realize that, for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response.
That is why jobs must be our No. 1 focus in 2010, and that’s why I’m calling for a new jobs bill tonight.
I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat.
(APPLAUSE)
I’m also proposing a new small-business tax credit,
Tomorrow, I’ll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act.
As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same, [pass a jobs bill like the House did] and I know they will.
And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay.
From the day I took office, I’ve been told that addressing our larger challenges is too ambitious, such effort would be too contentious. I’ve been told that our political system is too gridlocked and that we should just put things on hold for a while.
For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait?
Well, I do not accept second place for the United States of America.
Look, I’m not interested in punishing banks. I’m interested in protecting our economy.
And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back until we get it right.
I’m grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year.
(APPLAUSE)
And this year — this year, I’m eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate.
I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy. I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.
That’s why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges,
That’s why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on middle-class families.
I didn’t choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And by now, it should be fairly obvious that I didn’t take on health care because it was good politics.
(LAUGHTER)
I took on health care because of the stories I’ve heard, from Americans with pre-existing conditions whose lives depend on getting coverage,
I want to acknowledge our first lady, Michelle Obama, who this year is creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make kids healthier.
I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, this process left most Americans wondering, “What’s in it for me?”
But I also know this problem is not going away. By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance.
I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.
(APPLAUSE)
As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we’ve proposed.
I’m eager to see it. [better plan on health care]
Here’s what I ask Congress, though: Don’t walk away from reform,
By — by the time I took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion
All this was before I walked in the door.
I would have liked nothing more than to start bringing down the deficit.
I’m absolutely convinced that was the right thing to do,
So tonight, I’m proposing specific steps to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year
And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.
we’ll still face the massive deficit we had when I took office.
That’s why I’ve called for a bipartisan Fiscal Commission,
because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans.
I know that some in my own party will argue that we can’t address the deficit or freeze government spending when so many are still hurting. And I agree, which is why this freeze won’t take effect until next year,
From some on the right, I expect we’ll hear a different argument,
That’s what I came to Washington to do.
the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests,
I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests or, worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of these problems.
I’m also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform, Democrats and Republicans.
I’m calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single Web site
Now, I’m not naive. I never thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and harmony and some post-partisan era.
I knew that both parties have fed divisions that are deeply entrenched.
I’m speaking of both parties now. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn’t be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators.
So, no, I will not give up on trying to change the tone of our politics. I know it’s an election year.
I’ll be addressing a meeting of the House Republicans. I’d like to begin monthly meetings with both Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can’t wait.
but I’m not interested in re-litigating the past.
I know that all of us love this country.
Since the day I took office, we renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation.
As a candidate, I promised that I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as president.
I’ve embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons and seeks a world without them.
My administration has a Civil Rights Division that is once again prosecuting civil rights violations and employment discrimination.
I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.
I campaigned on the promise of change, change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change, or that I can deliver it.
But remember this: I never suggested that change would be easy or that I could do it alone.
But I also know this:
Our administration has had some political setbacks this year, and some of them were deserved. But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year.
And what keeps me going, what keeps me fighting, is that despite all these setbacks, that spirit of determination and optimism, that fundamental decency that has always been at the core of the American people, that lives on.
It lives on in the 8-year-old boy in Louisiana who just sent me his allowance and asked if I would give it to the people of Haiti.
We don’t quit. I don’t quit.
Enjoyed the response to the attempt to credit the low Black (and Hispanic) unemployment to Obama. But I would add that I grew up with a father who was an economics major in the mid 30s watching FDR bring government regulation to lasses faire capitalism. That was Keynes’ middle way between capitalism and communism has been the basis for the economic success of both the US and after 1945, Western Europe. Call it regulated capitalism and every time the laissez faire got loose again the remedy was the same – apply more regulation. To simplify greatly when the dot com bubble burst Bush applied the bipartisan Sarbanes Oxley, aka the accountant’s and lawyers welfare act of 2004. Then the crash of 2008 came along and Obama applied the bipartisan Dodd Frank inflating the regulatory state yet again. Both parties and the elites know nothing beyond this Keynesian matrix and spend their time arguing between the long dead economists Karl Marx and Adam Smith. Yes this is a Trump led recovery because he has stopped making it worse and actually begun to roll regulation back after 80 years of growing it. In one sense all he has done is take his foot off the brake. The SOTU? I thought he stuck it to them real good, hard and often. You could see it on their faces.