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.

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.

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!”

Stop the sentence right there.

We’re talkin’ about the RNC here.

See ya later . . .

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.

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.

Everything bad during the Obama administration was inherited from Bush. Everything good was something for which Obama gets full credit.

Well, in the very comment you’re responding to, I pointed to something bad that Trump inherited from Obama.