What did you think of the president’s speech?

Your opinion of the SOU speech says more about you than about the speech.

The whole affair lacked a certain level of energy. I think it was a lot less like a campaign speech than SOTUs have been for the last 30 years. I got tired of all of the partisan cheering/standing/clapping by each “side” in the past.

I do think if the audience continues to sit intermingled and not by party it will encourage everyone to stay in their seats and have a more dignified affair. I also think it will change the way the speech is constructed.

There were not a lot of specifics on cost cuts. I believe he has finally learned that too many specifics just provide the Republicans with what they will be specifically against. Better to make a deal behind closed doors and not take too hard of position too early in negotiations.

I thought the SOTU reflected how little control the POTUS has over the economy. There is very little he can do without Congress to address the economy & jobs, particularly in the short term.

I am always amazed that the U.S. was so fortunate to have someone with Obama’s leadership capability on the scene, ready to become president, when we’d just entered the worst economic period in this country’s history since the Great Depression. I felt that way again last night, watching Obama give the State of the Union. I laud his commitment to education (at all levels), to accessibility to higher education for all Americans, and to.clean energy (by eliminating the kinds of tax credits and government supports reserved for the oil industry and transferring them to the clean energy industry). He struck a balanced, bipartisan stance, without compromising himself, and gave people reason to hope. Obama certainly hasn’t done everything I’d like to see him do (for example, I wish he would have simply said, in January of 2009, we are pulling out of George Bush’s wars and all our troops will be home in a year), but he has succeeded in turning this country in a new, and certainly better, direction.

Paul Ryan, however, resorted to scare tactics in an effort to turn people against Obama. I remember Republican speech writers constantly using the expression “gloom and doom” to talk about the vision of Democrats. Well, now the Republican Party is the party of gloom and doom, and Greece is its favorite bogeyman.

I learned this morning that Michelle Bachmann also gave a response. I can imagine the lies and hysteria she was pitching. The gloom and doom message probably took on an apocalyptic tone.

Once again, Obama’s speech has said to me that he wants more people to start working together. If he would come right out and say it, that would be better. Based on mood and reaction of all parties at the SOTU, the follow-up by Ryan seemed to continue to put up barriers to cooperation. And i could barely stand to skim read Bachman’s response. Charts? I dislike political parties, and wish more work would happen across these false barriers to get something done for the People.

I wasn’t able to hear the speech last night, and haven’t had the time to listen to an archived broadcast. I’m disappointed that our “analysis” of the speech is based on college drinking games and Tweets. I would hope that at least MPR would have a deeper and more intelligent analysis of a State of the Union speech than what showed up on Tweeter or Facebook.

The president did well to skirt the real issues and avoid his responsibility in the state of current affairs. The FACTS are there: He has had two years to help foster conditions to grow jobs, it is not government’s role to “create” jobs unless they want an even larger federal work force to laden the national debt. Unemployment has grown since he took office.

Two years of no results: e.g., unemployment exceeds 14% based upon the number of out of school adults eligible to work vs. the smaller number from those filing for unemployment. National debt has tripled, Bail outs have cost Americans billions in new liability ( GM stock sold at a loss, unpaid TARP loans to GE and AIG, special perks to the Unions, granting over 120 exceptions to his supporters to exempt from ObamaCare Health reform bill,etc., etc.

In short_ all talk and again no action except to push his anti-capitalism agenda.

I appreciated the speech very much.

The President talked about ending corporate welfare to oil companies – past presidents wouldn’t even admit that billions of tax-payer dollars go to these companies. A lot of that money came back to them as campaign contributions.

The President admitted the reality that our country is falling behind – in technological innovation, in education, in highways and internet and rail infrastructure, etc. The GOP like to wave the flag, and then run our country into the ground – two wars and tax cuts for the rich at the same time.

When Bush gave a speech, he was either lying or out of touch – it didn’t reflect reality. Then, the press and many people would take this unreality seriously. I found this crazy-making.

As a progressive, I disapprove of Obama’s concessions to the right-wing-nuts; but at least he lives somewhat in reality.