President Obama launched his re-election campaign tonight with a State of the Union speech that attempted to conjure up the spirit of an earlier era of national unity even as he sought to focus national resentment on wealthy Americans and his political opponents in Congress.
With no record of accomplishment to his credit, other than the unpopular Obamacare and stimulus, Obama put forward a limited agenda of government intervention in the economy and the tax code in a laundry list of initiatives that did little to break new ground on any issue and was bereft of the passion and vision that drove his 2008 campaign for the presidency. All in all, it was 65 minutes that ought to worry Democrats more than it annoyed Republicans.
The president knows he will get nothing passed this year, and his speech reflected that reality. He began and ended with the killing of Osama bin Laden. In between he spoke of a peace dividend from the end of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he would use on building projects and green energy production. He called for a massive bailout of homeowners even as he pandered to public opinion by saying there would be no more bailouts for banks. He vowed to prosecute those responsible for the mortgage crisis and said teenagers would no longer be allowed to drop out of high school, no matter how much trouble they were causing. No mention was made of either Obamacare or the stimulus. Nor did he speak of the Keystone XL pipeline project that he cancelled. He called for lower taxes, less regulation and more exploitation of our natural resources even though he has raised taxes, increased regulation and made it more difficult for the nation to use more of its oil and gas and that of our neighbor Canada.
On foreign affairs, Obama spoke of victory in Iraq and Afghanistan and pretended he had increased Iran’s isolation rather than wasting three years on failed engagement and feckless diplomacy that gave the Islamist regime more time to build a nuclear weapon. He claimed to be Israel’s greatest friend even though he has used his time in office to pick constant fights with the government of the Jewish state. The shout out to wavering liberal Jewish Democrats betrayed an administration clearly worried about November.
The only substantive portion of the speech dealt with his desire to raise taxes on millionaires. Even if he got his way and raised the rates for millionaires to 30 percent it would do little to deal with the deficit or pay for the runaway costs of entitlements. But that isn’t really the point of his advocacy. Obama isn’t interested in raising those taxes to achieve an economic purpose. He has seized on this phony issue in order to exploit it politically this fall. For all of his talk about unity, his decision to let loose the dogs of class warfare rhetoric doesn’t so much seek division as to treat it as his golden ticket to re-election.
While Democrats may have been encouraged in recent weeks by the spectacle of Republican presidential candidates tearing each other apart, often employing the rhetorical devices of the left, they could not have been encouraged by the tepid tone and lack of vision in Obama’s speech. His unwillingness to speak about what he has done and instead concentrate on bashing the rich seemed to be more the strategy of a challenger rather than an incumbent.
His claim that America “is back” was empty braggadocio that makes little sense given the grave state of the economy. Obama’s rally cry about American greatness seemed stuck in nostalgia for a bygone era of massive government spending projects and an economy based in manufacturing rather than information and technology. The result of this empty talk was a speech that struck a sour, flat note just when he needed to inspire.
All of this should cause Democrats to worry just at the moment when they were starting to feel good about 2012. Though the president has many advantages heading into the campaign, including weak potential opponents, his inability to stand on his record and his loss of faith in the grand vision he ran in 2008 foreshadows serious problems later this year.
Yeah, but isn't it weird that a guy like Romney, who sincerely believes it to be a sign of his integrity that he no longer works and derives all his income from clipping coupons makes a cool $20 million a year, essentially for doing nothing? Um, as in literally. Not to go all OWS or anything but it's like his fortune just sorta multiplies like Tribbles. Prez O's on again off again class bashing gives birth to all manner of strangely bred platypus mutant crony capitalist uber regulatory hatchlings. But something is off.
Your "president" (not mine's) Adjusted Gross Income from 2007 through 2010 totaled $14 million, an average of $3.5 million per year. Meanwhile, an income of about $350,000 – ten times less – qualified the Usurper in Chief and that _______ he married as "The Hated 1 Percent." So please do tell us: Between Uuuhhhbama and Romney, who's the hypocritical demagogue?
What if that’s your elderly mom? Who worked in a grocery store all her life? n nShe’s already PAID taxes on that money so the 15% is the SECOND BITE AT THE APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n nWHY CAN’T LIBERALS UNDERSTAND THIS SIMPLE FACT????????????
What you need to learn son, just like Obambi's OWS shock troops is, Romney's money is………..Romney's. It's not yours, nor Barry & Moochelle's. Can you comprehend that son?
The choice is clear for the American people next November: n nEuropean Social Democracy (as promoted by Obama and the Democrats) n versus nAmerican Exceptionalism and Capitalism (as advocated by all the Republicans) n nAnyone want to hazzard as guess as to who will win that electiion!!!
In commenting on the State of the Union Speech, the usual gang of socialist suspects Charlie Rose invariably invites on to his late-night gabfest ("From New York City… in case we haven't reminded you enough times that we're way cooler, smarter and richer than you are") kept waxing rhapsodic about how The One and Only Miserable Failure in Chief's soaring rhetoric harkened back to Truman, and FDR, and TR, and all the other leftist heroes of yesteryear. You could almost hear the wistfulness for days gone by, when socialists held a total monopoly on all media outlets. Why, it almost sounded like Archie and Edith themselves: "Boy, da way Glenn Miller played… Songs that made da hit parade!" n nFace the terrible truth, Uuhhhhbama: By offering 20th-century solutions to 21st-century challenges, you're Yesterday's Man. Step aside, and let the adults take charge.
David Axelrod said months ago that the 2012 election would not be a referendum on Obama's first term, rather it would be about contrasts; that's political-speak for a negative campaign. With no record of accomplishment to run on, the very really likelihood that his "signature piece of legislation" will be struck (at least as to the individual mandate) before the election, and who knows what will come out on the green energy busts and Fast & Furious in the months to come – a mudfest is all that is left to be grabbed at. n nPrepare yourself for a billion dollars worth of negative ads!
That President Obama, three years in, is so devoid of serious ideas for fixing the fiscal woes that he and his predecessors have inflicted on our nation speaks volumes to what a vacuous pretender he is. n nThe man is an empty suit whose primary talent would seem to be reading a teleprompter well…he should have been a TV news anchorman!
Tepid my ass. Our president delivered a remarkable vision of unity and strength at home and abroad. This is a great American president and you can't stand it. There is nothing tepid about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America, there was nothing tepid about brining bin laden to justice and there is nothing tepid about our president defending the American middle class. You have lost your way. You've forgotten what it means to be "e pluribus Unum". So sing your cynical song on your cynical blog, America will leave you behind, because we are back baby.
Yit, put down the crack pipe. The effect swill wear off shortly, and you'll feel much better. No, life won't be easy. in fact, as your common sense returns, you'll see that life is often quite unfair. But you'll be a real man for understanding and accepting it. So don't give up, you'll be an adult soon if you just quit smoking the liberal dope.
ROTFLMAO! Yitzhak baby, your big earred Marxist-Moooslim Boy is going down in the autumn. Deal with it. Why? Mainly because your Jewish open borders plan, while working, hasn't finished yet and still three out of four American voters is a native born, Caucasian American and they now realize Alinsky Obama is simply taking their wealth and redistributing it to his non-white voters.
"A remarkable vision of unity and strength at home and abroad"? What planet do you live on? He's done nothing but stir up class and racial hatred for the last three years, his foreign policy is a massive failure and he is a joke amongst the other world leaders. Manufacturing jobs will not come back to America because of his policies. In fact, GE, his favorite receiver of crony capitalism, shut down the last plant making light bulbs to force Americans to buy bulbs made in China…and BTW, he's always praising how they do things in China and how the government there does not get criticized. He is not defending the middle class, and his tax on "millionaires" would tax small businesses. Obama's forgotten what "e pluribus Unum" because his racial/class/and gender politics, the Marxist model from Saul Alinsky that he taught to ACORN in Chicago, dictates that he divide us, not unite us. You need to put down the kool-aid.
In all the high-minded words about "doing their fair share" and sacrifice I missed a few things in the SOTU: n nI heard that Americans should pay more taxes but I didn't see Obama offer that he would do his share by cutting Federal expenditures in order to save Social Security and medicare. n nI didn't hear Obama tell the world that he would cut the extravagant vacations that Michelle Obama charges to the taxpayers. I didn't hear the Prez mention that he would take the family to Camp David for a weekend at a small fraction of the cost of sending the Family to Spain on a junket. n nI agreed with the call for a bill that bans insider trading for Congress. But, why stop there? Shouldn't members of the Executive Branch also be prohibited from insider trading. Sacrifice and a level playing field for all, including the Obama cronies. n nAs I looked at the government employees sitting in the House Chamber last night, I thought to myself: Why am I paying for this Obama Campaign event. Where is the sacrifice in the Obama White House?
Obama, with great subtlety, accused the Republicans in Congress of disloyalty. It was an extremely strong and hostile statement expressed with so much delicacy that it was not easily understood.
Your Prez is trying out the "make the rich pay" meme again, I see. Reminds me of an old girfriend back at the U, a progressive young soul who repeated that line any chance she got, along with lectures on the need for uncompromising gender equality. The latter would be quickly switched off and the former turned into a prime directive when it was time to pay for the drinks and the dinner, though.
Your handle is very appropriate, Mr. Zero.
bwahahahahahaha…. Where do YOU live and what job segment are you a part of? Last I checked, the debt was still enslaving millions of future Americans, our unreformed entitlements all share the same fate of utter bankruptcy, the unemployment rate is still historically high and the U6 number is worse. Too big to fail has been codified. People have been out of the market so long that they have lost many marketable skills and will be dependent on state assistance much much longer. Energy prices aren't coming down and red tape is choking innovation and blocking market entry in favor of lethargic big corps. Allies like Canada, Israel, EU, and Columbia aren't happy with us. Turkey, Libya, and Egypt are falling into an unfriendly Islamist orbit. Iran is still marching toward the bomb. Russia has gone backwards to autocratic rule. Communist China is undergoing a massive military expansion and due to their gender policies, they have millions and millions of military age men without girlfriends… Oh and don't forget that this President has engaged in divisive rhetoric and alienated nearly 1/2 the country. He's about as paranoid and secretive as Nixon, is as arrogant as Gingrich, and has no wisdom to channel his intelligence. He openly laments that 1/2 of 1 branch of government is enough to paralyze meaningful governing and has broken so many promises, his word means nothing…. but things are rosy because some blog says so…
By Obama's OWN standards that he set out for himself on the economy… his administration has been a complete failure. The stimulus was to keep unemployment under 8%. It went to 10% and his response was "it could be worse". He railed on crony capitalism, yet he has brazenly engages in it. Obamacare was to solve the jobs problem, the health cost problem, the medicare problem, etc.. Instead, one month after he signed it into law the slow job recovery that had started came to a screeching halt. He railed on the "Bush" tax cuts and then extended them with Dem majorities in Congress. Recovery summer, wasn't. Laser focus, wasn't. We should honor his statement that if he doesn't have things fixed in 3 years, he should be a 1 termer.