Our Union's State. According to Obama.

Some quick highlights from tonight's State of the Union address:

Obama's trying to position himself
2012 is closing in and he's trying to up his approval ratings. How to do this? Make some promises and be ridiculously optimistic, of course...

"We're all in this together"
Bipartisanship in addition to the usual: religion, race, age, sexual orientation, etc. and anecdotes from "the every day American." He's used the latter two in basically every speech since he was a wee presidential candidate. It cracks me up, it's like he plays a game with himself. "How many nationalities can I list? Ready....GO! Now religions! This is such a fun game! Oh, eyes are starting to glaze over...moving on." Yes, making the point that we're all Americans is important, but gets a little old when it's used incessantly...limit the equality lists and touching stories to once per, por favor.

Sputnik...? I don't think so.

Boehner almost cried? Weird!

Liked his proposal for better transparency- putting meetings with lobbyists and tax dollar allocation online…we’ll see if that actually happens. My guess is no. But it sounds nice!

Liked what he said about Muslims being part of the American family, all the shout outs to the troops, and reaffirming his position against DADT. Also speaking to parents on instilling a love of learning at home, turning off the tv, and celebrating science fair winners rather than pro football players - YES.

In the end...it was just a speech. Made up of a bunch of words. Words he didn't even write, at that. I'll believe it when I see it...didn't do much for my distrust and cynicism toward government. But he, ahem, his speechwriters sure tried...

Official responses from Republicans (normally one, but good ol' Michele Bachmann, Teapartier Extraordinaire, wanted a piece of the action):

I liked what Paul Ryan had to say...(note to self: learn more about him). His main message was "we're all to blame for this mess, let's use this challenge as an opportunity and turn things around." He didn't sugarcoat what's going on; he painted the picture that our country is currently at a precipice, and without immediate action to get spending under control, we're going to become the next Greece. I am still deciding if this is a little bit alarmist...

Speaking of alarmists, Michele Bachmann gave her response on behalf of the Tea Party next. Now is it just me, or is she sounding more and more like her so-totally-awesome big sister Sarah? Anywaay, she came in hot with some hard facts and figures - the multi-trillion dollar bill Obama's racked up and how many millions of jobs that have been lost since he took oath. While she's correct about the numbers, the alarmist, visceral tone so typical of the Tea Party is utterly useless in moving forward as a nation. Instead of taking some responsibility for the situation we're in now, like Paul Ryan did, all she can do is blame, blame, blame. And say "spike" a lot.

Other:

Date Night: stupid name, great concept. Authentic or just for show? It IS Washington...

The ribbons for Gifford were a nice gesture - tonight must have been difficult with that empty seat in the room and the events so fresh in everyone's minds.

Boehner's tan makes Biden look like he belongs in the next Twilight.