I’m not a political correspondent, nor do I have aspirations to be one. However, I watched the State of the Union speech last night and wanted to give a quick run-down of what I saw.
During the first few moments prior to the speech, we learned that the seating arrangement was re-designed to mix up the parties more. I was glad to hear that. It goes a long way in showing how our government should work – as a team, not as Democrats vs. Republicans. I also noticed that whenever the President got a standing ovation, very few of the Supreme Court Justices stood. Maybe that’s by design, maybe it’s a tradition – but some of the President’s remarks cut across all boundaries. When the President spoke of doing things that would benefit all Americans, wouldn’t you expect EVERYONE to applaud that?
I really liked that the representatives from Arizona left an empty seat for Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot by an assassin in Tucson. That was a very moving gesture and the delegation stood and applauded when President Obama spoke about her.
One specific thing that President Obama said was that Americans have been forced to live within their means. He went on to say that the American people deserve a government that does the same. I laughed out loud when I heard that. I had never thought of that, he’s right.
Overall, I thought the speech was good; a lot of the items that President Obama spoke about were not new and are very polarizing issues. I was very glad to hear him push renewable energy and set a goal of 80% of Americans getting their energy from clean sources. That’s a fantastic goal. Although I think that achieving it will take a tremendous amount of change and innovation.
I also liked that the President referenced Sputnik moments as a way to remind Americans that we’ve faced enormous challenges before and we were able to overcome them. This speech can be seen as a motivational type speech. I hope everyone that heard it is inspired, energized, and ready to move this country forward. President Obama touched on many issues and promised to cut government spending as well as invest in new technology and better education. It will be difficult to make progress on everything he spoke about, but any progress in those areas can only help to improve life in America.
I liked that you branched off a little and wrote about something political. It may be a bit more controversial, but you made some good points and I agree with everything you said. BTW, I was told that the Supreme Court judges are not allowed to applaud OR stand (if you did see any standing, they’re going to be in BIG trouble, ha, ha!) because they represent the “impartial” or neutral part of our government. What I liked the best was the mixed seating of parties since I never could understand this sharp “split” in our government. Hope it continues.
Keep up the good work – I’m still one of your faithful followers and check out your blogs regularly!! :)