Obama's first address to Congress

I judge it a smashing success, the naysayers notwithstanding.

The moment the man stepped into the chamber, everybody was electrified, well, except for John McCain maybe. Obama took the podium, took charge, and never waivered.

To get a bit of housekeeping out of the way:

Michelle rocks. She’s going to do it her way - sleeveless dress and all. You go, sister!

Ruth Bader Ginsberg rocks.  Just out of surgery for pancreatic cancer, she came in with strength and grace.

But to get back to business:

Considering the size and sheer complexity of the problems we’re facing, I think Obama did a fine job of laying out the challenges and following them up with specifics - in fact, it sounded a lot like a rehearsal for the State of the Union.

I kept wondering what a Bush or even McCain speech would have sounded like, given current circumstances, and the thought was horrifying. He would have stuttered, stammered and - like Gov. Bobby Jindal - mouthed the same old tired Republican platitudes about liberal spending, government is the problem, giving tax breaks, blah, blah, blah.

Obama was the man for the moment, fully in charge and fully in command of the issues and positions that his administration is prepared to take. He was the adult in the room.

We particularly cheered the following: reforming the outdated regulatory system ( Yea!!!), being fully transparent on the true cost of the Iraq war ( Woohoo!), and finally getting serious about healthcare - quit talking and start doing ( huge YEA!!!!). It was the report card that America needed to uplift and inspire us to keep focused on the job ahead.

At the end of the speech, we felt better than we have in weeks of national hand wringing over which way to jump.  It was an immensely hopeful speech and left us thinking: “he’s got his game on”

This speech will be parsed over and over throughout the rest of this week by anybody with a pulse, an opinion or an agenda. So watch it for yourself and decide for yourself.

Getting back to Gov. Jindals’ response - I agree with either Olbermann or Matthews in the caught on the live mike expression of ‘oh, god!’. ( I think it was Olbermann). Jindal looked like a newly minted school teacher on his way to address the fourth grade assembly - and that just might be the next group who - being young and naive - will vote for the Republicans. It was awkward and certainly a missed opportunity, that could almost have been filled by a Sarah Palin.

maven

'D' for Duh: Bill O'Reilly predicts Titanic's sinking

Updated on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 20:45 by mavenandmeddler

Updated on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:39 by mavenandmeddler

“There is much irony in the fact that while liberals have won power in Washington big time, the left-wing media is collapsing all over the place. In the past couple of weeks, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the mother of all liberal publications, the New York Times, all have issued SOS announcements.” Today’s column by Bill O’Reilly.

Wow, that’s astounding Bill - you’ve managed to connect the long standing financial crisis facing newspapers across the United States with ‘liberalism’ and the election of Obama. How do you ever find shirts and jackets with sleeveslong enough to accomodate that stretch?

Click to read more ...