By Dave
Pre-SOTU: Lots of pomp and circumstance, cabinet members, important people, etc. LET"S GET THIS THING GOING!
9:06 EST: Ok we're off! Obama comes in. Looking calm and confident. That's good. Shaking hands. Hi, how are ya, Hi, how are ya, Laughing at funny(?) jokes, couple of kisses. All right, let the guy enter!
9:08: Big handshake to Joe Biden!
9:09: Now, he's got his serious face on.
9:10: Nice opening. Connecting this moment to history, how our story fits into the greater context of American history. Reminding us to move forward as "one people, one nation"
9:13 Reminding us what it looked like when he came in. Two failed wars, awful recession. Congress has acted but we're not out of it yet. He's connecting with the everyday Americans. Reminding them he knows what they're going through.
9:15: "Change has not come fast enough." - Congress has been unable or "unwilling to solve their problems." Nice touch.
9:16: This is Obama's recurring theme: a government that actually works to solve problems. A government that improves the living standards for it's citizens.
9:17: Never been more hopeful. Still on the "hope" theme.
9:18: We do not quit. We do not let fear govern our emotions. We need a government that embodies their decency and strength. Well said!
9:19: We all hated the bank bailout. Admits it's unpopularity but defends this action as necessary. If the banks had failed Americans would hurt even more. More people would out of work and homeless. This was a good segue to promote his bank fee. Americans rescued the banks. If they can afford to give big bonuses, they can afford to pay back the taxpayers who saved them.
9:20: Thank you! We cut taxes! The FNC propaganda machine has somehow convinced people that taxes have increased. Wrong! Taxes have been cut!
9:21: Not sure about the humor and levity here, but what ev's.
9:22: The stimulus bill has been a hard sell for this administration. This was a good time to set the record straight. It's added jobs, protected services, added teachers and cops, given small business loans, etc. This is a good start but it will take more than one speech to set the record straight, the administration needs to be consistently vocal on these points.
9:25: Jobs is the admins "main focus" in 2010. I don't know about this. I know jobs are important but I'm still a little skeptical about the government's ability to create jobs. However, I do agree with Obama's analysis. Businesses create jobs when the conditions are right to create those jobs. $30 Billion to help community banks sounds like it could go a long way, though.
9:27: Eliminating a capital gains tax on small business investment! Now that might do something!
9:27: Infrastructure. This is a big point for me. America is way behind. There is no reason we don't have high speed rail in this country.
9:28: Cut tax breaks to companies that hire overseas. Yawn! I'm skeptical of the efficacy of this type of policy. I'd have to hear more but companies are hiring overseas for more reasons than just tax breaks. This is also a constant refrain in Washington. We'll see...
9:29: People are hurting. Send a jobs bill without delay!
9:30: Obama dismisses the naysaying and the skeptics that we can't fix long term problems. How long should we wait? China's not waiting. India's not waiting. Germany's not waiting. If we want to be competitive in a global economy, we need to start investing now! Second place isn't good enough for America!
9:33: Doesn't want to hurt banks! We need to protect the American economy. Big banks can't put Americans in jeopardy. Nice touch: lobbyists are trying to kill financial reform. Setting the stage for the debate.
9:35: Energy Investment. This is important. Incentives can play an important role in pushing innovation forward, particularly if the market hasn't caught up. Also mention clean coal and nuclear power.
9:36 Republicans won't stand to support climate change legislation. They'd rather keep polluting, thanks.
9:37: Even if you don't agree with the evidence (which you should), it's still the right thing to do for America's economic and energy futures.
9:38: New Goal: Double exports over the next five years. My sense is that more goes into making American products too expensive than the administration probably wants to deal with. Ugh! More subsidies for American agriculture to export products. This is not necessary.
No comments:
Post a Comment