Attention: You probably would need to have watched the SOTU Address to understand much of this post... But, don't let that stop you if you haven't. But really, look it up. Watch it.
He seems to be speaking to exactly what this entire blog is about: the disappearance of the middle class, the increase of debt, and the collapse of the economy in 2008.
What I'd like to hear of is how he is going to help the new generation. My generation. I would like to hear how he is going to help with education. My education, and the education I plan to provide to the generations next.
Momentum seems to be the key to President Obama's ideas. [This is a good idea... moving forward, progress.] Everyone can agree this begins with jobs. However, I might suggest it first begins with education. I might be crazy, but I believe that even a factory worker should be an educated factory worker.
Standing up to the corrupted tax structure, bravo Mister President. Stating that we all already knew it was corrupted? Standing ovation.
Side Note: These people really must get tired of standing up and sitting down over and over again. Makes me wonder if those still sitting in the crowd don't agree with the President or if they are simply just too lazy to show their agreement in a physical manner.
Jackie seems surprised. I'm sure she knew the attention would be coming her way. I mean, she is sitting next to the First Lady. Still, good for her! Proof of a company investing in a future employee's education! Also, I like her glasses.
Ahh, what we all (well, me at least) have been waiting for! Education! Great teachers! Yes, yes. Stop teaching to the test! Wonderful! Allowing for creative teaching styles within the school system... Where is my ballot?
"Replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn! That's a bargain worth making!"STAND UP PEOPLE! THIS IS GOOD STUFF!!
If you don't agree, do President Obama and me a favor and go watch "Waiting on Superman". It's an educational documentary that WILL change your mind. Seriously. Netflix, go! Come back and read this later. :)
Now, college. Letting students earn their way through college and keeping tuition low? Novel idea. Keeping student loans from doubling in July, quite lovely.
"So let me put colleges and universities on notice. If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from tax payers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford."Any man not standing after President Obama called for equal pay to women for equal work can now be considered sexist. Or, incredibly lazy.
Innovation, small businesses, entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs. The President is really rounding all his bases, being sure not to leave any untapped. And now I'm wondering what the President would look like in baseball pants... Let us not forget gas prices... rumors say of which could hit 5 dollars by the summer season (although in Oklahoma, it seems as the summer season has never really left us).
Apparently we can live off of natural gas for 100 years. Sorryboutcha 2112. We really only care about this century.
Hello Bryan! You don't look a day over 40... At least you are working with the industry of the future. That's really all that matters. But seriously, clean energy and Bryan really do matter.
Giving banks a chance to pay back the the tax payers that saved them in the past. I never would have thought that day would come. I still might not believe it honestly.
How exactly is it that there was a law requiring a federal agent to look over the shoulder of a dairy farmer to insure that he can clean up a milk spill? Whether or not milk is considered an oil, it should not cost $10,000 to clean it up properly! You have my confidence as well, Mister President. And, your joke was incredibly funny and completely corny. Just how I like them (jokes..).
Warren Buffett's secretary looks pissed.
Guarantee of security for our seniors? I'm sure my grandparents would appreciate that. And, I was interested to see the number of people in the audience that stood for the raising of their own taxes. If only those people voted that way.
Yeah, nod your head Mrs. Warren Buffett's secretary. It's not right to expect seniors, students, or families to make up the difference for low taxing of the rich.
"Americans know that this generation's success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other and to the future of their country. And, they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That's how we'll reduce our deficit. That's an America built to last."Washington is broken. You can't blame us for feeling cynical. He's right, the deficit of trust between main street and wall street does equal that between Washington and the rest of the country. There is a reason that in almost every function of our world today you can hear the phrase, "it's just all politics." When did politics get the bad reputation? Since when did a term that derived from democracy and a nation that gave a voice to all become corrupted with an extremely negative connotation?
Since congress got the right to make their taxes lower, make their pay higher, and make America bail out the failed corporations that were simultaneously firing us all. Well, and probably before that as well.
Well there's no arguing that the President is an incredible public speaker and politician. Literally. But then again, the same can be said for the likes of Adolf Hitler. [Not to compare the President to the ring leader of the Holocaust]. Simply, to ask all to look past the smooth way his words flow together. All, as in both those who support him and those who do not.
His words are powerful. No contest.
Now look at his ideas, his actions. Still powerful yet? I think this is the question we need to ask ourselves. Who has the leadership ability and passion to bring together the two parties? Unity is what our country was built on. It is how our nation was made to work.
"America is back. Anyone who tells you otherwise-- anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence is waned-- doesn't know what they are talking about! ... Yes, the world is changing. No, we can't control every event, but America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs. And, as long as I'm President I intend to keep it that way."Next, the President thanks the military. Now of course [and, as it should] this results in a complete standing ovation. In doing so, he also brings up the fact that his presidency brought the fall of one of the greatest terrorists the world will ever know.
"When you are marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you or the mission fails. When you're in the thick of the fight you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind."
May God bless you and the United States of America.
