Non-SoTU, SoTU.

I got to watch both speeches last night. I thought the President delivered a superb "State of the Union". It wasn't a "the state of the Union is strong" sort of barn burner, but it definitely showed off Obama's oratorical gifts. He does the pivot to "Hope" well, and gave a forceful advocacy for a spate of left of center policies.

I do think the line that will stick for most, was his riff on the importance of education:

"Every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country."

It is not a liberal message or a conservative message, it is as near to apolitical as one can get. Whether you support civil unions or not, believe in climate change or not, hell believe in the efficacy of the stimulus bill or not, we all can agree that innovation is the only way to rectify or mitigate this downturn.

I am sure there are more in depth breakdowns across the interwebs, but as I have said often over the last month, it is nice to have a President who does not talk to me like I am a 6 year old.

Here is the speech in its entirety if you didn't get to catch it.

Also here is Bobby Jindal's Republican response to the president.

I will not comment on the delivery or whether he carried himself like "Kenneth the Page", but I will say that his message seemed more dated for the early to mid 80's then it was to the present economic crisis. The sheer fetishistic zeal republican officials have for tax cuts, is mind boggling. The constant carping on less regulation and the unassailable virtues of the free market, seemed tin eared and disconnected from the present.

But that is just my shabby opinion on the matter.

-Cheers