Took a little time off from ranting about politics to spend quality time with Old Republic, as well as recharge before the election craziness got fully into gear.
So what better time to get back into things then with the Presidential State of the Union address to congress and the nation?
I cannot think of another myself actually!
By and large, I liked the speech. Let me start off by saying, if you expect the SotU to be about specifics you are fooling yourself. The SotU is all about the President talking about what they have done and what they would like to do. It is an "explaining" speech, for the great unwashed masses, who do not have the time or inclination to scour the inter-tubes. This is an important thing politically and substantively. The President gets to make his case to the American people, laying out what his priorities have been and are. While the American people get an opportunity to evaluate the words their leaders speak versus their actions taken.
So as you can guess, I tend to be a fan of SotU speeches. I have watched them all since President George H. W Bush was in office, and whether I agree with the current office holder or not, I listen intently. Why? Because they are my President, whether they chose to ignore me or pander to me.
Back to the speech itself. The portion of it that really caught my attention was the middle section. Starting here:
...the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.
