I would like to hear why he was unable or unwilling to do whatever it takes to get the Health Care Bill passed his first year and where we go from here. I would also like to hear him explain why he is against taxing the rich and wants to give tax cuts to businesses when our state takes the opposite position.

Sucks. The rest is prime time filler.

Oh, guess that's not much of an expectation. More of my version of the address.

OK. "The state of the nation is that it sucks. Now turn off the TV and get to work". That's what I'd like to hear.

"What do you hope to hear from President Obama?"

I have no hopes from President Obama. His credibility is too limited in my estimation to justify hope.

"What do you fear you will hear?"

BS

I want to hear two things, "Reconciliation" and "Act NOW".

I'd like to hear that he's freezing the military budget until they reverse out funding for all the unwanted, unusable weapons systems and also get an accounting of the billions of dollars now unaccounted for in Iraq and Afghanistan by private contractors, along with filing at least the obvious dismissals and indictments up and down the chain of command.

Then I'd like to hear that the hundreds of billions saved would be used to get Main Street up and running again.

in deference to Greg Oden:

Obama says: "I looked in the mirror this morning and discovered that I actually do have some balls, so I decided to start acting like it. The Republicans can kiss my a*s! Same goes for the teabaggers! Same goes for my fellow Dems in Congress! The Goldman Sachs people can get in line too! The people elected me to lead this country, AND NOW I AM GOING TO DO IT!"

Bill Bodden sounds about right, unfortunately. More professorial blather, but not a word challenging the Reaganite ideology that still rules the day.

Any more places for SOTU watching? Kells is having it on Closed Caption.

@lestatdelc - The president can't force things through Congress. What he can do, though, is make moves that raise his popular support to a high level, then use that support as a whip to get his own party members into line to unite on the most pressing items on his agenda. That's what I would have liked to see. Put people like Lieberman, Nelson, and Stupak (House) into the position of being afraid to have to defend a record of NOT supporting their president when they go before their constituents. Make such a strong, compelling, well-reasoned appeal to the nation for his well-articulated and domestic programs that he provides ample political cover to the members of his party from right-leaning districts, so they can vote with THEIR president on HIS agenda in good conscience. Instead, he let the most comservative members of his party in the Senate drive the debate, put their own balls on the chopping block and have to be responsible for whatever happened. What did he think was going to happen? A president leads in Congress by giving his party cover for his agenda when it might conflict with theirs, and by cracking the whip. Isn't that what Rahm Emmanuel was supposed to be for? Obama came into the office with a FLOOD of popular support and immediately proceeded to cede his campaign promises and his popular authority to the chicken-sh!t Congress whose individual members are ultimately accountable for NOTHING but their own districts' welfare, often interpreted parochially. Does that about cover it?

Clean coal? Nuclear? OFFSHORE DRILLING?

OMG

"What the problem is currently is a veritable dearth of leadership in the Senate."

The real problem is that the "leadership" comes from Wall Street, the military-industrial complex, the Israeli lobby, and Big Pharma. They own the White House and Congress. They have for generations and will continue to buy the incumbents, regardless of party, until the American people wake up and demand restoration of the democratic republic Benjamin Franklin said was created at the Constitutional Convention.

"What do you hope to hear from President Obama?"

That he'll listen to someone else besides Rahm, Nancy and Harry and give the country something they need like jobs instead of Tim Geithner guaranteeing Paulson his Goldman-Sachs dividend checks and spending buckets of money to do it.

At least deny he's not the second coming of Jimmy Carter.

President said he supports community colleges. That's important here in Oregon, especially in smaller communities. President said he supports taking a closer look at offshore oil and gas exploration. That's something to be concerned about here in Oregon, especially in coastal communities.

What David said. I fell asleep.

I watched a retrospective on the Andy Griffith show instead. Much better for my blood pressure.

Clean coal? Nuclear? OFFSHORE DRILLING?

Hmmmmm.....sounds like BHO has been channeling a certain former Alaskan governor.

Can you say “Drill Baby, Drill!!”

It is interesting to note that none of the more adulatory supporters of Obama among Blue Oregon bloggers seem moved to defend him when he is criticized on this site.

"I fell asleep."

I did too. I regret it in a way because I always enjoy watching the audience in the House do their imitations of clapping seals after the president, whoever it might be, gives them some morsel of bullshit or venality that excites them.

"It is interesting to note that none of the more adulatory supporters of Obama among Blue Oregon bloggers seem moved to defend him when he is criticized on this site."

If they become moved to get around to defending their former political rock star, here is a tough challenge to work on.

Really important news of the day was the passing of one of our real voices of conscience, Howard Zinn.

SOTU was okay. The problem I have with Obama is that he's such a great and charismatic pitchman that one might begin to forget (or misremember) what pieces of garbage are the Senate health bill (and almost as bad is the House's), the House energy Waxman-Markey bill and U.S. policy in the War On Terror.

But Obama does do a wonderful job of trying to make one think these are good.

We progressive Democrats should embrace one of Lloyd Dangle's nine Blind and Unquestioning ways to Love Obama.

My favorite: "He's so smart, he's using a secret fake-out strategy. We can't see it yet."

My favorite: "He's so smart, he's using a secret fake-out strategy. We can't see it yet."

Sadly, how many actually said that when he appointed Gates? Far too many.

"Sadly, how many actually said that when he appointed Gates? Far too many."

It should have been obvious long before then that skepticism was essential. When he tossed the Reverend Wright and the Palestinians under the bus and groveled along with Hillary and McCain before AIPAC, people should have been aware that he was prepared to do anything to become president even if it meant failing to be the president this nation so badly needs. After it became obvious that he was getting his economic advice from the people who set the current economic crisis in motion with deregulation of the banks the question was, "What will it take for the American people to see through this person?"

The BO Kool Aid drinkers were also silent after his "War is Peace" speech to the Nobel commission. Even the BO staff are intelligent enough to know when someone is indefensible.

. When he tossed the Reverend Wright

and embraced a reprehensible televangelist... Hell, when? When you find out that he's a Chicago Democrat!

"What will it take for the American people to see through this person?"

What will it take for the American people to see, full stop.

Posted by: Steve Maurer | Jan 28, 2010 11:10:45 PM

Oh, drool on us oh salivary glands of knowledge. You're a hack. Not even a good one, Steve. You pontificate about peoples' mental health, unseen motivations, emotional maturity... So, why can't you find decent candidates for your county?

There you have it unvarnished. The depths of the contempt that tepid Dems have for anyone that is willing to follow the facts where they lead, regardless of ideology. Cheeky monkeys. Let's all do that. "Steve, it's obvious that Bill B has forgotten more about this nation's politics than you will learn in the next 50 years". Boy, that was hard. Won't bother to respond? Get real. You can't. Love your latest effort. "Suppport WU. He has a "D" after his name. Oh, and the teabaggers are tryin' to git 'im". Is there a regular think tank in WashCo that produces this? Seems a bit beyond you.

Very good example of the new tepid Dem favorite adjustment to the lexicon, i.e. "whiner". Means anyone that refuses to accept tepid Dems' cynical estimates of the probability of a particular policies' probability of success, and keeps talking like the principle matters. "Maturity" is accepting that there is never going to be change, vote for the Dem position du jour, because it is the lesser of two evils.

Closer to home, what political good, let alone progressive politics, has ever come out of Washington Co.?

Very appropriate banner on your blog. A real star jackass. Wu. QED.

So, not only do Dems believe that they will be as popular in 2012 as 2008, they can piss progressives off if they don't genuflect, cross themselves, and say, "Bless me Barack, for I have sinned".

Reality check: Name a worse Dem President, after one year, than BHO.

Seriously. Listen to the Party faithful on that one and you will not be so interested in continuing the conversation. This is a gang, complete with colors and blood oaths. Gang members don't think. They join a gang so they don't have to think. All they care is that their guy one. Beat the Reds. Why do you think so many Dem Presidents have had explicit connections to the mafia? Name two Republicans that were more mafia connected than Kennedy and Truman.

Meanwhile the populace grovel like businessmen paying extortion money and delude themselves that they are free because they get to vote for which crime family they give they extortion money to. Freedom in this country only comes with suicide.

"Which leaves me with only the following observation: seriously, Bill, why should we argue with people who have the emotional maturity of a toddler?"

Typical Maurer modus operandum. Attack the messenger when he can't refute the message.

Nuclear power, offshore drilling and clean[sic] coal! Oh, Jesus, protect us!

"Here's the reality: The public loved the speech. Independents, who we need to pressure the Senate, loved the speech."

Here are comments by one independent who thought the speech was SOTU Whoppers.

Even Democratic Party-oriented Think Progress noted Axelrod Struggles To Explain Why Obama’s Spending Freeze Doesn’t Include Defense Funding

"Yesterday, ThinkProgress joined a handful of journalists for a wide-ranging discussion with David Axelrod, Senior Adviser to President Obama. In his State of the Union address on Wednesday night, Obama announced a discretionary spending freeze that excluded the massive budgets of the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

"“Can you tell the American people that there aren’t any savings to be found in the Defense and Homeland Security budgets?” ThinkProgress asked Axelrod. The President’s Senior Adviser acknowledged, no, “I can’t tell you that” there aren’t savings which can be found there. "

Come on, Bill, it's obvious to astute observers that the US needs to spend more than the total of all other nations on defense. After all, to commies, er, terrorists are out to get us.

"Here's the reality: The public loved the speech. Independents, who we need to pressure the Senate, loved the speech."

The quantity of people supporting a point is of limited value. To cite just one of countless examples, polls showed over 70 percent of the American people bought into the Bush administration's propaganda about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. Except for people on the outer fringes of right-wing politics most people now recognize they were lied to.

Then there is the Great Skeptic's observation that appears to still hold true about no one ever losing money by underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

According to Common Dreams, it appears that the Obama Speech Was a Kick in the Gut to Environmentalists

"Come on, Bill, it's obvious to astute observers that the US needs to spend more than the total of all other nations on defense. After all, to commies, er, terrorists are out to get us."

There might be some truth in this. If I recall correctly we amassed a Navy fleet and 6,000 military personnel for the attack on Grenada that was at risk of being taken over by a hundred or so Cubans. Our leaders must have taken their eyes off their balls in Haiti. There was a report the other day about 500 Cuban doctors in Haiti BEFORE the earthquake. And you can be they were up to no good providing socialist health care to the poor and sick.

We Progressive Democrats should listen to Maurer. Let's be men. Let's sell out.

Posted by: Oksy Moreon | Jan 29, 2010 1:45:54 PM

We Progressive Democrats should listen to Maurer. Let's be men. Let's sell out.

Really, every man has his price. If you don't have a price, you must not be a man!

Obama called on Israel's right-wing government to end the expansion of settlements. Netanyaho essentially gave him the finger with continued expansion. Obama took it sitting down. What other explanation than the whole peace process is just a charade choreographed by the Israeli lobby?

Robert Fisk, one of the most distinguished reporters covering the Middle East for many years, asks, "Why does the US turn a blind eye to Israeli bulldozers?"

We could answer that the US believes in democracy and human rights and continue our national tradition of talking out of both sides of our mouths that began with slave owners among the founding fathers and their declaration about all men being created equal with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Re: "What other explanation than the whole peace process is just a charade choreographed by the Israeli lobby?'

Yes, we Progressive Democrats are just helpless victims. What other explanation can there be than that the Zionists control our foreign policy?

Let's not read anything by anyone to the left of us or we could end up blaming ourselves.

Especially ignore guys like this Angry Arab:

"[Mearsheimer and Walt] seem intent on blaming all the ills in US foreign policy on the Israeli lobby. There are obvious problems with that approach: it seems to ignore or deny the ills of US foreign policy in regions outside the Middle East. It also absolves the US administration, any US administration, from any responsibility because they (the administrations) become portrayed as helpless victims of an all-powerful lobby. Thirdly, the approach does not take into consideration the interests that certain elements of the US establishment see in maintaining US foreign policy toward Israel. Fourthly, the approach does not situate US foreign policy in the Middle East into the context of the global role of the US, especially in the era of Bush--and Clinton. And the piece, while significant because it comes from two mainstream academics, does not offer anything new or original. But for enthusiasts it is important to read those words in mainstream publications."

Barak Obama falsified his birth certificate because his real father is named Leonard Aaron Goldstein. His paternal grandmother was a Cohen. He is hep to rebuild the Temple, because he is of the priestly line!

<h2>This is US foreign policy. All discussion, before the fact, is conspiracy theory. All discussion after we nuke Iraq, or let Isael do it, is whining. It's best to just shut up and let those appointed to carry out our imperial agenda get on with their business. That feeling in your butt? That's them doing their business!!!</h2>