There was a lot of good stuff in there but not a lot of details about how to get it done.
What I liked the best is that he seems to be aware of the fact that we need to compete in order to maintain our standing in the world. It's not a gift. To be who we are, we must work for it.
Now for my detailed observations.
First of all, I like that both parties sat amongst each other instead of each having their own side of the room To me it felt like "Together we can get things done."
A lot of emphasis on Education. Let's see if he can put his money where his mouth is. I am still waiting to hear that every child in the country has and i-pad type device with all of their books on it. Right there we can pay for the next Republican war with the surplus.
He mentioned immigration. I hope the Dream Act is still alive. For those of you that don't know, the Dream Act gives "front of the line" privileges to those illegal immigrants that were brought over when they were young and are now in college or serving in the military.
He is standing by Health Care Reform but is open to fixing it. He mentioned the one big thing I think is important and that is Malpractice Reform. I agree, fix it - don't trash it. Only 18% of all Americans disagree with me on this.
Simplify the tax code. Last year 1% of my income went into income tax preparation. I claim almost nothing so I keep it simple. However, the complications mean that those that can afford big-time tax attorneys can pay almost nothing. I imagine only those that can afford to cheat don't like this. It's too hard to hide your money when the system is simple.
He does not want to extend the tax cut for the richest amongst us. This extension is a huge budget buster. Interesting the the GOP wants to keep it. Oh wait. They are the rich.
Here is one that he took straight out of my blog. All lobbyist activity must be posted on the internet for all to see. I love this one. It allows us to see who is owned by who.
There was also some Blah, Blah, Blah terror type stuff.
Overall, the economy is improving and he seems to know where we need to go and I am in agreement.
The GOP response was very predictable. Of course, the first thing they did was talk about God and prayers. This really gets their base up on their feet and clapping. Once you say "God" nothing else matters to these people. The GOP then went on to blame Health Care Reform as a budget buster in spite of the fact that the GAO (Government Accounting Office) says it is saving money. They also made a blanket statement about failed policies which means nothing. So, they believe in God and then went on the crucify Obama.
The GOP heroically said they would not touch Social Security for those at or near retirement. They didn't mention their specific agenda which is to eliminate Social Security for those younger than 55. They also called for less regulation and sort of mentioned "a few bad decisions on Wall Street," before going on to blame Obama for the economy.
Like I said, no surprise there.
The Tea Party had a response as well. I will just say this: If you found the Tea Party statement compelling then you have never taken a course in economics and you are more likely to believe a politically motivated politician than EVERY SINGLE ECONOMIST in the world. Their spokesperson showed a chart that had a huge jump in unemployment the first year Obama was in office and then blamed it all on him. This is absolutely amazing to me that people like this can get elected.
Overall, I liked the toned down animosity between parties. I like that I am not the only one that sees where we need to go.
Speaking of knowing where to go; there is a world out there to save.
Up, up and away...
Jim
