SOTU

Tonight, President Obama delivered a speech to a special session of Congress which essentially served as his State of the Union address. In sparing the details here, I saw a president planning his vision to a Congress which is bitterly divided in policy. There is a portion of Congress that wishes to try to fix the economic crisis the nation is in while another wishes to recycle stale cliches about failed government. One group is attempting to ease the fears of the common American while sending a message to those responsible for billions in irresponsible gambling debts that the buck must stop there while another group wishes to allow free-market (i.e., welfare capitalism) policies run the show. The president tonight delivered a speech, partisanship aside, that seemed full of hope and trust. His manner and eloquence are traits sorely needed and missed in former presidents. And the support from the American public (not manipulated by lies and fear) is there. I hope that the Obama stimulus package is successful. If not, the future of this nation will be bleak.
I can imagine the balleyhooing at Fox Noise though I would love to see John Stewart's response by LA Gov. Bobby Jindal, who delivered the most flaccid and tired retort I've heard in a long while. Any elected official from Louisiana who says that the federal government has no role in helping states must suffer from amnesia. Jindal claimed that New Orleans and the state had successfully rebuilt itself since the devasting storm hit in 2005. That's news to me, especially on the ironic day of Mardi Gras, when I wonder about the hundreds of thousands of displaced Orleanians living in other cities or states, the racial bias by national insurance companies and the leadership by a Republican president and Congress that fiddled while the city drowned. Shame on Jindal for saying this in private, much less a nationally televised speech.

President Obama will hopefully continue the successful start to his presidency.