January 26, 2010
Oh no! State of the Union, State of the State, State of the County...
I'll bet there are even mayors, members of Congress, corporate leaders and a hundred trade union leaders getting ready for grandiose pronouncements on the "condition" of their entity. Most will begin with a simple declarative--"The state of your___________(fill in the name) is" sound or excellent or great! Huzzah!
The gallery in the House of Representatives in Washington and Assembly chambers in Madison will be full of people who have been told to be there, and there will be the now-obligatory "surprise guests" to be introduced in mid-speech to make forgettable moments. Ronald Reagan on the national level and Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin perfected the usually sappy introductions.
All in all, we will hear much but learn little. Tonight our governor; tomorrow night our president. Major problems will be dismissed in a few words--there will be few memorable lines, but listen we must!
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show should move into the West Wing instead of David Plouffe. He gets the aloof Obama mystery. As presidential aids were setting up a TelePrompTer in a grade school class so Arne Dunken and the president could read a speech to the kids, Stewart yelled, "For god's sake, a TelePrompTer for a talk to 6th graders?"
More prescriptions for dealing with President Aloof's aloofness have poured in to FightingBob.
Colin Powell says, "He thinks like a lawyer, makes decisions like a lawyer." Maybe he should try making decisions like a football coach instead of a lawyer for this speech.
To learn more, read this from David Axelrod (I did not make this up): "This is someone (Obama) who in law school worked with professor Larry Tribe on a paper on the legal implications of Einstein's theory of relativity." Wow! David! Did he really? Was it published? Where can we get a copy? Did Tribe give him a grade? Did Obama fill out the teacher eval? Is it available?
Axelrod didn't pause. He went on as if building a resume for the guy. (Hey! David. He is the president. He doesn't have to pad his CV.)
"He does have an incisive mind; that mind is always put to use in pursuit of tangible things that are going to improve people's lives."
He reads more than Palin, surfs the net, studies memos, reads SI, gulps down The New Yorker (I wonder if he races through to read the cartoons or if he dives into poetry). He watches lots of TV, but, remember, his mind is always, always, put to use for us.
Spending freeze? The insiders tell us that the president will lurch to the right and declare a spending freeze! Yikes. Say it ain't true. Spending on the oh-so-popular wars will not be frozen; veteran benefits won't be frozen, but Race To The Top? Or helping states pay debts. Tough it out like AIG, GM, Goldman.
MPS: Sit before reading. The MPS School Board has hired a new superintendent of Milwauee public schools. What about the Doyle/Duncan/Barrett takeover? Don't ask, don't tell. Will the governor have his own pick in the gallery tonight? Dueling superintendents brought to you by WPTV? There is reason to watch. could be the start of a new series,
How about the Onion, Mr. President? Give it a try.
C'mon.
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If the SOS and SOU speeches fail to entertain, turn down the volume on your TV and watch the bobbing heads. Interesting and quirky those talking heads with the words removed.
And, they say just as much.
There's still a few spots in the pool to see who calls whom a liar this time around... care to wager?
-Franz Fripplfrappl | Stoughton, WI | January 26, 2010
Watching this Obama crew is sort of like having an old Firesign Theatre album come to life. Just enough reality to make the insanity plausible.
For decades the Dems have been smarting over the defeat of Adlai Stevenson and now they have him. Another Egg Head from Illinois. Now you know what alternative history may have looked like.
As for the spending freeze this is just one more example of Democrats trying, in a minging sort of way, to please the GOP. It never works.
If you want real budgetary soundness get out of unwinnable foreign wars. Increase, without limit, the income at which you MUST contribute to Social Security. Make Medicare means tested. I know people who have earned plenty their whole life long and could afford to pay a means tested premium to be enrolled in Medicare. There are plenty of them out there, including ALL of congress.
Of course that might make some kind of sense. But, if all else fails cut the budget for the National Parks, especially at a time of renewed, and nearly ravenous interest due to that wonderful PBS special.
Like I said, Adlai is now in the White House and we have the Bozos running the bus. I want off. Honestly? A Telepromtor for a talk to 6th graders. Get real.
-Griebnotz Doerkpfester | Egg Harbor, WI. | January 26, 2010
Not a knight in shining armor . . . just another suit.
Rick Kissell is entitled to say: "I told you so!"
-Oliver Steinberg | St. Paul, MN | January 26, 2010
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