State of the Union LiveBlog

As part of an in-class assignment, I will be relieving myself from my Big East duties and will focus on President Barack Obama’s third State of the Union address.

9:00 – In the infamous words of The Joker, “and here we go.” President Obama’s third State of the Union address promises to hold some surprises for the President’s upcoming agenda and budget. Millions of Americans (myself included) are looking forward to what Obama has to say in regards jobs, the economy, the controversial health care bill, and the President’s proposed budget spending freeze.

9:05 – Pretty interesting seating change in the Congressional chambers for 2011. Democrats and Republicans will sit together in a what has to be considered Capitol Hill’s version of musical chairs…or is it more of a prom?

9:10 – I love how long it takes for the President to walk all of 100 feet to the podium. It’s as if none of these people have ever seen the President before.

9:11 – How many times do we need to introduce the President? And for a few seconds the chamber was clapping in unison, I am still waiting for the synchronized foot stomp and the PA system to play “We Will Rock You!”

9:15 – “Sit together tonight, work together tomorrow,” says President Obama. And the entire building stands up, any other day of the year they snicker at that notion. Amazing.

9:20 – Obama mentions the changes China and India made to compete with America in terms of economy and world power. He mentions a stronger focus on math and science in education…and why didn’t America do any of that? Not to mention trade agreements in the 1990s that basically enslaved the American economy to China. Obviously none of this is Obama’s fault, but it’s a little strange to talk about what others countries did to get ahead while not mentioning what we will do to change our own path.

9:21 – “We need to out innovate, out educate, and out build the rest of the world.” I guess my foot is in my mouth now. But using three little words won’t do much help, especially when no one in those chambers wants to work together to get any thing done. By the way, did you catch the creation of the internet quip by Obama?

9:24 – Obama mentions budget funding for biomedical research and clean and renewable energy technology as ways to help the American economy grow through innovation. Clearly clean and renewable energy technology is not what some West Virginians want to hear.

9:26 – Where are these “super computers” Obama speaks of and where can I buy one?

9:27 – Did you notice John Boehner not clapping for any of Obama’s energy talk, especially not “take tax cuts we are giving to big oil and give the money to Americans.”

9:30 – Moving along to education now…that was a great quote about teaching our kids not to only celebrate the winner of the Superbowl but also the winner of the science fair…that one got everyone on their feet.

9:36 – Obama is making some good points here about foreign students coming to the United States to study and then sending them back. However, many of those students want to go home to help their hometowns and families.

9:38 – “South Korea homes now have better internet access than we do.” And from being a Comcast customer I fully agree with that!

9:40 – “Pick projects that are best for the economy, not politicians.” Never heard that one before.

9:42 – Really liking Obama’s motto for tonight, “it makes no sense and it has to change.” And with that the house rises with the idea of cutting tax rates while lowering our deficit. That’s not going to happen any time soon when the nation’s wealthiest citizens get major tax cuts.

9:44 –  Not everyone is on their feet for “that’s why we finally passed reform to stop health insurance companies from exploiting patients.” And I must admit, the health care bill is flawed on several levels, but at least it is a stab at taking down the beast that is health insurance in the U.S.

9:46 – And here comes the “Dinner for Schmucks” part of the State of the Union address. If you are lost as to what I am talking about here. Every year this speech introduces completely random Americans with completely random stories/events/honors attached to them. I mean, who picks these people to come to Washington? Is there some form of freak-show sweepstakes to win a trip to the State of the Union address?

9:48 – Obama just announced his proposal to freeze annual domestic budget spending for the next 5 years, which would supposedly cut the deficit by 400 billion dollars over the next decade…which would be what? One year worth of Iraq War spending under former President Bush.

9:50 – Obama really fumbled his airplane analogy to cutting spending on education instead of the military. That was just bad.

9:51 – Now it’s the Democrats turn to sit on their hands after Obama mentioned medical malpractice reform to end “frivolous lawsuits.” I for one happen to agree with that.

9:52 – Obama is back to talking about tax cuts and argument that we should take away millionaire’s tax breaks instead of spending on education or scholarships for students. While not everyone accepted those words with a jovial response, I hardly see how anyone in that chamber could argue with that…that is, if they really care about Americans.

9:55 – Obama brings up a cool idea about providing a website so that Americans can see exactly where tax dollars and budget funding is going. While I think that was a 2008 campaign promise, it is still an effort towards transparency, but let’s see if it happens.

10:01 – If what Obama is saying is true about Pakistan taking a stand against Al Qaeda, then that really is a first since 9/11. Pakistan has been the only thing standing in our way against eradicating that heinous terrorist group, hopefully they are on our side now.

10:05 – It’s heart warming to see everyone standing and clapping in honor of our American soldiers, living and deceased.

10:06 – “No American will be denied fighting for the country they love, because of who they love.” Pretty powerful words right there, and for some reason there was a long pause on Senator Rockefeller after he said that (on ABC that is). Speaking of which, SNL Second Hand News Correspondent Anthony Crispino talks about the government’s recent appeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Wait, was that it? (skip ahead to the 1:05 minute mark)

10:09 – Back to the “Dinner for Schmucks” portion of the address. However, unlike Steve Carrell mice-collecting character, the man Obama pointed out saved lives…quite a few in fact.

10:13 – And that’s all she wrote folks. One hour and one minute later and we have a plan for the upcoming year(s) for America. ABC News reported that Obama set a record for non-partisan applause, 45 times. That’s pretty impressive really, considering most years it is black and white in terms of applause. I wonder how much of the seating change had to do with that? Or was it just Obama’s message? Tell me what you think!