State of the Union: pep rally with Obama as coach?

The Annotated Obama

Obama's opener was predictable enough, the obligatory patriotic reference for the blood and balls crowd:

... when the Union was turned back at Bull Run and the Allies first landed at Omaha Beach ...

Then came the hearkening back section, in this case to 1965, a time when blacks had hope and liberals had a few guts:

... and civil rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday ...

More than half of Americans were not yet born in 1965, and four fifths surely have never heard of Bloody Sunday at Selma. But what the hell, it's a speech, right?

And again, we must answer history's call ...

Along with millions of other cranky old lefties, I wanted to scream back, Then pick up the fucking phone, damn ya!

And of course there were references to heartland towns, to show he can at least name a few:

... in places like Elkhart, Indiana and Galesburg, Illinois.

And he reminded us of the many nights he spends in the Lincoln room crying over the mail:

... letters I read each night. The toughest to read are those written by children ...

And, as always, the American people are resilient, industrious folks living in Norman Rockwell's world:

... they remain busy building cars and teaching kids, starting businesses and going back to school. They're coaching Little League and helping their neighbors. ... I have never been more hopeful about America's future than I am tonight.

Are we living in the same country here, guy? But shsssh! At last! He's talking the economy. My man is gonna get down and grit with the peeps. Talk some real meat here.

In his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, President Barack Obama avoided any direct and concrete presentation of the actual state of US society. Given the enormity of the economic crisis and its destructive impact on tens of millions of Americans, Obama’s recourse to evasions and platitudes was all the more extraordinary.

Obama spoke in vague generalities about the crisis, but he cited virtually no facts. He deployed a variety of rhetorical devices to make a show of sympathy for the plight of ordinary Americans, but his speech only revealed the chasm of insularity and indifference that separates not only himself, but the entire political establishment, from the broad masses of people.

He began by defending the “aggressive” measures he took to rescue the financial system, asserting that “one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.” Really? Precisely for whom has the storm passed?

President Obama gives a good speech. He's smooth, unruffled by audience response, good at a timely ad-lib remark, and knows how to win over a tough crowd--all skills that were in evidence at last night's State of the Union address. But he's also good at telling whoppers.

Here are a few.

Talking about health care, and the stalled bills in House and Senate which have become so encrusted with pro-industry amendments that the whole process should be referred to as the Health Industry Enrichment Act, Obama said at one point, addressing the doubts many in Congress and among the broader public have about those bills, "If anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Let me know. Let me know. I'm eager to see it."

Hm-m-m. Actually, he has not been eager to see other ideas at all. John Conyers has had another idea: extending Medicare to cover everyone. He had it in the form of a bill, HR 676, but at the urging of the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept that bill from even getting a hearing. Earlier, almost a year ago, Obama held a conference at the White House to hear ideas about health care reform, but he excluded from that conference any advocates of what is called "single-payer"--shorthand for a Canadian-style health system in which the government insures everyone, and sets the reimbursement amounts for doctors and hospitals, medical services of all kinds, and drugs.