"On Wednesday, the things that seemed to elicit the most bipartisan reactions were: hope (standing ovation), cutting the capital gains tax for small businesses (ditto) and Obama’s plan for deficit control, which caused a cold breeze to blow from both the Republican and Democratic camps." - Gail Collins, New York Times Columnist.
Lets take one of his paragraphs (opening, nonetheless) and see what he says: "It's tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable -- that America was always destined to succeed *insert inglorious trumpet playing here*. But when the Union was turned back at Bull Run, and the Allies first landed at Omaha Beach, victory was very much in doubt. When the market crashed on Black Tuesday, and civil rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday [he draws you into a trance by stating song titles that ensure you'll drift into self-serenading mode and pay less/no attention to his speech], the future was anything but certain [and its been certain when?]. These were the times that tested the courage of our convictions and the strength of our union [by calling it "our union" he's definitely going for something Abrahamic - Lincoln, of course]. And despite all our divisions and disagreements, our hesitations and our fears, America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation, as one people [Ah, there's Abe!]."
Either I've become skeptical, or this guy is now sincerely just full of what Adam Nagourney (writer for the New York Times blog "The Caucus") calls "flashing optimism." It goes with his Colgate smile, you see.
Its about time that dictators and elected officials alike, threw off the garb of "but he did it first" and stop playing the blame game and using as a crutch those that preceded them. There's a reason you're now in power. A) You were brought to clean up the mess (note: not to create more), or B) You're there forcibly, in which case, your Swiss bank account awaits you.
"Again, we are tested. And again, we must answer history's call." Sure, if answering a call means to lather, rinse and repeat all actions of previous administrations. Your promises were, after all, simply that, promises to get you elected. Unless its time for re-election, you needn't prove anything to anyone. "I'm President, what you got?" We heard him at his talk in Egypt, we hear him again now. But lets see how he tactfully doesn't State to his Union what the union's nose is doing. In his one-hour and something minutes spiel, he spent a total of ummm 5 seconds on Foreign Affairs. Sure, up the ante in Afghanistan and stuff your fingers in your ears and run around in circles, blissfully singing "lalala I can't hear you".
Another tactic I've seen most brilliant speakers use is the numbers game. They'll throw stats at you like its nobody's business, twenty figures in one sentence, so that by the time you wrap your head around the first one, he's already done talking and you feel the urge to applaud. We see that happening in Pakistan, with people like Zaid Hamid, who'll spew out facts and figures from the past at the speed of Andy Roddick's serve and everything that follows is taken to be part of the holy text and instantly agreed with. I don't have numbers to support my theories, heck, I don't even know numbers. How am I going to outbid that one? So we follow, blindly, agree in unison and move the hell on.
"Talk to the single teacher raising two kids who was told by her principal in the last week of school that because of the Recovery Act, she wouldn't be laid off after all." I'm sure those were Principal Skinners exact words. "Allah bless the Recovery Act". We all know how Ms. Sue needs her shit-pay job to accommodate the inflated prices at Starbucks. That said, this is possibly the best part of Obama's speech: "And the idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success [okay okay, so he didn't start of eloquently]. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform -- reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to the inner city. In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential." Standing ovation well deserved.
It seems O's new way to grab attention is to repeat. He'll say something like "I hated it", "let me know", "let's get it done" or "Democrats and Republicans." some three times each. Its not poetic; its definitely not Abrahamic. Where's he getting this one from? If anything, its a little annoying.
Here's where America could learn from Pakistan: Geo TV. While Obama prides his administration in bringing more transparency when it comes to the lobbyists and generally in Congress, Geo would have been there yesterday, when Shujahat Hussain was simply scratching his toupee, thinking whether he should launder the money to London or Saudi (we all know PML-N has Saudi covered). This transparency is never an issue on our side of the world, so I don't know why the U.S., with FISA watching Hawk Eye has such trouble unveiling the truth, which Moulder told us, is out there.
"Now, I'm not naive. I never thought that the mere fact of my election would usher in peace and harmony -- and some post-partisan era." Err, yes you did. Don't you remember "Yes, we can" and the Beethoven symphony that plays in your head every time you relive that moment you took oath. It was a cold grey day, Michelle wore a hideous yellow dress and you were playing music in your head and dancing in meadows with birds and the trees (Bollywood indeed), knowing that everything would be peachy keen because you were Black and President and that's gotta mean something; world peace that Ms. America wished for has finally arrived. Amen.
Just like Bush repeatedly talked of a "New World Order," Obama reminds us to "make no mistake". Somehow those words ring reminiscent of the Bush era and I shudder. To afford O benefit of doubt, here's what he said in its entirety: "But make no mistake: This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home." Novel concept if I ever heard one. Pft.
Obama nears the end of his speech with a recap of the Constitution, united as one nation, with liberty and justice for all, "...that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it, if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else." Well, tell that to the TSA and "random selection".
I'm still waiting for much of his Egypt speech promises to be implemented and beginning to think that maybe he just is all talk?
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