Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ringing lines from Obama last night– but the Republicans just scowled, sneered, frowned and flinched


Barack Obama gave the nation – and future historians – many great lines to remember last night.  I reached for a pen and a pad to jot down some of the best of them.

I can’t guarantee every one of these quotes is to-the-letter verbatim, because the president spoke faster than I can write, but I think these are pretty accurate. Each one speaks to a problem or policy the President wants to deal with over the intransigence of Republicans. 
• “Those at the top have never done better but average wages have never budged.”

• “First class jobs gravitate to first class infrastructure.”

• “The nation that goes all in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow.”

• “It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a ‘Mad Men’ episode.”

• “It should be the power of our votes, not the size of our bank accounts that governs our democracy.”

• “We counter terrorism not just through intelligence and our military actions, but through our ideas.”

• “If JFK and Ronald Regan could negotiate with the Soviet Union, then surely the United States can negotiate with less powerful adversaries today.”
Unfortunately, the president’s ringing language inspired little enthusiasm among the negativist Republicans who rarely applauded and seemed displeased that the President spoke the truth to the power of their nay-saying.

When Mr. Obama spoke about “the rancorous argument over the proper size of the Federal Government,” a CBS camera caught Republican Senator Mitch McConnel scowling.

When the President spoke about the possibility that prosperity could be “widely shared,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner, sitting behind him, visibly flinched.

These Neanderthals are going to stick to their greed and their guns and their miserly refusal to parcel out wealth on behalf of the future, even if it sends us back to the Stone Age.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

The list of quotes you provided from last nights SOTU speech are the same things Obama was saying when he ran in 2008.
Doesn't it seem logical then to say that after five years the problems he said he would fix in 2008, have not been fixed in 2014? What that not also lead a logical person to draw the conclusion that Obama has been a failure if he has not been able to correct the problems he said he would? That his politics and solutions have not worked?
To place the blame on the minority party is fixing the blame on the group with the least amount of power.
Further history has a long list of leaders who have been able to govern when they control 2/3's of a government. Why cant our leader do the same?
Current polling data shows that there is a complete fracture of trust between this Administration ans the American people. That cant be blamed on the minority party either.
The SOTU speech last night was a rehash of the same stump speeches that the President has been using since he first ran for the office of President. Nothing has changed, nothing has gotten better as was promised. Maybe it's time for this Administration to abandon their current agenda and try something else?

Patricia said...

I loved the "Mad Men" line. But what I was more curious about was how an already struggling worker making less than the fictional $10.10, has anything left for a retirement account? How is that possible? What are they going to do to Social Security now?? It's really curious that a whole generation of people my daughters age (35) think there won't be Social Security for them, even thought they have paid into it. I am so sad for my kids and everyone else. Also, Boehner has to be the most evil, next to McConnell. I'd like to think it will be the end for both of them, but sadly, I doubt it.

The New York Crank said...
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The New York Crank said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The New York Crank said...

Sorry Chuck. You can't render Congress sclerotic so that almost no proposal the president makes manages to pass and then point your finger and say, "Nya nya, you didn't get anything done."

If the Republican saboteurs of the American economy were in prison where they belong, Obama's entire program would be achieved by now.

Yours with extreme crankiness,
The New York Crank

Unknown said...

Crankster,

If Obama's entire program's so good they have to be mandated.