State of the Union

So I actually watched the State of the Union tonight. I don't normally have the attention span to watch these types of things, but I did actually watch most of it, and the little bit I did miss, I was still within ear shot. Yay me!

First off, I have to ask something... is it just me, or is this just like a big pep rally??? It's like a game to to see if you can get both sides to stand up and cheer at the same time. And, you have to admit, there is some fluff thrown in there to do just that!

That being said, I think President Obama is a great speaker. I don't care what side of the aisle you're on, he just draws you in when he speaks... he know what to hit and when and just how to deliver it. Sure, there are speech writers involved, but you can tell that he has the final say. It's definitely his words. I can say that after just the brief meeting he had years back - there's a genuineness about him and how he speaks.

So on to the beef of the speech. He started out with what I thought was a bang... in essence, he said that Americans just want the government to cooperate and make make thinks better and we (Americans) don't care about party affiliations. I think he was right on about things, even if he did leave a few things open-ended, a bit. But at least the idea got put out there. Love the idea of pre-school for all - finally follow the lead of some States out there that have successfully started such programs. Our troops are coming home next year and comprehensive immigration reform is on the horizon. And that includes both legal and illegal. And clean energy... I'm sorry, but if you're not on board with the idea of clean energy and getting away from oil (foreign of not), then you really need to wake up! If not because of it's limited supply, or the horror it does to the environment, then the fact that it's just moving forward!! There are countries decades ahead of us in this - when will we try to catch up before being completely left behind??

As far as taxes and the economy go... until I see some proof from one side or another that 'their plan' will work, I'm not sure what to think. I don't think the answer is to cut from military, medicare, or education. But then additional taxes suck, too. Personally, I think once you're in a certain tax bracket, you should also be capped on the amount of deductions you can take. Of any sort. It seems the more income you have, the more loopholes there are for you to find. You have to love when some rich guy makes a huge donation to a 'charity' that in turn, somehow benefits him. You know you've seen that happen. But it's a tax write off for him! The economy is slowly improving. You can't convince someone who's been out of work that, but it is. Sadly, it's just going to take time.

He smartly left gun control for the end, and he didn't say anything new that he hasn't already said. Stricter background checks and getting rid of automatic weapons (the kind that outgun local law enforcement). But the brilliance came with pointing out who all the recent violence has really affects, including one of their own and the family of a girl from his neighborhood in Chicago. But beyond what he believes should happen, he simply put, all these people who've been affected by gun violence... they deserve a vote in congress.

That's my two cents. I'm not a politician, but I know what I think is right, and that's just my opinion. But then, that's all politics are... a bunch of people with different opinions.