State of the Union address, 01/24/2012

Dear Madame L,

Did you watch Pres. Obama's State of the Union address last night? What did you think of it? I heard that some Republican members of Congress declined to attend, and I wonder what you think about that, too.

Sincerely,

Just Wondering

Dear Wondering,

Madame L did indeed watch the one-hour-and-five-minute-long speech last night, and was very proud of our President. 

Madame L was impressed not only at all the points Pres. Obama made on all the issues his Republican opponents have been raising lately, but also at how he addressed those issues: in a calm and Presidential manner, listing the accomplishments of his administration and showing that he can't keep waiting for Republicans to join him in bi-partisan efforts to improve the state of our union.

Madame L thinks the members of Congress and the Supreme Court who declined to attend showed themselves (in case anyone was still in doubt) to be churlish boors whose opinions nobody cares about in the least, anyway.

In case you were hoping Madame L would provide you with a summary of the main points of the address, which she won't, she will at least provide you with a link to Foreign Policy's summary.

And in case you don't, Dear Reader, actually care what Madame L thinks about President Obama and his State of the Union address, Madame L provides you with this link to a focus group of Ohio voters and their reactions and these quick highlights of that article:

--- In a before-and-after test, the proportion of participants describing Obama as “a strong leader” rose from 39% to 71%.

--- Fully 78% said after the speech that Obama “looks out for the middle class,” up from 59% before the speech.

--- The share of participants who said Obama has good ideas for improving the economy rose from 39% before the speech to 79% after the speech.

Madame L thinks this goes to show that if voters in general paid attention to what the President is actually saying and doing, instead of what Fox News or random Republicans say he's doing, they'll be impressed with his success in the job.

Oh, and by the way: Did you see in this morning's papers that just before he gave the speech, Pres. Obama had heard that the mission to rescue an American woman and a Danish aid worker from Somali pirates had been a complete success?  Again, as he did the night of the White House press correspondents' dinner, the President proves how strong he is against terrorism, how cool he is in the face of opposition, or, in other words, how exactly Presidential he is...and how non-presidential his opponents are.

 

Sincerely, 

Madame L