1. Wow, he came out angry and swinging. Swinging somewhat at the ghost of Bush, which is swinging at the wind, but also against the Congress. He did swing a few times at the Republicans, but just as likely to blame the whole body. Jonathan Karl called it controversial and confrontational, so that the Republicans left quickly.
2. Not surprised by the love of Gabby Giffords. He almost seemed lost in the hug at the beginning. He was ready to pull back, she wasn't. The place cleared out quickly when he was leaving. Lot's of folks vacated quickly, and not as many stayed for fist bumps and hugs.
3. He brought his military with his wife. Traditionally, it is an enlisted person. This year, it was an Army Sergeant, but I couldn't tell her unit and MOS. She was decorated, though, and has been overseas for at least a year. Interesting that he didn't introduce her. Full bird Colonel behind Michelle. Also, staying on the military, the Joint Chiefs all showed up, but Odierno was so big, that they had to push the other three to the back row. Guys huge. . .
4. Walking in, you see the big wigs in the parties. Eric Cantor, Majority leader in the House, followed by his Whip, Kevin McCarthy. Mitch McConnell didn't seem to be in the line to walk in, but Harry Reid was.
5. The Supreme Court brought the moderate and liberal wing. The die hard conservatives boycotted, except for the Chief Justice. Sotomayor was the only liberal not to show.
6. People arrived for seats at 815 AM. That is a long wait. They had to be in seats they wanted at 530 pm, and could reserve them.
7. The young woman that was issued as a key to the relationship between companies and colleges was an interesting choice. Her hairstyle was lacking and she had heavy tattoos on her neck visible to the camera. The lip piercing added to this. It struck me because she wasn't necessarily a classical camera ready image. You have to admit, the administration did not ask her to change for the camera.
8. The president asked the states to raise the graduation age to 18 or graduation. That is huge, but is only a request. He has no power to do much in this way.
9. The joke about spilled milk was more of a classic Obama. It should have gotten more laughs, but I think his speech was enough of a challenge and harbringer of the age. Why can't -- timing -- Obama tell a joke?
10. There were several times when the audience attempted to clap and he talked over them, and in one case, he silenced the applause to continue his talk. He took control of the audience rather than seeking the easy accolades.
11. Rigid ideologies vs. common sense. Hard to fight that. Streamline the bureaucracy, how do you fight that? The Republicans will have a hard time spinning that against Obama.
12. The issue of Iran and the use of the military: The military got 100% support of the crowd. McCraven, the Navy Seal, behind Michelle Obama, is the head of Special Operations. He is the guy in charge of the operation that took out Osama. He was on the top five list for Time's Person of the Year. Interesting background.
13. Obama mentioned his former opponents, including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a Bush carryover. Geithner was another carryover. Hillary seemed to be the cabinet member that Obama spent the most time with after the speech. Sebelius wasn't even done with him when he walked past.
14. Ok, what happened to John Kerry's face.
No comments:
Post a Comment