President Obama giving the State Of The Union address on Tuesday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
Given that the text of President Obama's State of the Union address leaked online before it was delivered, reactions to what the President had to say came quickly.
Here's a quick cheat-sheet for who said what about the President's forward-looking speech.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus released a statement reading in part:
"I appreciate President Obama joining Republicans and the American people in calling for fiscal restraint and a new focus on job creation, but rhetoric alone will not eliminate the job-crushing deficits and record unemployment that continue to hold back economic recovery. Too often, the American people have heard similar commitments to job creation and deficit reduction from this President only to see those efforts shelved when they conflicted with his political agenda."
From the office of House Speaker John Boehner:
"As I've stated in the past, when the president is willing to work with us on the people's priorities, we'll be ready to work with him. Unfortunately, even as he talked about the need for fiscal discipline, President Obama called for more 'stimulus' spending without making a commitment to the cuts and reforms the American people are demanding. Adding to our debt and pushing us closer to bankruptcy for the sake of more 'stimulus' spending will not make our nation more competitive. A partial freeze is inadequate at a time when we're borrowing 41 cents of every dollar we spend, and the Administration is begging for another increase in the debt limit."
This from Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer:
"President Obama is right that investments in innovation, education, and infrastructure remain vital to creating jobs, strengthening our international competitiveness, and taking advantage of emerging economic sectors, such as clean energy and advanced vehicles. This agenda encompasses House Democrats' Make It In America agenda: a plan to rebuild American manufacturing and productivity, and to lift up our middle class so that they can succeed in America."
This reaction came to NBC News from Massachusetts Republican, Sen. Scott Brown:
"It wasn't a ra-ra speech but it was balanced and it hit on a lot of good points. As a Republican I'm looking forward to working with him and finding some common ground to move our country forward."
Meanwhile... Georgia Republican, Rep. Paul Broun had this to say via his Twitter account:
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This is what kind of people the Dem's have to work with,Paul Broun what a jerk I bet he don't even know the Constitution.
Complicated. Smoked. Salmon.
A great example of why we need a limit on campaign spending ,these md s have been allowed to rob the working people of this country for to long, it has to be fixed,it cost you 175.oo dollars to go to an emergency room in my town, thats for walking in the door . getting the help you need is added on,at ridiculous cost. Healthcare cost are out of control,
ER visit was $900 dollars here in CA and that was the reduced Blue Shield rate. Know what I got for that $900. 3 minutes with a Dr that said "yep you have a stomach problem, guess you better make an appointment for a colonoscopy”. Then gave me a prescription for some pain meds. They didn’t even bother to do any blood work.
How about this. . . Specific policy proposals from our Head of State, Commander-in-Chief, and the man who wields the veto! I simply cannot support or vote for this president, or any Democrat, until they prove that they can stand up for progressive principles. Shrinking Violets like the Clintons, Pres. Obama, Sen. Reid, and even Rep. Pelosi at times will not do anymore. We need bold, forward thinking vision or we should just let the R's have it.
Paul Broun wouldn't know a socialist if it walked right up and hit him over the head with a red banner. In the category of Election Laws I Pray For But Will Never See: A ban on politicians using words unless they know what they mean.
I saw the President's speech as a call to action. Too long have we Americans been content to sit on our laurels, while the rest of the worked feverishly to catch up, and in a very few places actually pass us, China's super computer for one.
American Independence and Innovation created the modern world, the Industrial Revolution, the first Intercontinental Railway, Flight, and the First Democracy!
More recently, the Internet, making global competition much more intense and immediate.
In a way our American ingenuity created the situation we are in right now, giving the rest of the world instant access to our knowledge and abilities.
By my reckoning this is the 5th time the American people have been called on to rise above previously accepted, and false, limits.
1. The American Revolution, how dare a bunch of progressive malcontents to tell the King of England, "Go away, we can take care of ourselves."
2. The Great War, the war to end all wars, now known as WWI. Not only were Americans asked to fight a war against aggression, they were asked to fight side by side with British soldiers, not against them.
3. WWII, an entire generation was called to fight for what is right. Not only the proud recruits going overseas to fight and probably die for our country, but the men and women at home keeping the fires burning and the supplies moving to our troops.
4. Sputnik, we missed the boat, rocket, on this one, briefly. Nothing spurs competition like losing a close race. We caught up and passed the Soviets in record time.
5. Right now, it's time to set aside petty political differences and reclaim our place as not only the leader of the Free World, but as the leader of the World.
It won't be easy, what worthwhile goal is?
It's time to come together and recreate the American Dream for the next Generation.
Michael, what a lovely post. I saw this speech the same way you did. The first two years of this Administration, President Obama and his cabinet had to "fix" things so the country didn't go completely under. Now is the time to look forward and ask what we can all do as you said to "recreate the American Dream for the next Generation".
It's exactly what I saw in this speech. It was uplifting and a sort of okay, we got past the worst of it. Now what can we do? And he laid it out.
I so hope the GOP listened carefully. This can be a wonderful challenge for them to roll up their sleeves and help this country. And they want to, that is.
We'll hear a lot of posturing and backtalk -- and a great deal of ickiness from the trolls in the blogosphere, I'm sure -- for a while, yet. There's a funny "Word Cloud" over on the Maddowblog that indicates that what the Republicans heard of the speech was "stimulus" "big government" and "salmon." So, go figure.
I still haven't decided whether Mr. Speaker Boehner is crazy like a fox for allowing Representative Ryan to deliver the GOP response, or whether the whole thing was straightforward. If you're trying to motivate the nation to do something difficult, you do it like the President did: inspirationally, factually; explaining how the sacrifices will result in jobs and an educated, competitive workforce, renewable energy, etc. You don't bemoan and bewail the past, place blame on everyone but yourself and try to scare people into gathering up their pitchforks, for heavens sake!
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20029581-503544.html
An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the overall message in President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News poll of speech watchers.
According to the poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president's address, 91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.
Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama's State of the Union remarks.
CBSNews.com Special Coverage: State of the Union 2011
This year, 82 percent of those who watched the speech said they approve of the president's plans for the economy, up from 53 percent who approved before the speech. Eighty percent said they approved of Mr. Obama's plans for the deficit -- in contrast to 45 percent before the speech. Eighty-three percent approved of Mr. Obama's proposals regarding Afghanistan, which received only a 57 percent approval rating beforehand.
Think Progress:
President Obama urged Americans to “win the future” in his State of the Union address last night, through both increased government investment in key areas, along with some fiscal restraint measures. “Sustaining the American dream has never been about standing pat,” Obama said. “It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age. Now it’s our turn.”
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Now it's our turn. Perfect.
Rep Paul Broun from Georgia skipped the Sate of the Union because President Obama is a Socialist. I wonder if he enjoyed his education from the government subsidised public Universities he attended, University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia.
Huffington Post:
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough had some harsh words for President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Speaking on the special NBC News presentation of the address, Scarborough said that the speech was like no State of the Union he had ever attended.
"The energy was down, the president seemed tepid and there's no doubt that about 10 or 15 minutes into it, he sensed that," Scarborough said. "I've never seen an audience as flat or a president as flat as this...it was just boring all around."
NBC's newest analyst, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, agreed with Scarborough, while also saying that he wished Obama had "[seized] the moment on gun control."
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What a surprise. Boring says Scarborough. And of course, Ed Rendell never has a positive thing to say. Ever.
What did they want? We had the terrible tragedy in Arizona. We have had to come out of a near depression. There is work to do. Challenges to meet. That is what I heard. Scarborough was bored? Tough.
I don't remember any President's SOTU speech - ever. I couldn't recite one single sentence from one single SOTU. Except of course - GWB - and his "the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
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MSNBC is getting harder and harder to watch each day.
Where is the podcast of this show..... Can't you use the same resources that Countdown had to produce your podcast?
Mark Halperin:
Obama's presentation was close to flawless: upbeat and animated, leisurely and assured, surprisingly engaging even when he lapsed into the professorial mode he favors over tub-thumping. He also offered up some light, teasing humor, a rare feat for the generally sober president, whose forays into comedy often seem forced or hammy. Rehearsals with one of the Democratic Party's best speech coaches clearly paid off, allowing him to internalize the text and focus on conveying the emotion of the words with grace and spontaneity.
Read more: http://thepage.time.com/2011/01/25/halperins-take-obama-aces-the-state-of-the-union/#ixzz1C9iRSJKl
Missed opportunities galore by the msnbc gang in the comparison/contrast of Obama's & Ryan's speeches. But that's par for the course these past 30 years.
How progressives don't absolutely DOMINATE, given the sheer insanity of the right, is astounding. Progressives talk such a weak game... it's beyond pathetic. It's a national disaster.
Ryan speech offered up on a silver platter, both with presentor & message, a progressive response as to exactly WHY voters have been voting against their economic interests for much of the past 30 years. But no. It's almost hopeless.
And if ANYONE was equipped to dive into the numbers & narrative, it is ex Finance Committee staffer Lawrence O'Donnell. And if LO needed a starting point basis for doing so, David Stockman gives him almost all the firepower he needs with the points he's making about his party's responsibility for wrecking the American economy. LO needs to pick up his game.
LO could be twice the voice KO was, given his background and articulation abilities. LO should be reading every David Stockman book he's ever written. (2,3?)
I believe that Lawrence O'Donnell mistook the President's "plane crash" phrase for a "joke." I interpreted that small piece of the SOTU to be a very sobering analogy, while LO'D spoke of how it "fell flat." I like you work, Lawrence; think you missed it on this one.
I thought that the SOTU speech was great. It stated some of the many things that need to take place in this country, but I have a question about social security. Is it true that social security taxes are only paid on the first $106, 880.00 of income? If this is true and there is a need for more money in the social security system, why is this amount not increased? Please let me know if this is one of the solutions being considered to increase social security funds.
To Rep. Paul braun: way to go to be willing to work together.Obamma could not have been more centrist in his remarks.The next time you drive through a tunnel or drive over a bridge be careful.Our country's roads,bridges,mass transit & schools are falling apart.p.s.these projects put people to work.