Waiting for things to get started.
What’s with this boxy, buttoned up, hands-crossed-in-front look for the female legislators?
What would I wear? A smart black pantsuit, probably.
And if they didn’t want me to wear black? If they mandated softer colors?
Maybe taupe? I had an adorable 40s-style taupe skirt suit in college. Kind of a nubby, taupe-gray fabric, mid-calf skirt, button-up blazer. Very stylized, so cute. The year was 1993, so I wore a faux antique pin on it, but regardless, overall, it was a good look.
But taupe isn’t my best color. If I was going to be on tv, standing around all awkward like these ladies are, I’d want to be in a svelte pantsuit in my best color.
This is a little awkward for all of us - VP Biden, Madame Pelosi. Just standing there...
Call to arder!
Huh. Obama might be shorter than I thought he was. No, the others are on an elevated platform. *Sigh* I wish Handsome was here to hip me to the obvious.
Ooh, Michelle Obama is my girlfriend. In plum.
If Handsome were here, he’d be telling me, That’s Senator so-and-so, that’s Representative blahdee-blah, that’s Chief Justice XYZ. I don’t know.
Why is Bree from Sweet and Bitter sitting next to Mrs Obama?
This is an awful lot of glad-handing. Yes, Madame Pelosi, let’s do get started.
Does Obama have more gray hairs than he did before? (Surprise, surprise.) I think he’s a handsome man. I don’t think it’s just the oval of his office.
And now with the endless clappety-clap-clapping. Don’t they know this is a serious function? It's not like it's Bono, or something.
Not that Bono isn’t dead fucking serious.
Here we go...
I’m scared for him. It’s like watching figure skating.
...
This is more American history than I wanted. Oh, but I see what he’s doing. “Again we are tested...”
If she’s going to be on camera, Pelosi shouldn’t eat things beforehand that are going to make her burp during the president’s speech.
Good job, Mr President - remind us of the landscape when you took office.
“So we acted.”
Obama’s voice sounds a bit like he’s just finishing swallowing a gulp of oatmeal. Perpetually.
4:24 Each night? He reads letters from the populace each night?
4:47 He’s relating to our feelings: “Some are frustrated, some are angry. They don’t understand...” He’s reflecting our feelings back to us. He’s an active listener, my president.
5:18 “We face big and difficult challenges.” Good third-grade level language there.
6:41 “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.” Never? I don’t care for that word, but I don’t know that I even agree with the sentiment here.
7:13 “We do not quit...” Maybe you don’t, Mr President... As for Americans in general...at best, it’s an unprovable statement.
Here’s the meat. At 7:43. But he was setting the stage. I get it.
“We all hated the bank bailout.” His first laugh at 8:15.
9:00 Now he’s talking about things I really ought to understand better.
10:38 He’s reiterating that he has cut taxes. Everybody seems very excited. It’s a standing ovation. (See? 11:13 - he’s very handsome. Look at that smile.) He’s getting in some points about how he hasn’t charged people taxes. A lot of his claims relate to how-things-would-otherwise-be. Speculation. Unprovable.
12:43 Yay, Recovery Act! My number one client is developing a project for ARRA funding.
16:11 Small business loans! Whoo-hoo!
19:10 I wonder if he’s had work done on his teeth.
He likes when people clap for him. But he looks surprised, too.
...
The camera pans across the audience, and I miss Handsome, or a trusty voiceover, sotto voce: "That young brotha is...", "The girl who looks like Bree from Sweet and Bitter is actually..."
Oh, shit, I missed something.
23:25 Wait - did the president just give them the hand?
Lobbyists are trying to kill something. And the president's upset about it. “We've got to get it right.” Another standing ovation.
...
24:00 Here we go: ...American innovation... investments in clean energy... jobs, jobs, jobs... production, efficiency, incentives... a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants...
What? Nuclear power plants? That’s what you’re gonna lead with? Holy crow, they’re giving him another ovation. “...new offshore areas for oil and gas development...”? WTF? “...continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies...” Who’s this who’s ovating him?
...
Look at that grin on Joe Biden.
...
31:24 Wow - a $10,000 tax credit for college and an increase in Pell grants? That’s why America elects Democrats. A limit of 10% of a graduate's income towards repayment of student loans. Relief of debt for graduates pursuing careers in public service.
“Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.”
Or because they chose a career in public service, arguably.
...
33:17 “...[W]e still need health insurance reform.”
I keep hearing myself say out loud, “Good luck.”
His smile is muted. Perhaps because it’s only so funny.
He’s heard stories about Americans facing financial ruin because of illness. Who hasn’t? That’s what I don’t understand. A health crisis can bankrupt your whole lifestyle - where you live, where your kids go to school. These are our friends and fellow Americans on the edge.
Oops, I lost focus again.
35:05 He’s acknowledging his wife for a new initiative to tackle childhood obesity in our lands - “Thank you, honey,” he says.
She doesn’t look too happy, though. She looks like she might eat him, yikes, and then all the rest of us.
“She gets embarrassed,” my president explains. (I just spelled that wrong again. Dammit.)
...
37:52 On bi-partisan support for health care. If anybody has a better approach, he wants to know. “Let me know,” is what my president just said to some doubter on his left. “I’m eager to see it. ”
I'd like to see big, tough street thugs start talking to each other like that when they’re about to scrap: “Let me know. What? Let me know, bitch. Come on. I’m eager to see it.”
...
39:13 On government spending. He’s going to clear things up, he’s "setting the record straight." Oooh, a timeline. Always a strong move, Mr. President. “All this was before I walked in the door.” Good clarification.
Oh, 40:15, I think he might cry. That’s what Mae's eyes looked like after lunch today right before tears started falling.
He sez we’re going to take steps. A government spending freeze - that sounds terrifying. Who’s that who's clapping without hearing him out on that?
Another good line for our thugs: “If I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will, motherfucker.”
I like bi-partisan things that are stronger for being bi-partisan, but -- exactly, Mr President. Don’t use bi-partisan cooperation as a gimmick.
This Senate he keeps referring to sounds like it could be trouble.
I don’t know that I’m familiar with a pay-as-you-go law. But the audience seems to really appreciate it. Ah.
...
47:33 On campaign financing. Oh, he’s mad at the Supreme Court! Me too! Of course we are.
Hold on - What makes foreign entities “worse” than special interests? What’s that logic? That at least the special interests are Americans? His rationale might bear closer examination.
48:51 Oh, snap, legislators! One single website detailing all congressional earmark requests, to be published before the vote. Ha ha, motherfuckers. Game’s about to change. Watch how mouthy Americans get online.
...
49:14 Good - we’re going to talk about how we work with one another.
(Uh, I’m not sure that just because we’ve been talking about the same issue for hundreds of years necessarily means it’s a cornerstone of our democracy. But anyway...)
Yeah, you guys! Let’s not use politics to sow divisions and distrust amongst Americans.
Democrats, let’s not run for the hills.
Republicans, let’s not stonewall in the Senate.
Oh, my. Do the parties literally sit on opposite sides of the room? Still? What if your best girlfriend’s a Republican? I mean, your bill co-sponsor.
...
53:35 These are interesting points he’s making. What is he getting at?
Oh, he’s talking Homeland Security.
I wonder if the military generals ever clap for anything.
Poor veterans. We do have a responsibility to support them when they come home. Widespread applause. Ah, even the military generals are joining in with us on that.
The first wives are supporting military families? Didn't know.
I have a feeling I’m going to be embarassed when I find out who this Bree lookalike actually is, sitting next to Mrs Obama. I bet I'm supposed to know.
Nuclear weapons. Arms control. It’s like an old familiar song I hadn’t heard in a while.
No weapons for terrorists. And the generals are on their feet again.
...
He’s listed a lot of accomplishments tonight. I feel a bit like he’s about to ask me for a raise.
...
I’m ready for this to be over. And I haven’t been getting up and down to give him standing ovations. It has got to be getting tiresome for the people on tv.
...
1:01:14 Haiti. Afghanistan. Iran. Guinea. (Guinea?)
Human dignity. Always. That's my president.
1:02:55ish “If you abide by the law, you should be protected by it. If you adhere to our common values, you should be treated no differently than anyone else.” Sometimes I feel like in addition to being a really smart guy and a fairly ethical guy, he also knows how it is. Sometimes I feel like he knows exactly what it’s like.
...
1:03:16 On gays in the military. Wow, no one had done anything about don't-ask-don't-tell yet? Wow. How about we give gay Americans the right to marry? You don’t think that’s “the right thing to do”?
...
1:05:11 Uh, yeah, many Americans have lost faith in big corporations and the media.
...
1:07:42 “The only reason we are [here tonight] is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard...” Or they were afraid, and did it anyway.
1:09:58 Does Obama ever cry in public? Do we have footage? Is he gonna cry right now? Or did he gobble down some food with Pelosi right before he got here, and the catch I just heard in his voice is due to indigestion?
“We don’t quit,” he sez again. Uhhh...
But at least it’s over.
Look at Michelle’s terrific swoop of bangs.
Updated 1/28
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