President Obama delivered his eighth and final State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening and quite frankly it was out of this world. His words made him seem totally disconnected from what is going on in the world today and totally oblivious to the wants and fears of the American people. It was almost as he chose to include only the realities which were important to him and made him look good, and ignored what Americas needed to hear from their “leader.”
As he spoke ten Americans were being held in Iran, Syria was on fire, Iran and Saudi Arabia were fighting proxy wars for control of the Muslim word, terrorism is spreading across the world; in Paris, in Turkey and even here in America. Yet this president spoke of a rosy world and told America their fears were ridiculous.
At one point he even said, “Russia is pouring resources to prop up Ukraine and Syria – states they see slipping away from their orbit.” Most observers would disagree with his contention that those countries were “slipping away” from Russia, in fact the Russian actions in both areas have been described as an embarrassment and an illustration of Obama’s weakness.
Obama used Syria as an example of his successful way of dealing with international issues as “a smarter approach, a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national power.” Smarter? Really? Did he forget the 200-300,000 dead people in that conflict? Or the millions of refugees leaving the country? Does he really believe that drawing that red line in the sand about the use of chemical weapons,demanding that Assad leave, and then backing off of both has had nothing to do with Syria falling apart?
He tried to claim that our standing in the world has grown our relationship with our allies are stronger than ever, a claim that is nothing short of fantasy. On the other hand he has made friends with repressive regimes such as Cuba and Iran by capitulating to their demands.
The president took the same “anyone who believes things aren’t wonderful is a fool” approach with the economy:
Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction. What is true – and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious – is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes that started long before the Great Recession hit and haven’t let up.
Yes the economy is changing in profound ways–bad ways, driven by Obama’s malfeasance.
Despite the fact that during most of the past seven years interest rates have been at record lows, the economy has stagnated, labor participation remains stuck in an abyss, companies are reluctant to invest in their businesses because of the administration’s over-regulation, bias toward unions, and expensive (for them) programs such as Obamacare. Many companies are moving their headquarters to other countries because of this nation’s oppressive taxes.
Obama spoke about things such as climate change and campaign finance reform which according to all polls, falls just below root canal and colonoscopies in voter priorities.
On one hand Obama tried to deliver a message that he accomplished so much, on the other he spoke about the need for hope and change which more than anything was an indication that even he realizes that he accomplished very little. After all that was his promise eight years ago.
I am sure the president had a hard time suppressing his large ego to admit to his one regret which was not uniting the political divide.
It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency – that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There’s no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I’ll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office.
Notice that he didn’t his role in creating the “rancor and suspicion.”
Obama’s adminstration’s sour relationship with the opposition began on his third day in office, 0n January 23, 2009 when Eric Cantor offered the president a suggestion for the stimulus plan, and Obama answered, “Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won,” an attitude that changed very little during his first seven years in office. He said he would be working to create unity during his final year, but took the opportunity in his final SOTU to trash GOP candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Echoing the speech he made after the Tucson tragedy that almost killed Rep. Gabby Giffords, Obama made an ironic call for political civility:
It doesn’t work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents are unpatriotic. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us.
Those were strong words for a president whose first press conference declared that the Cambridge police had acted stupidly, who compared the political opponents of his Iran deal to the hardliners in Iran the largest sponsor of terrorism on Earth. This is the president who seemed to use anti-semitic memes when he told a conference call of Jews that opponents of the Iran deal come from the same “array of forces that got us into the Iraq war,” he said a “bunch of billionaires who happily finance super PACs” are “putting the squeeze on members of Congress.” Obama was the man who said that Republicans want dirty air and dirty water. This is a man who when some in Congress called for a pause in accepting Syrian refugees until they could be correctly vetted said that they were doing the work of the ISIS terrorists.
Heck even in the very speech where he talked about political civility, he suggested his political opponents believed food stamp recipients caused the financial crisis, and immigrants have caused wage stagnation.
And after all of that and more it’s incomprehensible that Obama would have the absolute chutzpa to lecture others about political civility. Is he really that blind to the fact that he was and remains a major cause of the political incivility?
The best part of last night’s SOTU speech came when the president reminded us that this would be his last. Because more than anything else, his speech last night proved he is totally divorced from the realities this nation faces, the priorities of the American people, and what keeps the voters awake in the middle of the night.
Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey noticed something missing from the speech, Obama’s final SOTU oddly silent on … guns?
