Post by saskabronco on Jan 28, 2014 23:00:36 GMT -5
Do the majority of Americans watch this? I noticed it was on up here in Canada as well so I started watching it.
I only saw about the last half of Obama's speech but it sounded like he had some positive goals, however they seemed very similar to the same goals he has every speech (closing Guantanamo, minimum wage, health care reform, etc.) which makes me wonder why he always has the same goals and never actually achieves them in full. Now I understand that health care has been launched but there are several short comings that the administration still needs to work on. I don't completely blame Obama and his administration for the lack of progress, given that the Republicans run the house and blatantly go against anything that Obama attempts to pass, but I also don't think he deserves any sort of free pass.
Watching the Republican response was painful. Cathy McMorris Rodgers seemed like she was reading a script written by a kindergarten teacher, intended for kindergarten students. She did not state anything of value other than that the Republicans love America and that they have 'big plans' for the country. Apparently they are too important to disclose any level of detailed information regarding those plans. She really just talked about how she was raised, her child with down syndrome and how much she loves America.
Some of the discussion after seemed to attack Obama for being too timid and not attacking the issues with an aggressive stance. My thoughts on that are that people have been very down on him for not following through with his promises from the first election, so why should he be more aggressive and make more promises that he likely can't get through the house? It makes sense to me to slow things down and focus on some achievable goals to help renew the people's faith in him. He was fortunate that the Republicans threw in the towel for the last election by nominating Mitt Romney, which basically guaranteed Obama's second term and I really hope he can start to make more of the change that he talked up so much in his 2008 campaign.
I am really just curious to hear how some of you feel about his speech and the other speeches and discussions that have stemmed from his address. Do you think he did a good job in his address? What did you think of the Republican response?
I only saw about the last half of Obama's speech but it sounded like he had some positive goals, however they seemed very similar to the same goals he has every speech (closing Guantanamo, minimum wage, health care reform, etc.) which makes me wonder why he always has the same goals and never actually achieves them in full. Now I understand that health care has been launched but there are several short comings that the administration still needs to work on. I don't completely blame Obama and his administration for the lack of progress, given that the Republicans run the house and blatantly go against anything that Obama attempts to pass, but I also don't think he deserves any sort of free pass.
Watching the Republican response was painful. Cathy McMorris Rodgers seemed like she was reading a script written by a kindergarten teacher, intended for kindergarten students. She did not state anything of value other than that the Republicans love America and that they have 'big plans' for the country. Apparently they are too important to disclose any level of detailed information regarding those plans. She really just talked about how she was raised, her child with down syndrome and how much she loves America.
Some of the discussion after seemed to attack Obama for being too timid and not attacking the issues with an aggressive stance. My thoughts on that are that people have been very down on him for not following through with his promises from the first election, so why should he be more aggressive and make more promises that he likely can't get through the house? It makes sense to me to slow things down and focus on some achievable goals to help renew the people's faith in him. He was fortunate that the Republicans threw in the towel for the last election by nominating Mitt Romney, which basically guaranteed Obama's second term and I really hope he can start to make more of the change that he talked up so much in his 2008 campaign.
I am really just curious to hear how some of you feel about his speech and the other speeches and discussions that have stemmed from his address. Do you think he did a good job in his address? What did you think of the Republican response?