Obama's address to congress, with my snarky comments

OK, I’m one day late, but I’m watching Barack Obama’s Address to the Joins Session of Congress. Here’s my reactions, as they happen:

• The shot from the coverage I’m watching on FOX (I know, it was what I could find on YouTube, OK?) follows Obama as he walks down the aisle into the chamber. What I notice is that it’s like he flanked on both sides by undulating walls of grasping hands. Everyone is reaching out to touch his shoulder to get his attention. I wonder how he feels about that; if he’s squicked by it, he isn’t showing it at all.
• Awww, he gave a shout out to the First Lady….who is looking mighty fine in that violet sleeveless dress.
• Now, a list of narrative examples of how “everyday people” feel the crisis:
  • “the worry you wake up with” / “sleepless nights”
  • “the job you thought you would retire from, that now you’ve lost”
  • “the business you built your dreams upon, that’s now hanging by a thread.”
  • “the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.”
  • OUCH. For some reason, that last one has the most affective impact for me, and not just because I work in academia. I think nothing incites that combination of sadness and shame like seeing the lives of your loved ones curtailed by your inability to support them.
• Standing Ovation #1: “we will recover, we will rebuild and America will come back stronger than before!” Hey, it’s a pep talk now!
• What I would’ve stood up for: “The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation.”
• “Now if we’re honest with ourselves we’ll admit that for too long we’ve not always met these responsibilities.” Don’t tell me that wasn’t a clear Bush/Republican dig.
• “I say this not to lay blame or look backwards.” Oh yes you do; don’t be coy. Let Bush and his party take credit for what they’ve wrought.
• “We have lived through an era where too often short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election.” OK, that last one was a pretty transparent dig. I like this!
• “The surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.” This one got applause. Yay not-to-subtle-Marxist-critique!
• Re: his “agenda” for economic recovery: “it’s an agenda that begins with jobs.” This got more applause.
• Standing Ovation #2: When he announces that his stimulus bill “is now law” (as if anybody in the room wasn’t aware) only a certain part of the room stands up.
• Long list of the kinds of jobs this stimulus bill would create: green-sector jobs, retention of teachers in public schools, retention of police officers—in fact, a lot of it is about jobs that won’t be lost.
• Why does the camera cut to the very uncomfortable Mitch McConnell (R-KY) when Obama talks about the tax credits for low-income families paying for college tuition?
• “Now, I know that there are some of you in this chamber—and at home—who are skeptical about whether this will work.” (camera cuts to a smirking McCain) “And I understand that skepticism; here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises, wasteful spending.” How was that for an agile sympathy-suckerpunch combo? He’s all, ‘I know about disappointment, too; remember the last 8 years?’
• Biden will manage an “oversight effort” on the stimulus package, apparently because “nobody messes with Joe.” Pelosi gives him a standing ovation.
• Re: fixing the credit crisis: “Every American should know, that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being.” Translation: this isn’t just a hand-job to the financial sector, folks; your ass is riding on these banks as well, like it or not.
• What follows is a pedantic (but comprehensive) explication of how a “credit crunch” pretty much fucks everything up.
• Hmm, he’s definitely playing the populist / anti-bank card now, promising all sorts of harsh “accountability” for banks that take government funds. Some snide comments about how “those on Wall Street” might prefer to take the money with no consequences for their reckless decisions.
• Standing Ovation #3: “This time [i.e., not like the first bank bailout in the fall], they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer.” Pelosi shoots right out of her seat for this one. Lieberman claps soberly…the backstabbing traitor.
• Standing Ovation #4: [right after the previous one] “This time, this time, CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.” That last one was clearly a reference to that zillionaire that was recently accused of massive fraud à la Madoff.
• Standing Ovation #5: [not 10 seconds later!] He repeats the “doing something is better than nothing” argument (which is specious, but efficient), implying that inaction could result in a stalled economy for a decade. “That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation and I refuse to let that happen.
• Re: the unpopularity of helping banks after they’ve fucked things up for themselves: “I promise you: I get it!”
• “We cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment.” WHERE WERE YOU 7 ½ YEARS AGO?!
• Standing Ovation #6: “I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single wall street executive…but I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers or the family that has saved but still can’t get a mortgage.” Thunderous applause. Go anti-finance-sector sentiment! If this weren’t a thoroughly capitalist country, you might call this capitalist-baiting. Maybe banker-baiting.
• “we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession.” Great line.
• Standing Ovation #7: call to finally reform market regulation. Was anyone seated for that?
• Now he’s talking about his upcoming budget. What’ll be in it?
• Another Bush/Republican dig: “…the stark reality of what we’ve inherited: a trillion-dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.” Translation: I’m doing what I can with this mess, but if you want to blame someone for this, look into the last 8 years.
• Standing Ovation #8: A list of examples of how America has historically launched large state projects during times of upheaval. The last one got the ovation:
  • railroad construction during civil war
  • public high school system emerging from turmoil of industrial revolution
  • during world wars, the creation of the GI bill, and thus “the creation of the largest middle class in history”
• “In each case government didn’t supplant private enterprise, it catalyzed private enterprise.” True, although there’s always the specter of nationalization.
• Standing Ovation #9: While there will be cutbacks in the budget, there will be significant investment in:
  • energy
  • health care
  • education
• HELLZ YES. Pelosi jumped up like her seat was hooked up to a 3,000 volt wire.
• Standing Ovation #10: complains that all of the recent innovation in “green technology” has been happening overseas, and that he is committed to reasserting America’s predominance: “We will lead again.”
• Standing Ovation #11: “More renewable energy in America.” Does this require a standing O? Is it really that surprising / groundbreaking?
• Standing Ovation #12: “I believe that the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”
• Dude, this is like a Catholic mass! An endless series of standing up and sitting down. If they start kneeling, they’ll have to burn some incense.
• Standing Ovation #13: “we can no longer afford to put health care on hold. It’s time.” [camera cuts to Hilary Clinton]
• Standing Ovation #14: mention of passing of the S-CHIP bill days into the new administration. Pelosi jumps out of her seat before he finishes the sentence.
• Standing Ovation #15: “seeking a cure for cancer in our time.”
• He’s starting a planning committee for health care reform next week
  • Electronic charts, new technologies to reduce cost
  • Preventative medicine
  • Broader health-care options (read: near-universal)
• “Nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt called for reform, the cost of health care has weighed down our economy and our conscience.” Nice turn of phrase there.
• Standing Ovation #16: “Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.” Does this mean we’ll see something before next xmas?
• Now, on to education
• “a good education is not just a pathway to opportunity, it is a prerequisite.” Interesting point.
• Some depressing statistics of education levels and drop-out rates in high school and college.
• Standing Ovation #17: that every person has access to a complete and comprehensive education (does this mean my future as a prof is secure?) Pelosi again jumps out of her seat. I feel like I should get her a pair of pom-poms.
• He calls on every American to commit to at least one year of college or higher education, including community college / vocational training. OK, now he’s pandering directly to the educators!
• Standing Ovation #18: “Dropping out of high school is not an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country.” And Fox, in its endless racial sensitivity, cuts immediately to the row of black legislators. “Of course! Black people drop out of high school a lot, right? Let’s get a reaction shot from some highly-educated black people!”
• It’s a bit of a surprising move to link education to patriotism—at least in America.
• Standing Ovation #19: A new education goal: by 2020, the US will have the largest proportion of college graduates in the world.
• Obama promises support for higher education training if you volunteer in the community, serve the country (militarily?)
• Standing Ovation #20: Asks that the education bill be named after Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ted Kennedy (D-MS).
• Speaks about the “importance of parents” to a child’s education, although the phrasing makes it sound like a subtle reproach (i.e. it’s not the government’s job to tell your kid to turn off the TV and do his/her homework).
• Standing Ovation #21: “Responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue; that’s an American issue.”
• Standing Ovation #22: underlines the importance of not passing to “our children” a debt that they can’t pay. For once, the Republicans in the room seem as enthusiastic as the Democrats
• Obama even jokes about it after the ovation: “See? I know we can get some consensus in here.”
• Sorta-Standing Ovation #23: Only this phrase: “With the deficit we inherited…” then Obama smirks as only the Dems stand up and clap. Chuck Schumer lucks positively delighted.
• Claims that stimulus bill was passed without earmarks (technically correct, although ask him about the Omnibus bill coming down the pipe).
• Reminds everyone that he had recently pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.
• Claims that his budgeting committee has already identified “2 trillion in savings in the next decade.” I’d be curious to see those numbers.
  • End educational programs “that don’t work”
  • Terminate agriculture funding for the large corporations “that don’t need it” (what about small farming?)
  • No more “no-bid contracts”, which have “wasted billions in Iraq” (this got a mini-standing ovation from the centre of the house)
  • Reform military acquisitions “so that we’re not paying for cold-war-era weapons we don’t use.”
  • Remove “waste, fraud and abuse” in the medicare system (i.e., for seniors)
  • “balance” the tax code by ending tax breaks for corporations that outsource their labor overseas.
• Standing Ovation #24: see the last point in the list above.
• This is called a pre-buttal: “You will probably hear from other sources that rolling back these tax cuts constitutes a massive tax increase on the American people…” deflate criticism before it’s articulated.
• Standing Ovation #25: if you make less than $250,000 (“a quarter million,” he repeats to emphasize its size), your taxes will not increase “by a single dime.” The Republicans are mostly slow to stand up, but they eventually do.
• Standing Ovation #26: “In fact, the recovery plan (stimulus bill) provides a tax cut—that’s right, a tax cut!—for 95% of working families. And, by the way, these checks are on the way.”
• We must address the growing cost of Medicare and Social Security (by “we” he means Americans; I’m just a spectator caught in the consequences).
• Calls for tax-free universal savings accounts “for all Americans.” (applause)
• “Finally, because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust…” he wants to restore the feeling of transparency and honesty to the budget process…
• Standing Ovation #27: “…and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years, we’ve been a nation at war, no longer will we hide it’s price!” You can’t not stand up to that, right?
• Announces intention to “review” the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not concrete details.
• Standing Ovation #28: nonetheless, commits to making a plan that “responsibly ends this war.”
• Shows his hawkish / tough side, claims that he’ll work on the effort in Afghanistan / Pakistan to “defeat Al Qaeda and combat extremism.”
• Standing Ovation #29: “I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half way around the world. We will not allow it!” Interesting shift from first person singular to plural.
• Addresses himself to the soldiers on the field “and to the families that bear the quiet burden of their absence.” Again, nice turn of phrase.
• Standing Ovation #30: “We honor your service, we are inspired by your sacrifice and you have our unyielding support.” Cut to a scene of some chubby politician shaking the hand of a young military officer conveniently located in the crowd.
• Claims that new budget increases the numbers of soldiers and marines
• Standing Ovation #31: expanded pay and benefits for veterans.
• “There’s no force more powerful than the example of America.” Huh. I don’t know about that…
• Standing Ovation #32: references the requested closing of Guantanamo Bay detention center. “Because living our values doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger.”
• Standing Ovation #33: “that is why I can stand here tonight and say with out exception or equivocation that the United States of American does not torture. We can make that commitment here tonight.” The last phrase implies pretty heavily that, under the Bush administration, we probably did.
• Discusses the importance of foreign policy
• “we can no longer shun the discussion table”
• mentions Middle East convoy (Holbrooke) assigned for Gaza conflict
• mentions need for international co-operation for fixing the economic crisis.
• Insists on this time as “the crossroads of history,” where the present is stretched out into historical time.
• Standing Ovation #34: in honor of Richard Abbas (sitting in the audience), a Florida banker that cashed out of his company, took a huge bonus, and then distributed the cash to his employees without saying anything to the press. The ovation was hesitant at first, but picked up speed.
• Mentions Greensburg, Kansas, which was completely destroyed by a tornado and is now being re-built as a clean-energy city.
• Standing Ovation #35: quotes the words of Ty’Sheoma Bethea (in the audience, next to the First Lady), a student in a “hopeless” public school in NC, who wrote a letter to congress asking for help. “We’re not quitters.”
• Moves to closing gestures, about how these people (the three examples preceding) should inspire “us” (legislators, but also the general public) to work for the nation.
• “I know…look, I know that we haven’t agreed on every issue—thus far.” (laughter from the crowd, as he looks at the Republicans.”
• Standing Ovation #36: “…but I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed.”
• “That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.” So, patriotism as political engagement quelconque? (c.f. Agamben)
• of course, no American “no church in this state” speech can end without “God bless America.” Sigh.