Live Blogging the State of the Union

Alright, it's about that time.  Time for future President Rubio to wow us all.  But first, we have to hear from the Kenyan usurper.

(How Obama resists the urge to pop Eric Cantor with an elbow in this setting [walking in with Cantor immeidately behind him] is beyond me.  So much self control.)

You know for a guy who is supposed to be all aloof and shit, Obama really seems to enjoy pressing the flesh at these things. 

Come home America.  (That's the first time I've ever seen the Supreme Court justices stand up -- I guess the mention of the troops makes that okay.) 

"We've cleared away the rubble of crisis." 

Ah, the middle class.  Time to drink if you're playing along at home. (Actually Atrios somehow left that one out of his drinking game word list.)

He's explaining the sequester in a very fine fashion I think.

And one of those Sorenson type sentences about keeping promises.  

"Bipartisan tax reform."  I think you have to do a jello shot. 

Replace "wreckless cuts" with "smart savings."  Who could argue?

"Defict reduction alone is not an economic plan." 

Three questions we need to ask every day.  1) "Does this make my ass look fat?"

Climate change gets mentioned.  And some facts: the twelve hottest years have happened in the last 15. "The overwhelming judgment of science."  He gets a smile out of angry gramps with a shout out.

 "Self-healing power grids."  But they have to want to heal themselves. 

"Grow our middle class."  Drink children, drink.

"Comprehensive immigration reform."  Shot of tequilla. 

Huckleberry Closet Case is applauding.  I am opposed to whatever it is he is in favor of.

Raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour.  "No one who works full time should have to live in poverty".  What a radical notion.

Why the fuck does Boehner look like he's crying?

Isn't it too soon to end the war in Afghanistan?

Having a hard time staying awake -- not a commentary on the speech, but a little too much cold medication and a warm lap top. 

"Burma."  I wonder when the last time Burma was mentioned in a SOTU?  It probably was followed by the word "shave."

Man, nodded off in the chair here and missed the end. 

Seemed like a pretty solid effort.  What did you all think?

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.  Marco Rubio. American exceptionalism includes the right to be an upwardly mobile fetus. He's a lot better than Governor "Kenneth the Page."  Just as fundamentally dishonest, but a lot more telegenic.  He really is a lying sack of shit.  (If we can get the economy to grow at 4% per year -- yeah, and if pigs could fly.)     

Weird water bottle moment.  Very poor bit of stage craft there. 

The wing nuts will like the speech.  Not too sure about the general public.

Comments

[kathy a.]

i missed the pregame show. but here he goes -- opportunities to every child, and he just mentioned "who we love."

[kathy a.]

expect us to put the nation's interests before party. go, team.

[nancy]

Middle-class. Sip.

[kathy a.]

blah blah economy. ok, this is leadup to the sequester.

[kathy a.]

ok then. most americans; fair share. and he is defending medicare; and the affordable care act; and up taxes from wealthy, make it more secure for the rest of us. open to more reforms, "so long as they don't violate the promises we have made."

[kathy a.]

here we go -- fairness.

[kathy a.]

"the greatest nation on earth cannot continue by drifting from one manufactured crisis to another." sing it.

[nancy]

"full faith and credit". Unless you other guys have a better idea. Like welching.

[kathy a.]

climate change.

[kathy a.]

infrastructure. that's good, and it pumps the economy.

[kathy a.]

early childhood development. yes.

[kathy a.]

immigration reform. we'll see. i'm not really good with more boots on the ground, but OK with a path to citizenship.

[kathy a.]

VOWA. paycheck fairness. the fucking guns are probably coming soon.

[kathy a.]

boehner cries a lot. don't worry about it.

[kathy a.]

the green ribbons are to remember shooting victims.

[kathy a.]

so, i think he is working up the overseas stories, and fundamental rights. and this will lead into the big gun thing domestically.

[kathy a.]

oooh oooh oooh -- right to vote. go team.

[kathy a.]

here we go -- protect our most precious assets, our children. newtown. proposals deserve a vote.

[kathy a.]

OMG. boehner stood up to clap at the call for a vote on gun proposals.

[low-tech cyclist]

Josh Marshall:

"The gist from the Morning Shows: Obama is laying a devious trap for Republicans by embracing a raft of policies the public widely supports."

I don't watch the morning shows, but I always thought that wasn't trickery, but how politics was supposed to work at its most elemental level: each party says what it's for and what it's against, and the party whose proposed policies are more popular with the public wins elections and gets to govern.

If the GOP wants to be against increasing the minimum wage, that's their choice. But it's hardly some clever trap on Obama's part to force them to go on record about it. It's just democracy.

If that's the hill they're willing to go down fighting to defend, I can only hope the Dems will give them every opportunity to do so.

[oddjob]

You've just demonstrated why there are better things to do with your time than watch the morning shows.

[low-tech cyclist]

John Dickerson* of Slate: "The president brought a lot of ideas and one simple message: Republicans are the problem."

And what's wrong with Obama's saying that? If in fact the President wants to do a bunch of stuff that people like, and the GOP is unequivocally opposed to it all, then they are the problem.

Making differences between the parties clear is what you want to do, when people like your agenda better than that of the other party. "We're for this, they're against it, if you want it, then vote us in and vote them out." That's how the game's supposed to be played. If it hurts the Republicans' feelings, that's life. If they don't like it, then they need to either do a better job of selling what they stand for, or changing their positions.

What is this with the press these days? Lord knows they've been worthless, but come on. If one party goes so far off the deep end that they're willing to fight against stuff that practically everybody's for, like universal background checks on gun purchases and a minimum wage increase, then it's not exactly dirty pool when the other party takes political advantage of that.

*OK, the quoted text was the header, and Dickerson might not have written it himself, but that was the idea of his piece.

[Sir Charles]

l t c,

Dickerson is a classic villager. It's just not polite for the president to point out that the GOP is crazy. Even if they are.

[Joe S]

LTC and Sir C, Dickerson, to my recollection, is a libertarian. He has trouble accepting liberal positions.

[nancy]

Hey. What's the deal with avatar musical chairs? Mine was matching up with Sir C's.

That was a bit daunting. Now I appear to have the old comfy one back. Typepad games I gather.

Plus. Elbowing. Cantor deserves it. He's such a bad Southern frat-guy joke. I watched his entry onto the congressional floor again today. Pathetic. The original photo-op hound. He looks like the guy who is schmoozing for last minute prom king votes to put him ahead of a classmate. Ugh. Congressional leader, author, lifetime douche award.

[paula]

Cantor enters close to Obama, as if it's his party. If you look at old photos or footage, he's always there, gladhanding.