As you know, this is the time that a president speaks, the opposition party rolls their eyes, the supporting party (this year it was different because elected democrats are up for reelection this year and more concerned with that than they are anything else) claps and the vice president and house majority leader sit behind the president smiling and nodding.

Not a lot different from the last president and the one before him but it’s just part of the tradition of the State of the Union.

There are things I liked about the speech. Pres. Barack Obama appeared to be on the attack. Not only with the GOP but with his own party, who have had opportunities and have squandered them to the point of making democrats like me, want to take a stick to the television everytime they appear telling an American People that although we voted Yes We Can, that they believed No We Can’t.

I agree with some of the reports that say that he had found his spine, because I had wondered. When he said earlier this week that he’d pretty much rather be a good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president, I thought to myself that the speech was probably going to address the issue of the polarization of Washington right now that has basically stymied an American public.

Leadership isn’t easy. When anyone takes on a leadership position, there will always be second-guessing, power struggles, character assassination and hard work that will virtually eliminate any semblance of a normal life. But being a leader means you just lead, despite the hardships. This goes for anyone in an elected position.

Doing the right thing for those who gave you the privilege of an elected office isn’t easy. Leaders don’t look short-term, they look at what their children will be dealing with as well in the future. It’s not an easy, but if you ran for office, you asked for it. And yes, there has been a deficit of not only money, but trust.

I think what I saw last night was a man elected by this country saying to his peers in the house chamber that everyone knew it was going to be hard, but it can’t just be hard for the American people. It’s like the words basically were that the elected can’t make the American people carry this on their backs while they go home and have a latte.

I do believe that elected officials on both sides of the aisle know what they have to do. Now they just have to be leaders and do it.  Maybe, and I’m pushing it here, they are as scared as many constituents are. It’s a difficult time in this country. Our backs are getting sore.

As for Supreme Justice Samuel Alito mouthing “that’s not true” when Obama busted SCOTUS and the media thought this was the big news of the night, well, it wasn’t. Nixon didn’t have a kajillion networks taping every move he made, neither did Truman, both Roosevelts, and everyone else ad nauseam so let’s be clear, this has happened before. Pundits, who represent no one on any network, just wanted to find the tabloid moment. Now everyone just sees these things broadcast live as it happens. And that ruling created just another deficit of trust with folks on both sides of the aisle.

What happened this first year is over. Let’s get on with the next year. If we don’t like what happens, we do have a vote for everyone sitting in that house chamber and we can use it.

Then I read this article this morning and it makes more sense to me.

Obama wasn’t just acting out of bipartisan good will. In supporting Lieberman’s continued inclusion in the Democratic caucus, he may have effectively defanged his toughest potential opponent in the Senate Democratic caucus. If Lieberman is anything, as he proved with John McCain, he’s loyal – and now he owes Obama a big one. His job over the next few years, for the first time in his long political career, is to keep quiet. The move is especially savvy because Obama – and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – know that in order to achieve virtually anything on the Democrats’ long list of ambitious legislation they will need every vote they can possibly get in the Senate. Obama’s biggest challenge in both chambers of Congress will be keeping the varying factions of his own party together, especially more liberal members and the more conservative so-called Blue Dog Democrats.

Hmmm. That seems about right. In measuring short-term revenge and long-term implications regarding legislation that Barack Obama wants to get passed during his first term in office, this could be a good move. The days of Lieberman being a big time player on the national stage, in my humble opinion, will be limited.

Listen, Joe gives me hives. He always has and the thought of a quick Shakespearean revenge on a national platform of him being chastised by Democrats would be sweet. But in the long run, this may have been pretty shrewd. We will have to see what happens when it comes to voting and if Obama has effectively shut down one of his most vocal critics by giving him a second chance. Loyalty is huge with everyone and is rewarded in politics, especially when Lieberman had his head taken out of the guillotine.

Good lord, politics is liking watching Survivor. Who can outwit, outlast and outplay to get the prize at the end.

Something is always going on behind the scenes.

Rest well, Toot.

H/T TechCrunch who also has the original.

Dennis Kucinich is a a die-hard liberal. Obama isn’t. Just read the issues and his past record.

With that said, what Powell said on Meet The Press yesterday was constructive criticism of his party.

Powell talked of the things that I’ve heard other members of the GOP even here in Hoots talk about. Why are we creating discrimination of American-born Muslims? It’s a good question. Let remember Timothy McVeigh, shall we. A white guy born in New York, remember him, because he’s the person that blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It was an act of terrorism. Of course, the events of 9/11 are horrible and still create nightmares but it was a group of radicals who were no different than McVeigh, who was also a radical. And white.

I have no problem with Powell although I still question his speech to the United Nations prior to the war in Iraq. With that said, I think that Powell cares about his country, which he has proven time and time again. Ever since Powell came into the public eye during Desert Storm, there was a connection with the American Public. And, if you look through several of the last presidential campaigns, he was always in the spotlight as some people were eager to hear his perspective on the state of the nation. He’s had a best selling novel because people apparently wanted to know more about him.

Let’s go back to the United Nations speech, his service to this  country and how he did walk the party line for the GOP for years

And then let’s look at yesterday. He talked about his party more than anything else. He was saying, from my perspective, that, and I’ve said this before, that the GOP, his party, needed to quit focusing on creating spin and get back to the issues. That subtle forms of racism need to be stopped. That the conversation of socialism needs to be stopped.

With that said, let’s go to the race issue. I have read the thread over at Kleinheider’s, and I respectfully disagree with him on some of his statements that he wrote.  He presented a dialog about race, and I have read the comments. Is race a hot button issue here? According to many of his commenters, yes. I’m not so sure, however, that those folks are just a small percentage of vocal opponents which are always in the blogosphere which lurk on both sides of party lines.

I want to say this though. Powell has been a national public figure for a long time. Constructive criticism is what I witnessed in his endorsement of the party he has dedicated his life to. I think it’s narrow-minded to automatically dismiss that Powell endorsed Obama strictly on the race issue.

I’ve never seen him endorse Al Sharpton or Jessie Jackson, have you? So the race issue doesn’t wash with me in Powell’s decision. He has one vote, he told you who he was voting for and he told you why.

And that’s that.

If you haven’t seen the video of what Powell had to say, go here. It’s pretty compelling.

My dear friends, I got nothing this Monday morning, but as a fan of They Live, you knew I had to post this.

H/T Jeffraham Prestonian

I didn’t watch the debate as carefully as I should have because birthday debauchery was at hand.

Homer did, however, and I have to tell you, One text to me called it “Fight Club.” The other one isn’t fit for this pseudo-family blog.

I’m the nice one in our tight knit sibling relationship.

I bring you her analysis:

“They BOTH didn’t answer the questions. McCain doesn’t get that there are people that don’t have seven houses. You lose three, you have four more. Government and taxes, not lack of work, is killing my small business. At least Obama answered that question of what I’m going to have to do during this crisis.”

She’s worried. She hasn’t been sleeping. She has business, that’s not the problem, but it’s taxes and health insurance that is kicking her butt.

We aren’t the only ones. Mack said it best in his post which I will send you to.

Homer has said several times during this election that she is tired of politicians talking down to her. She, and I for that matter, take care of budgets for companies. We are business people. We don’t get three martini lunches. We don’t have handlers and advisors.

Homer and I just work.

And, apparently, we aren’t going to get a bailout either. Sacrifice is fine, we don’t mind sacrificing. Our grandparents sacrificed. Our parents sacrificed.

But be up front about it, for crying out loud.

Here’s something else that they didn’t mention on TV. The room was cooled to 62 degrees Fahrenheit. The reason for the cool temperature is so the candidates won’t be able to sweat on camera. When the debated ended, we all quickly moved out of the auditorium just to get warm. I never felt better about returning to the Mississippi heat outside.

As the entire audience was moving to get back on a shuttle, reporters came up to us. Someone from the BBC Radio London asked me who I thought won the debate. I told her that I thought it was too close to call and both candidates appeared very strong. I told her that McCain was more agressive at attacking Obama on issues like the Russia/Georgia conflict, that I was supporting Obama, and that neither candidate said enough about the financial crisis. All I can think about today is that people in London, England are learning that James Church is completely looney.

Read the rest here.

I knew they existed, much like I know that Bigfoot is out there, but now we have proof.

Photo credit: Reuters

Yeah, I watched the debate but I didn’t WATCH the debate because there were people around me who were talking about other things that distracted me. Try as I might, I gave up and just listened to drunk people talk about issues surrounding the debate but who weren’t listening to a dang thing either candidate was saying. Badger, who has babysat me during my existential crisis this week, also gave up.

We were in a conundrum.

The lesson I learned is don’t watch the debates on a Friday night in a juke joint. I wish I’d gone to Megan’s house but I digress.

What does this mean?

It means I have to watch the debate alone and process it later today. Yeah, it’s my way.

Now, why does Angela crack me up, as I got off task in a haze of too much news happening this week and the impending financial apocalypse.

Well, this:

But for now: I’m still in that pool of voters most likely to end up living in Mexico, drinking cheap beer, staring at pictures of Ron Paul and listening to sappy hair metal ballads.

I was thinking Canada as I really hate hot weather because it makes my hiney sweat. I like sweaters and Mabel looks sorta cute in the snow. I’m old. I can’t do hair metal but I think a bit of Miles Davis would do.