Obama's Last State of the Union Speech

By Douglas V. Gibbs

I sat and listened to Obama's State of the Union speech tonight.

My first thought after he was done was, "Man, this guy is crafty."

Did he gives us optimism? Or did he reveal more statism?

Obama, during the speech, tried to act like he was sticking it to the Congress, that they were at fault whenever nothing got done, and when things did get done it was because of his executive brilliance.

Clever, and crafty, indeed.

Boehner said that Obama is acting as if this is year one, rather than year four, promising what he promised before, when he promised these things were going to be done over the last few years.

As Obama entered the assembly, the applause was splattered, but the democrats let out a cheer. He hugged and kissed and jived like the narcissist he is, and held his nose in the air most of the time as he worked his way in.

I saw an "Obama 2012" bumper sticker today, and was surprised there was anyone outside the democrat establishment that even still likes the massive failure of a President.

As Obama shook the hands of the Supreme Court justices, it brought back memories of a couple years ago when the man called out the court. Not all of the justices were there, but I thought Kagan was going to burst into flames with excitement.

A much deserved cheer rang out when Obama hugged Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords. It was great to see her there, and smiling. Tomorrow is her last official day in Congress, on which she will tender he resignation. Her presence was the highlight of this event. She still has a long way to go, but her determination is an inspiration to us all.

Obama said thank you after Boehner introduced him, and the applause rang out, and you could see in his eyes he was eating it up as usual.

Obama began the State of the Union speech talking about how last month he was at Andrews Air Force Base to welcome home the last of the troops from Iraq.  He spoke of how great the war effort was (you know, the war effort he spoke out against before he was elected), but also how great it was to have the troops home - which he of course took full credit for and failed to mention he had used Bush's timeline. He spoke as if he was the man behind the successes of Iraq. He was right, however, when he said it is the sacrifices of those men and women that makes this a safer world.

Obama then headed straight for the one wartime accomplishment he has that he plans to use until the cows come home: the capture of Osama bin Laden.  Of it, he said, "For first time in two decades Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this nation."  Of course the democrats cheered and stood for that one.

The President then told us about all of the al Queda leaders that have been getting killed (surely congratulating himself for it), and that the Taliban's momentum has been broken (the same Taliban his Vice President said is not our enemy).  Obama then talked favorably of the teamwork of America's armed forces, and how our military exceeds expectations. The applause was long, and it should be. The military is one of the few things the federal government does successfully, and constitutionally.

He said of the military, "They focus on the mission at hand . . . imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example."

Obama continued by asking us to imagine an America where we lead in education, manufacturing, and where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. We can do this, because we have done it before.

Hardly the words of a raging Marxist liberal. In other words, I don't believe him to be genuine in that part of his speech.

Barry then launched into praises of the WWII generation, saying that his grandfather was a veteran of Patton's army (is this the same grandfather he once said liberated Auschwitz, of which the Americans did not?), and then he tried to sound pro-American. In other words, he was trying to cater to the non-liberal.

Campaign speech extraordinaire, huh?

After explaining how the greatest generation defined American values, he said that the defining issue of our time is keeping that promise alive. . .

Then he said that currently in America there is a shrinking number doing well, and growing number barely getting by.

In Obama's America, everyone gets an equal shot, and their fair share. Equal opportunity is not his thing, it's all about equal results with the liberal left.

But, American values are at stake. Obama said we've got to reclaim them. Then he went through a list of things that has happened before he took office (even though those things accelerated during his presidency), such as jobs leaving our shores. He said, "In 2008 the house of cards collapsed." Obama then proceded to blame it all on regulators and the bad behavior of banks with their bank loans (never mind that it was liberal government policy that required them to do so under the Community Reinvestment Act).

Obama said the banks actions saddled us with more debt (as if his contribution to the national debt is nothing).

"In six months before I took office we lost 4 million jobs. . . those are the facts - now we have created more than 3 million jobs." Cheering democrats stood up, when the fact he offered isn't even a fact. Also, does he not consider that the democrats gained control of Congress in 2006 and the downward spiral was largely due to their policies too?

Then Obama's lies really hit high gear. He said, "American manufacturers are hiring again. . . together we've agreed to cut the deficit. . . new rules on wall street to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Hiring again? In who's universe? And Obma is hardly doing anything to cut the deficit. And notice Obama's only brief mention of the deficit; and he offered nothing on spending cuts or entitlement reform. As for the new rules on Wall Street: since when is it the role of the federal government to dictate to the private market how it is supposed to act? Where in the Constitution are they even given such an authority?

Obama continued by saying that the state of our union is getting strong, and that we've come too far to turn back now (in other words, "re-elect me" - he's campaigning).  He said that he won't allow policies that got us in this mess to continue, and got a standing democrat session of applause. Never mind that it was liberal policies that got us into this mess in the first place.

He indicated we need an economy built to last - but isn't that what we had before the liberals grabbed a hold of it?

Obama called for a renewal of american values. I am not sure he understands what American values are. I have always perceived them as being self-reliance, personal responsibility, individualism, and hard work - all of which he has railed against.

Obama then patted himself on the back about how he thinks he saved the auto industry. He said he refused to let the auto industry in the U.S. fall, and that he got the industry to retool and restructure, and now GM is on top as the world's number one auto maker. . . they are?

I think we need to throw the bull crap flag on that one.

He then said that Chrysler has grown faster, and Ford is investing billions (I expected him to say, "and all because of me").

"The U.S. auto industry is back."

Right.

"What's happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. We can't bring every job back that's left our shore, but it is getting more expensive in places like china. . . Business sense to bring jobs back home."

That last set of lies totally contradicts his later call for higher taxes on the successful, and heavier regulations.

Then he went into an interesting call for a change to the tax code. Obama said that as it is now businesses get tax breaks for going over seas. He then was accurate in his claim that the United States has the highest corporate tax. He said if U.S. companies outsource jobs they should be taxed for it. No American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share in taxes by moving overseas. He called for a minimum tax for every company, even overseas. Companies that stay here in America will receive money from that tax. If an American manufacturer, you should get bigger tax cut. You should get a tax cut for building here, and receive government help financing for new plant, training for new workers. It's time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and reward those that stay. "Send me that legislation and I will sign it right away."

What he was describing sounds good on the surface, but it is protectionism, and historically fails. Besides, is he really going to force taxation on companies doing business overseas? Is he crazy?

Obama then went into how for American companies it is becoming easier to sell around the world.  "I will go anywhere in the world to bring American products around the world. I will not stand for those that don't play by the rules." - He won't stand for it? Is he the king?

He named a bunch of moves he claims he made against China and called for the creation of a trade enforcement unit to investigate trade problems in places like China. "No foreign company should have an advantage over American manufacturers." - back to the protectionism again.

You don't win the trade wars by changing the rules, but by producing the best products for the best price.

Bringing the discussion back to our shores, Obama said that American companies can't find workers with the right skills. "Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans in skills that leads to a job. My administration is lining up companies that want to help. Congress needs to give community colleges more resources to train. Time to turn unemployment system into reemployment system that trains people to get back to work."

The part about changing unemployment into a reemployment system has its pluses. However, going back constitutional authorities, and the role over government, what he is calling for is simply something that is legally out of the hands of the federal government.

Obama moved on to the jobs of tomorrow, saying we must teach even earlier. He said that while other countries double down on education, we are laying off teachers.

The problem isn't money. Education has been crumbling with each passing year as the liberals throw more and more money at it. The Department of Education is a waste because federal monitoring and funding of education is the problem. The problem is federal influence, and a liberal curriculum. Want to improve the schools? Use the curriculum used at the private schools, where the students are doing much better than at the public schools.

Then he said something that about made me choke.  Obama said that he is proposing that every state requires kids stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.

Force them? Under what penalty? If they drop out are you going to haul them off to jail?

What an idiot.

Remember, this president thinks the government is the answer to all of the problems, even though it has been big government that has been causing all of the problems. On top of that, he thinks the Congress is an obstacle and to be efficient they need to just do what he tells them.

Case in point: Obama's next topic in the speech was that "This Congress needs to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling - extend tuition tax credit, doubling work study jobs in next five years."

No, the Congress needs to get out of education, and let it do what it does without governmental influence, or liberal control.

He said that college should not be a luxury, but an economic imperative. But doing that cheapens the value of an education, and besides, nothing beats good ol' experience. Just like the dollar, too many degrees out there makes them worth less. Besides, what good is an education when the school is nothing more than an indoctrination center?

Then he went on to the Dream Act and illegals.  Obama said that some folks that are not yet american citizens, but raised in America, live in threat of deportation.

If we enforced the laws, and didn't hand out government handouts to these people, and used things like E-Verify, we wouldn't have this problem. Sure, he's right, we should take on illegal immigration, but not by enabling.

Then he said that at the border we have more boots on the ground in his administration, and illegal immigration has gone down.

What? Damn this guy can lie.

"We need comprehensive immigration reform right now."

No, we need to enforce the laws on the books.

"Send me a law to allow those here to earn their citizenship."

Follow the rules, and the path is there. Besides, he only said these things to pander to the Hispanic vote.

Then the old liberal rhetoric came out. "An economy built to last is one that encourages everyone in the country." Then he went on about "women deserve equal pay for equal work."

That is a no brainer, but not only has our society progressed to a point where that is the way it is, but also it is not up to government to force such a thing. But this speech was not about reality. It was about pandering for votes. First the Hispanics, and then the women.

"We should support everyone willing to work who aspires to be the next Steve Jobs. Most new jobs are start ups and new businesses, we should eliminate obstacles and taxes that keep new small businesses from getting started."

Huh? Did Obama say that? Sure as hell doesn't match his actions or past rhetoric.

Obama discussed innovation, research, and then energy, as if the government makes these things happen.

It is up to the market.

Obama then said he will increase by 75% open offshore oil and gas resources production. This coming for the man that just rejected the Keystone pipeline?

Then the green energy pitch began.

Obama says we need a strategy that is cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs. "We have 100 years of natural gas available, let's develop it - we don't have to choose between economy and environment." Then he said something about public money making all of the natural gas stuff possible.

He truly hates the private market, and thinks government is the answer to everything.

Addressing Solyndra, and such, without naming them, Obama said that when it comes to public investments (federal funding and preference politics) the payoffs aren't immediate, some companies fail, "but I will not walk away from promise of clean energy."

Talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket.

"I will not cede the solar or wind or battery technologies to China. Time to stop tax subsidies to oil, and give clean energy tax credits."

Man, he hates oil.

Climate change (mythical and a lie) was his next hit. He used it to call for a clean energy standard that "creates innovation." as if government creates innovation. It is up to the market, not him.

Obama claimed more land will be federally set aside for green energy projects (once again ignoring the constitutional authorities), saying it is a way to save energy. Then he demanded that government also make sure that businesses waste less energy, by doing things like upgrading their buildings. (Is that their decisions, or is he going to force them to?)

Year one returned when Obama then called for rebuilding our infrastructure, claiming we have a need to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges. Wait, isn't that what he promised in 2008? From a democrat point of view, shouldn't those things have been done in the last three-plus years?

To revamp his case, Obama said, "We invested in the Hoover dam and Golden Gate bridge and highway system." All unconstitutional, should have been done privately, and besides, once again he made these promises four years ago. He didn't do it the last few years, so what makes him believe the voters will believe he will do these things now?

Obama said he will use an executive order to clear the way for these new projects (screw Congress and the Constitution on that one, I guess).

Then he says to Congress, "You need to fund these projects, use money from war."

Right. His anti-growth policies have made this all worse and now he is talking about using more money for things we can't afford?

Never been a better time to build, since construction industry hardest hit when this hit.

Yeah, as far as he is concerned, us construction guys are just standing around waiting for Obama to give us jobs.

Home values have declined, he reminded us, and Obama plans to make sure he gives responsible homeowners a chance to save 3k a year by refinancing at historically low rates.

Oh, yeah, like his last mortgage debacle worked so well.

"If you play by the rules, government should do the same."

That was a lie. The rules for government is the Constitution, and he sees that document as the enemy.

"No bailouts no handouts no copouts. We need smart regulations to stop irresponsible lending behavior, or toxic dumping or faulty medical devices. Regulations make free market work better." Then he launched into a comparison of himself to Bush (totally saw that coming). As for this regulations thing, just wait, it gets better.

Obama then launched into how some regulations don't make sense. So, he plans to get rid of bad regulations and replace them with new regulations that do make sense.

How about the federal government backing completely off and letting the market do its own magic?

Obama then told a story about a silly regulation that hammered farmers, considering milk to be like oil, and making it a difficult deal when it came to milk spills.  "I'm confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder."

You are? Wait, this has got to be going somewhere. Oh, wait, this is a chance to hammer on good ol' big oil, right?

He then said, "But I will not back down from the government making sure an oil company can contain their spills."

So back off on a milk spill regulation so that you can go nuts on oil, food safety, water, and insurance companies.

Talk about squeezing Obamacare love into the speech.

Then, "I will not go back to when wall street could play by their own rules."

That was a pander to the freaks that resonate with the Occupy Movement freaks.

"Big bank and financial institutions are no longer allowed to make risky bets." More control over the private industries.

"We will never bail you out again" - (because we will regulate you).

Then he hammered on credit companies, once again believing that heavy government regulation is the answer.

"We'll also create a financial crimes unit. Investigate fraud in banking and credit companies. Make penalties for fraud count. This new unit will hold accountable those that acted recklessly that hurt so many Americans."

Just what we need. . . another worthless, and unconstitutional, federal agency.

Then Obama said to pay down our debt we need to hammer the rich (saw that coming).

And he defended the payroll thing (not a tax cut no matter how much they call it that).

"People cannot afford losing forty dollars out of each paycheck, pass payroll tax cut without delay."

But it was the democrats that demanded it only be a two month cut, when the GOP was holding out to make it a year long cut. But you see, that why. The two month option gave Obama the opportunity to demand Congress go longer. The timing was all a part of the plan.

Back to the deficit, Obama lied when he said, "We have agreed to 2 trillion in cuts and savings." No, there are no spending cuts, the 2 trillion is just deciding to spend less of the planned spending in the future, which they are not held to, and which was still going to be higher than now. Obama is not interested in true spending cuts.

But he is interested in taxing the rich - just like any other socialist Marxist.

Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Do we want to punish success?

He said that if we are serious about paying down our debt we'll tax the rich because we can't do that and pay into VA, etc, otherwise.

"We can't do both."

"We need to change our tax codes so that rich pays their fair share of taxes."

Fair share? The top .1% pays more than the bottom 80%. How is it they are not paying their fair share?

By the way, taxing the rich (progressive tax scale) is a Marxist idea. Just check the Ten Planks of Communism.

Obama then call for tax reform that follows the  "Buffet rule", which is that anyone making more than a million a year should not pay less than 30%, nor should get special tax subsidies.

And he wonders why the are all going offshore and overseas.

"But middle class taxes shouldn't go up."

He's a liberal. Middle class taxes will eventually go up. And has in terms of things like the tobacco tax.

"You can call this class warfare all you want" (because it is), "but asking rich to pay more than secretary is not asking much."

Marxism at work.

"Paying fair share in taxes. . . if rich don't pay, others pay for it. Like those on fixed income, etc."

That was class warfare talk right there. Jeez.

"Shared sense of responsibility" - Marxist terminology once again. He's a communitarian. He does not understand individualism. The community is more important than the individual to Obama.

"People think Washington is broken. The biggest blows to our economy came from over whether or not U.S. would pay its bills or not."

He sees that as Washington being broken. When Congress debates and doesn't jump as the President calls for, I see that as Washington working as intended.

"Who benefited from that fiasco?" Never mind that "paying our bills" was never actually in danger.

Lies, lies, lies.

Then he actually said something that made a little sense. He said this all comes from outside money influence in Washington. "Send me bill that bans insider trading among members of Congress."

Hmm, that one actually makes sense. Surely, his democrat brethren aren't too happy about that one.

"A simple majority is no longer enough to get business done. both parties must put an end to it. I asked senate to pass simple rule simple up or down vote within 90 days."

That's not how Congress is intended to work. Debate is important, and must not be brushed aside for the whims of a dictator.

"Executive branch inefficient and out dated, so give me authority to grant . . ." - more power for executive? He already thinks he's king.

"End notion parties must be locked in campaign of mutual destruction. Government should do for people only what they cannot do for themselves and no more (said he was quoting "republican Lincoln")." Thing is, he doesn't believe that.

that's why we are getting rid of outdated regulations, obamacare works with private, we want a smarter more effective govt. We can make real progress, with or without this congress I will keep taking actions to help this economy grow.

"Ending Iraq has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemy. From this position of strength we are able to bring troops home."

Do you think he really believes that?

Obama spoke favorably of the Arab Spring, as if it was his doing.  But in reality, it is the early part of the formation of a caliphate.

Then he said something about an oron clad commitment to Israel's security. After all those times he snubbed Israel?

The next line was a favorite of mine because it was a lame attempt to stab at the Right.

"America is back, and anyone who tells you otherwise, that we are in decline, doesn't know what they are talking about."

As long as Obama is president, we are in decline.

He then bragged that the message we get from leaders around the world eager to work with us is we are back. Obama said the opinion of us around the world is higher than it has been in years.

Really? Could have fooled me.

Obama then said we as a nation are the one indispensable nation in foreign affairs, "And as long as I am president I intend to keep it that way."

All by his lonesome? Without Congress?

Then he went back to buttering up the military, even though he has shown time and time again that he hates our folks in uniform.

He said we've increased annual VA spending every year since he's been president.

Really? I'm a patient of VA, and honestly, it's been getting worse.

"We are providing tax credits to companies that hire vets."

Good on the surface, but is the government authorized to do such a thing?

He finally, after an hour of jabbering, said, "Which brings me back to where I began. We can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops. It doesn't matter in that uniform who you are, when you are marching in battle you look out for the person next to you or the mission fails. . . serving one nation, leaving no one behind. My favorite possession is a flag of the SEAL team that got bin Laden, signed by them, some may be republicans or democrats, it doesn't matter, all that mattered that day was the mission. Nobody thought about politics. . . It only succeeded because every single member of that mission did their job, and because every member of that unit trusted each other."

A military unit is different than a society. But he doesn't get that. Besides, since when should a sniveling Marxist that never served a day in the military be lecturing us about what the military is all about?

"No one built this country alone. (anti-individualism). This nation is great because we built it together, as a team, because we have each others backs. As long as we are joined in a common purpose. . . the state of our union will always be strong."

Not with you as president.

..............

The GOP response was by Mitch Daniels, the Governor of Indiana.

He was cordial and respectful, gave admiration even. But, said that when Obama claims the state of the economy is anything but grave, he is not being honest. Then Daniels laid out stats of current conditions.

"The President has put us on course to make it all radically worse."

He then gave statistics on the deficit, which Obama ignored.

Daniels continued, "Obama seems to think we can build a middle class out of government control and taxpayer money."

"This is the first generation in memory to face a future less promising than their parents did."

"2012 is a year of true opportunity . . . not a matter of ideology, but mathmatical with practical answers."

Daniels then explained that our only way out is a private economy, not a government-led one.

Daniels also mentioned Obama's rejection of the Keystone pipeline, calling it, and the President's other policies, pro poverty policy.

If we fail to shift, he reminded us, we will not have the money to continue.

Mitch Daniels then touted individualism, self-government, and that this must be the year we prove the doubters wrong. America is the world's premiere land of opportunity. The government is supposed to serve the people rather than supervise them.

Americans are a people born to liberty. It is time to make our city of the hill shine again.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary