State of the Union

State of the Union -  President Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgfi7wnGZlE
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/25/state-of-the-union-address-full-text

Republican Rebuttal - Mitch Daniels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE_SJc4_A6M

Tea Party Rebuttal - Herman Cain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6XOAvqAmB8


I watched the State of the Union today, and surprisingly I agreed with most everything that President Obama said.  The United States definitely needs to start "in-sourcing" our American jobs.  I am a big proponent of buying either American or fair trade (which levels the playing ground for us here and others in developing countries).  I think he was very powerful in his statements (other than the "spilled milk" comment - he gets a keyboard cat playoff for that lol), and he is (as always) very optimistic about the future of the United States.  His emphasis on community colleges is something I have always supported along with him, and is one of the driving forces for me voting for him in the last presidential election.  Of course, his push for green energy is one of my big things - however, the mess with that solar company has me cynical.  I know how tough the job market is right now for new graduates, and he seemed to laud himself and his staff for stimulating the economy, when in actuality, we as new graduates are suffering.  He didn't even acknowledge the existence of this issue, or a definitive plan to solve the problem.

I thought the Republican rebuttal was awful.  It was so convoluted and high-brow, it was difficult to understand what he was saying.  It almost seemed like they were supporting the concept continued tax breaks of big corporations and the wealthy elite, without exactly saying it.  He didn't really shine through with much personality, and was blinking and hurrying along quite a bit.

Although I'm not a fan of the Tea Party (because of smeer campaigns and their extremism), Herman Cain's speech was delivered in a manner that was far easier to relate to.  He spoke in a very direct mannerism, and was very to the point and clearly spelled out his points of disagreement with the President.  His commentary made sense, and expressed the frustrations and futility of job-searching for new graduates.  His rebuttal should have been in place of Mitch Daniels for the Republican party by far.