Caught part of the State of the Union speech last night – yes, even here in Canada. I had worked on my text study until 10, and then flipped on the TV – oh! The President!
I missed most/all discussion on health care. I heard Pres. Obama talk in a more centrist fashion, as though trying to give the impression of not being an extreme liberal…perhaps the Democrats are afraid of losing a ton of seats in November, given Sen. Brown being elected in Massachusetts.
One of my least favorite statements of his was that he wanted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and instead allow openly gay soldiers in our military. I’m not one to comment on such an idea – I’ll comment on homosexuality as a sin that goes against God’s created order – but I don’t have the expertise to comment on homosexuals in the military.
However, our military leaders do have that expertise. And when he said he’d repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” – the Fox News shot of the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed them sitting there like stones, not moving (and looking quite dour) while the left side of Congress erupted in applause.
It appears they don’t agree with our President’s idea.
As with all presidents, Mr. Obama also has some excellent speechwriters. His delivery – eh, I could’ve done without the constant sound of him folding his hands on the lectern every time he got to the end of a sentence. He still has that tendency to look down his nose at people, giving the impression of condescension or narcissism. He certainly tried to re-cast himself as inspiring new hope and change, as well as giving the impression of moving toward the center a little bit. He called out politics as normal (tearing down the other guy) and certainly won some points with the American people by criticizing both sides of the aisle…but I’m glad the Republicans are still working against that horrendous health care bill.
And those speechwriters? You can see right through his closing paragraph, with its highfalutin language and broad literary strokes – but it still gave me chills. That part kinda irritated me, because I knew it was just speechmaking and political games – a grand crescendo to the end of the speech. I don’t like feeling manipulated, especially by someone whose agenda (I believe) is not in the best interest of the country.
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