Grade the speech

[charlie and algernon]

[jpgray]

For content or style?

[JackRiddler]

54. Yeah, so the speech gets an A. But what about the policy?

$450 billion, predominantly in tax cuts pandering to private-sector profit, without direct investment and intervention, is not going to do the job that Obama claims. That's just reality, no matter how forcefully written and well-performed was the speech. Meanwhile, in the real class war -- the one waged from above -- the plunder of everything and the impoverishment of almost everyone continues unhindered.

Do you give it better than an F because it's better than nothing, better than, say, cutting unemployment benefits? It's better than drinking babies' blood, too. If the standard is that "Republicans wanted worse than this," we are well and truly screwed.

[tigereye]

65. jp!

:hi:

[highplainsdem]

1. A

[Divine Discontent]

17. exactly, A. He was as forceful as he's ever been... The only concern is the medicare comments, but

the rest of the speech was fantastic and he really hammered the GOP, and hopefully the people will call the GOP reps, as I will call Daniel Webster here in FL...

[Dragonfli]

33. You liked the Free Trade and partial de-funding of SS via payroll tax cuts? Really? /nt

[Divine Discontent]

69. collectively, where we're at, I think it's what we can expect if we're going to get people to work &

have the GOP morons push it through the House. I agree with you, substantively, but we have to deal with political facts. I'm hoping we take back the House so we can stop worrying about getting ANY bill through, as the president capitulating time and again on issues is not what I want, just to get some good things done.

[Madam Mossfern]

2. meh

Another media event.
I'm becoming more and more cynical.

[Avalux]

5. Did you choose F? n/t

[Madam Mossfern]

8. No

I gave it a C.

[trueblue2007]

20. YOU PEOPLE WHO VOTED "F" .... why are you here???

[brooklynite]

47. More specifically...what did you WANT him to say?

[JackRiddler]

55. Because we are democrats and progressives, not spinmeisters for a presidential campaign.

Why are you here? Are you aware that the spinmeister and fan vote alone never won an election?

[Jokerman]

77. +1

[Autumn]

3. As a campaign speech it was great.

I gave it a C for policy.

[marginlized]

4. The man is one hell of an orator

[Parker CA]

9. Fo sho. Just need to follow up the speech with action. He armed himself well with American Jobs Act

and Pass this bill as headlines to hammer the GOP with.

[CTyankee]

27. Yep. The speech is one thing. Follow up is another.

I don't know how he is going to do the follow up. It needs a vigorous support on the road out there. I'm not sure (but I really don't know) if Obama is going to follow up with a strong tour around the country to SELL it!

[rury]

41. He said he will tour the country to do just that

Why don't you pressure Congress to pass it...because THAT is what happen next!

[xiamiam]

46. touring is a little like campaigning..nt

[emilyg]

49. Yes it is.

[FarLeftFist]

11. Thats all a president can really do. Veto or Sign.

[charlie and algernon]

18. a great president also crosses the nation to rally the people behind him

sounds like he might be willing to do that now.

[rury]

39. Not "might" he said he will!!

[11 Bravo]

6. Someone gave it an "F"? Really? Well "F" you!

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Whisp]

75. lol!

:rofl:
I see you caught a couple.

[Jokerman]

78. Right back at ya!

[TeamsterDem]

83. Yes, "fuck those of you who hold different opinions! How dare you?" LOL

I thought the speech was alright. I don't like about half of what he was proposing but I did like some of it, and I sure enjoyed him effectively threatening Republicans (with the American people, no less). That was brilliant. I also enjoyed the palpable discomfort on the Republican side.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue_In_AK]

12. Didn't watch it, don't care.

Speeches are a dime a dozen.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue_In_AK]

35. Whatever.

I've been alive a long time, and I've heard a lot of speeches. As Al Sharpton said, the Devil is in the details.

[pscot]

13. You left out

Did not watch.

[JanMichael]

42. Thank you. nt.

[FarLeftFist]

14. A (D) or an (F) deserves an explanation! Step forth and enlighten us all.

[Lasher]

19. I am one of the three who gave him an F

That's because he pimped more free trade agreements and payroll tax cuts. He also threw Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid under the bus.

Now that I have explained my vote I hope you will explain why you think it was so great.

[emilyg]

50. .....

:hi:

[Lasher]

51. Yo emilyg

[Erose999]

61. Indeed. I wasn't shown anything new or different. Just more tax cuts and talk about how awesome

"job creators" are. His use of GOP buzzwords is sickening.

[FarLeftFist]

85. I thought an "F" would mean he got ZERO right. So, nothing you liked?

Taxing the wealthy? Extending unemployment? Not wanting to strip collective bargaining? More money in the middle classes pockets? Infrastructure repair? Investing in education? etc etc. I guess we just have different standards of what an "F" should be. I gave him a B. I think it was good because he covered a broad range of ideas, says he is open to even more legislation if needed, wants to fix the tax code, plus all I named above. To me an "F" would mean you are planning on not voting for him. IMO.

[elfin]

15. Loved it - and still love Obama

I become frustrated with his apparent reticence and seeming to value "compromise" at the expense of making a more liberal line in the sand. BUT, yet again, he has come to the fore when it counts and and called out the naysayers who would deny a practical attempt to jump start the lives of those who need jobs most (for their own political gain) and to address our crumbling infrastructure as well.

When he said he would take this message all across the nation, I could just feel the Rethugs cringe.

The details will be in the bill, of course, so the nitpickers will be foaming at their mouths, but he called them out.

[proud patriot]

16. A+

[tigereye]

66. nicely done, PP!

:hi: How the hell are ya and yours? :hug:

[proud patriot]

90. We are pretty good

struggling like everyone but hanging in there with love ya know :loveya:

[Shagbark Hickory]

21. Ah.. DU is so predictable.

Complain complain complain.

Then Obama speaks.

Then mass amnesia ensues.

[joshcryer]

26. Nah, most of the complainers appear to be silent tonight.

There are exceptions, of course.

[Motown_Johnny]

22. B

I can't give anything with free trade an A

[sagesnow]

24. He can certainly talk the talk...

let's see if he can get the bill passed (and not give the Republicans 10 times what they give him).

[AngryOldDem]

28. Every so often I see flashes of brilliance.

Tonight was one of them.

Obama has backed the GOP into a neat little corner: Do they do what they know is right for the country, or will they still be owned by the Tea Party?

[taught_me_patience]

29. Speech was good

Will the policies create jobs... probably not.

[choie]

37. so the "speech was good

but probably won't create jobs" - I totally agree with you. Isn't the idea to CREATE JOBS????? So, how can people be so blind and taken in by rhetorical "brilliance"?? Tax cuts? Payroll tax cuts? Are you fucking kidding?

[dana_b]

45. and more trade agreements

I'm with you. There was some good stuff about construction jobs for infrastructure rebuilding but I heard a lot of scary stuff in there too. Also I wanted to scream when he talked about the laying off of teachers but his buddies Duncan and Rhee are just fine with it.

[tigereye]

67. better than doing nothing like the Reps plan to do

[TheKentuckian]

86. I'm not sure nothing isn't better on the net. There is more wage destruction and job hemorrhaging

than is wise and a dose of austerity baked into the cake.

Doing the wrong things just to be doing something is to despise wisdom.

[rusty fender]

30. Excellent in substance and style!

I had zero expectations for this speech, but I was blown away. That's the guy who I hoped he would be when I voted for him.:applause:

[JackDragna]

31. I gave the man an F.

Really? More payroll tax cuts? Is this really what's holding back the economy: more cuts in programs that are doing nothing to saddle us with debt? Why do we keeping buying into the Republican meme that tax cuts stimulate the economy? It might be palatable if the cuts were packaged with a removal of the cap for taxable income, but as it stands it's just another broadside fired at programs politicians of his supposed ilk fought tooth and nail for. We also have the same canards about "balanced approaches" to "spending cuts," as if the deficit is the most important bloody thing impeding American economic growth. We also have the fun-fun language of adjustments to Medicare and Medicaid.

[Dragonfli]

32. It would appear by the reaction here that all those Republican ideas are "ours" now.

I still think they are shit just like I did when only Republicans were pushing them.
I gave him a D just for the infrastructure, anemic tho it was.

[EFerrari]

44. Not mine. n/t

[JoeyT]

68. Well, it isn't so much that those ideas are "ours" now,

it's that we're supposed to support anything He does, because He is so smart and He looks so good in a swimsuit and YOU NEVER LOVED HIM ANYWAY!

But yeah, the infrastructure is what got him a D from me too.

[ProfessorGAC]

56. Actually, Jack. . .

. . .a tax cut that reduces middle and lower middle class tax burdens do stimulate the economy. The payroll taxess are essentially regressive taxes because everyone pays the same, and at a certain income level, you stop paying most of it.

But, putting the extra 1% into the pocket of someone with a $40k household income, means $400 that likely won't be saved (or hoarded) and spent. Do that with a a few million households and that is another billion plus into the economy.

It's not a huge benefit, but it will help a little.

Now, tax cutrs for the wealthy, i got your back. That is a wholly disproven theory.
GAC

[JackDragna]

71. Is this really a veiled attack on SS, though?

It's nice to give people a little extra money, but the gain isn't that much. It creates the tie-in between government debt and a program that does nothing to increase that debt. I'm afraid it will simply be used as an excuse to someday defund the program.

[ProfessorGAC]

72. Fair Point

It could be. The thing is they could cover those expenses by simply raising the SS cap. I make above the cap, so there is money that i don't pay SS taxes on. The impact to me and my wife would be minimal if they raised the cap to all wages, and if you make enough that the amount is large (let's say 3x the cap), then you can afford the taxes. The absolute amount is larger but the actual operational impact would be small.

Then, there'd be no attack on SS and the lower tax rate on medium and lower income wage earners would be a net positive.
GAC

[LWolf]

58. +1

[blkmusclmachine]

34. Who cares? Speeches rarely translate into positive action with this WH:

"Deeds, not words."

[Blue_In_AK]

36. Poster above will be happy to tell you you're ignorant

as s/he did me. I agree with you.

[Erose999]

62. +1. Add a buck fifty to this speech and you might get a cup of coffee.

[sad sally]

70. Believe there was a bigger offer than that in the speech.

Vote for me and (if you make at least $50,000) I'll give you $1,500.

[Dragonfli]

79. Money stolen from Grandma, how generous /nt

[sad sally]

80. Come on, doncha' know with the chained-cpi, Grandmas (like me)

can adjust more easily to the rising cost of living. Why, bet the Safeway will be glad to save the outdated lunchmeat for all us old foggies.

[Dragonfli]

82. That's true, also let us not forget that future foggies will need even less SS and medicare

As long as it is spread out over time, it will allow us to evolve an organ that eats dirt and craps penicillin.

I have to be more understanding of these obvious facts and how we will need less and less in the future.

[Mimosa]

91. ^ +1,000 ^ n/t

[rury]

38. A

[gauguin57]

40. B plus plus

Not quite an A, but better than any speech he's given in a while.

[Shadowflash]

43. 'A' for the pretty words. Great speech.

I'm not gonna hold my breath for any follow through, however.

I hope to be proven wrong, though.

[Tx4obama]

48. A+

[TK421]

52. I GIVE HIM AN A++++++++++++++++++++++++

just like that teacher gave Ralphie in A Christmas Story after she read his theme about why he wanted a Red Rider BB Gun.....yeah, that one

[HappyMe]

53. A

He backed those republiCONs into a corner. He's on the road today.

It's up to us to pressure those Congress critters to get this done.

[TheKentuckian]

57. The tone and delivery of the speech was good, the content was D- or so

I'll give a low C. There is more bad than good policy wise and probably about zero net jobs and dampening of wages but it is nice to know the President has a lil piss and vinegar even if it is to promote lackluster at best and counter-productive at worst proposals.

A's are pure emotional afterglow, if folks believed in the bulk of this package then they would have registered Republican years ago. I find it hard to believe their is such faith in free trade agreements, supply side tax cuts (give those sitting on hoards a lil grease and they'll hire), a Reich Wing wage destruction/free labor scam, and giving Pharma longer patents.

[mmonk]

59. On delivery or substance?

F on substance. The only parts that will pass will be tax cuts, budget cuts, and a tax "repatriation" scam.

[Modern_Matthew]

60. Easy A. nt

[Erose999]

63. I gave it a c-. Below Average.

[66 dmhlt]

64. A solid "A"!

[sfpcjock]

73. A for attitude, B for content

Hartmann thinks if O. compromises with the Neobags it will be hard on him, so he suggested starting high--so Fox can call him a "socialist" that feels people. I know!

[truebrit71]

74. Would have been an 'A' if he had left Medicare out of the speech...and if he hadn't caved on similar

promises in the past...

Many signals that Boner and Can't-or have realized they are in real danger of being painted into a corner...now is that time to strike...question is, will the WH seize it?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

76. For a campaign speech it wasn't quite as snoozewothy as most are.

As for content it contained the usual amount of double-talk and weasel words.

[onethatcares]

81. great choice of words, would like to see some action

what more can I say?

[MrSlayer]

84. The speech was great as usual. - A

Giving speeches is what this President does very well. However, the substance of the speech was about a "C". I would have liked to see him go bigger and bolder. Considering that the Republicans won't give him anything at all he might as well have gone whole hog.

[swilton]

87. As rhetoric A

As policy F

[jillan]

88. Best speech he's given since he's been President, imho.... except I am

anxiously waiting to find out what he has in store for medicare and medicaid.:eyes:

[raouldukelives]

89. I thought it was long overdue

Very inspiring and glad to hear him address the long term unemployed 99'ers and how he is fighting to get them extended benefits. If he keeps this up I might just start getting that glimmer of hope back!