What Was Missing from the SOTU Address

Wednesday nights, I usually watch “Ghost Hunters” on the SyFy Channel. Yes, I am one of those geeks. But this week, I set the DVR so that I could watch President Obama give the annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and the American people.

I might as well have watched a bunch of people using high-tech gadgetry to try to make contact with the other side, because I certainly didn’t learn anything new in this world.

Anyone who has paid even scant attention to Obama over the past year or two has heard it all before. We heard about the need to act “boldly” and “aggressively” in a crisis, the need to pass climate change legislation, the need to pass the health care boondoggle, the requisite bashing of banks and Wall Street, and, lest we forget, blaming Bush for everything except ABC’s cancellation of the show “Ugly Betty.”

In the private sector, constant passing of the buck gets you fired. In government, it earns you points with your base.

Watching Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden sitting behind Obama, I was reminded of proud parents watching their child take his first steps. I half expected Nancy to offer him an animal cracker and a sippy cup of apple juice for his efforts.

So, you may be wondering, what was missing?

Gravitas, for one thing. Sure, there was the upward tilt of the head that is part and parcel of every Obama speech. I guess he thinks we enjoy being able to count his nostril hairs. But the entire speech had the tone of a parent lecturing an errant child. All that was missing was a wagging finger and the threat of no dessert for a week if little Billy didn’t stop dragging his feet and clean his room.

What else was missing? Truthfulness. The AP points out at least 10 major fibs contained in the speech, including Obama’s position on lobbyists and how many jobs were actually saved by the stimulus package.

Then there was the real shocker: his smackdown of the Supreme Court because of their ruling last week that lifted limits on corporate campaign donations. “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”

Does this mean that unions will also have more campaign finance restrictions put upon them?

Even Justice Sonya Sotomayor looked peeved, as well she should.

But upon what is the mainstream media focusing its energies? Not the fact that Obama’s remarks were incorrect and in bad taste, but disparaging Justice Samuel Alito for mouthing “not true” after he and his colleagues were attacked by the President in front of the nation. Apparently it’s all well and good for the president to pile on the Supreme Court, but not fine for a member of that court to object – even silently.

And what about jihad? Excuse me, “terrorism.” Wait, make that “man-caused disasters.” Only eight paragraphs out of 110 were dedicated to national security, despite the fact that just a month ago an attempt to blow up an airliner full of passengers over Detroit was narrowly averted; a strong majority of Americans don’t want KSM and his cohorts to be tried in New York; and Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan gunned down his colleagues at Fort Hood, killing 13, while shouting “Allahu Akhbar.” Security interests don’t take a holiday. Neither should the attention of the White House.

Speaking of which, the two police officers who were responsible for stopping Hasan’s bloodbath before it could get worse were special guests at the SOTU, seated in the box next to First Lady Michelle Obama, along with several other military guests. But the traditional “shout out” to such special guests was oddly missing, although the First Lady received two mentions and Jill Biden received one. Why bother having such distinguished guests if you plan to ignore them completely?

Finally, what was missing was any sign that the President is listening to the American people. Three big elections – governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey and a special senate election in Massachusetts – were bloodbaths for the Democrats and essentially a referendum on the President’s agenda. Nearly 70 percent of those polled say Congress should dump the current version of health care reform. Sixty-three percent don’t believe global warming is a crisis. And polls are showing that even “safe” pols like Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) are in danger of being toppled. If Frank Luntz’s focus group on Fox News was any indication, the American people were not fooled by his rhetoric. They’re not looking for “just words,” but results.

Yet Obama says he will continue to “fight.” A true ideologue, he refuses to abandon his beliefs, even if it means political suicide. He even told Diane Sawyer he’d rather be a “really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.”

He just hasn’t figured out that people don’t think he’s a “really good one-term president.”