Throughout his long speech, President Obama never acknowledged that Americans have been sending him a message or that he had bothered to listen. Instead, the sole fault he acknowledged was that “I take blame for not explaining it [his agenda] more clearly.”
He still believes the problem is that people fail to understand his goals. Instead, his problem is that we understand them all too well. His efforts to make light of his recent political setbacks left a clear impression that he has learned nothing from them. Instead, he presented a long workmanlike speech that is indistinguishable from a routine Presidential address.
Every issue was treated as though it was no more or less important than any other. There was no particular passion or emphasis; just a homogenized product as though each item was blended into a gruel. Call it a smoothie if you wish, but you could also call it pablum. I’ve attended at least 15 State of the Union speeches, and this one will stand out mostly for the fact that Obama could have said he listened to America and learned from us–but he didn’t.
(Former Congressman and Heritage Distinguished Fellow Ernest Istook was in the chamber for tonight’s speech. For more on the State of the Union, visit Heritage at Facebook and on Twitter.)