"Nobody messes with Joe." My favorite line of the night, but then I loves me some Joe Biden!
Obama gave a great speech, focusing on the economy as well as energy, education and health care. He continues to stress that we need to become energy independent, that our education vs. other countries is lagging behind, and that if we don't fix the health care mess our economy will continue to struggle no matter what else we do.
Health care costs are the largest reason for bankruptcies, and I know that even those of us who have good health care through our employers make less money every year because our health care premiums go up, and the employers are not eating that -- they are passing those cost increases along to the employees. So bravo to Obama for finally taking this on. Unlike what Gov. Bobby Jindal said in his bizarre Republican response to Obama's speech, this does not mean "universal, government-sponsored health care." It does mean, though, that we have to get a handle on this, and pronto.
I'm also glad to hear that Obama is going to keep his campaign promise about energy independence. This is so crucial not only to creating new industries and employment in this country, but to curbing climate change, which if allowed to run amuck could eventually cost this country dearly in more ways than one.
A lot of pundits have complained about a lack of detail, but if he had given us details on all that we would have been there for three hours. I think what he did lay out was the basics of what he intended to do, and I'm sure the details will come in future days.
As far as Bobby Jindal's response, I found it absolutely inexplicable. In the first place, he sounded like he thought he was talking to 5th graders. I would say that if the Republicans think this guy is their big hope for the future they have another think coming. He called for more of that Republican cure-all, tax cuts, when we know that Bush's tax cuts and rebates did butkus for the economy. Tax cuts don't mean a lot to someone who doesn't have a job in the first place. He criticized a non-existent "magnetic levitation line between Las Vegas and Disneyland" supposedly in the stimulus plan (there has been some money set aside for transportation but no details or locations have been decided upon). He thought it laughable to put $140 million (a teeny percentage of the total) into "volcano monitoring," but considering the natural disaster Louisiana went through just a few short years ago he might want to rethink the wisdom of taking some precautions to prevent such things. On top of that, he tells us we can't trust the federal government. Okey dokey. Well, my guess is Sarah Palin is feeling a little better today about whether this guy is competition for her for the title of Republican sacrificial lamb in 2012. But then, if Gov. Jindal refuses the stimulus money for Louisiana as he has said he will, I don't think he'll even have to worry about getting reelected down there, much less going on to higher office.
So, I thought Obama gave a good speech, I think he's on the right track, and I found myself thinking that I was just glad that after the last eight years we finally have a president who has some common sense!
