Tuesday, February 24

Live Blogging Obama's Speech

I tried my best to capture the President's quotes in real time. I may be a word or more off, but the content should be in the ballpark. Plus, I've added in a few of my own observations...cause that's more fun.

9:17 And we're off...with a shout out to the First Lady. I don't always like all her fashion choices, but I think she looks snappy tonight.

9:19 "We will rebuild, we will recover and then we will emerge stronger than before." (Hey, can we let the man finish the sentence before we stand up).

9:21 "I don't want to lay blame or look backwards" but let me mention how I inherited this deficit at least 300 times during my speech.

9:22 "We're not going to transfer wealth to the wealthy, instead of invest in the future?" What the heck does that mean? Don't people earn their wealth, they aren't given it.

9:23 "I don't believe in bigger government." ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

"Our plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. Like the 57 police officers in Minneapolis whose jobs were saved by this bill or they would've been laid off." Or is it layed off?

9:26 Biden to lead the oversight effort because "nobody messes with Joe." Excuse me while I fall off my chair laughing. Look at that cheshire cat smile.

9:26 Recovery.gov so you can see how your money is being spent.

9:27 "No recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis."

"Your money in the banks is secure." Tim Geitner reminds me of Opie.

9:28 "Credit is the lifeblood of our economy."

9:28 Provide auto, college, and business loans to the people who keep this economy running. Republicans didn't know if they should stand or not

9:31 "We've got the banks' backs." in other words...we'll take them over.

9:31 "We're going to hold these banks fully accountable." Oh, Nancy's putting her program down and getting ready to jump up.

Nancy, where's the red, white and blue?

9:33 No more fun for the corporate muckety mucks. No private jets or fancy drapes for you. (say that with your best soup Nazi impersonation).

"No action is not an option. Not good for economy and I refuse to let that happen."

Obama should've coordinated his tie with the flag behind him. We got a little psychedelic line thing going on.

9:34 Ugly tie on Sen. Specter. He looks sad tonight. I guess he realized this is his last term.

Responsibility. "I will not spend a single penny to reward Wall Street but will do everything for small business and your family."

There's Burris! He looks like he's the cat who ate the canary.

9:36 "Not about banks. About people." cue the music... 'That young family can buy a home, company will hire workers to build it and then those workers will have money to spend."

drive and innovation = good. shortcuts = bad

9:37 "I will submit a budget to congress in next couple of days. It's a vision for America, a blueprint for our future. It does not solve every problem or issue. We all will have to sacrifice...including ME."

What are you sacrificing Obama? That's right, you're not going to take that new copter with the kitchen. You'll just keep that old, dingy copter you have now.

9:39 Now we're having a history lesson.

Budget will invest in energy, health care and education. Everyone stands, except Joe was a little slow on the draw.

9:40 He will double supply of renewable energy in next two years. Is that even possible?

9:43 "carbon based cap" whah? Sorry, my mind wandered, thinking about that bowl of ice cream I want but have sworn off.

9:44 "I think the nation that invented the auto can not walk away from it." Now that is a quote for the books.

9:45 "won't be easy or without cost, but this is America."

9: 46 facts, facts, fast, facts, can't keep up with all the healthcare facts & stats.

11 million children whose parents work full time and earn up to $80,000 now have healthcare. There is so many things wrong with that sentence that I don't know where to being.

9:47 I think Joe's getting tired of standing.

9:48 How is universal healthcare going to bring down the deficit?

"Let there be no doubt health care reform can not wait, it will not wait and must now wait another year."

9:49 Education. facts, facts, facts. Interesting and true. Our education system stinks. He "will insure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education from the day they are born to the day they die." (May I just say VOUCHERS!)

9:52 Expand commitment to charter schools...whoops, Nancy didn't clap for charter schools.

9:53 "If you drop out of school, you are letting your country down. It's not an option, we need everyone's contributions."

"By 2020 we will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world."

9:54 The community organizer has just emerged. Tipping his bi-partisan hat to Kennedy and Hatch.

9:55 Parents..listen up, you're getting parenting advice.

9:56 "I don't want to pass on a debt to our children they can't pay." Republicans go crazy, Obama makes a joke and then he slammed the
Republicans with his "inherited" talk.

9:57 He will cut deficit in half by end of his term. His staff will go line by line through next year's budget and cut out pork. They will end programs that don't work. Already have identified $2 trillion to cut. (MORE ON THIS IN AN UPCOMING POST. SMOKE AND MIRRORS, PEOPLE. SMOKE AND MIRRORS).

10:01 Will end tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas.

Camera cuts away to a guy who looks like he is drunk on Obama.

If you make $250,000 or less, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. Recovery plan provides a tax cut for 95% of working families. It's in writing so it must be true.

10:02 Starting to zone out... but I hear a "finally,"

10:04 "I will find a way out of Iraq and responsibly end the war." Interestingly, McCain stands.

"I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half way around the world. We will not allow it."

10:05 Time for a tour of the peanut gallery to meet all the war heroes and common Joes.

10:06 Closing Club Gitmo. "Living our values doesn't make us weaker, makes us stronger.USA does NOT torture. We're making that commitment tonight." everyone stands.

10:07 "Can not avoid the negotiating table or those who could do us harm."

10:08 "Hope is found in unlikely places, inspiration doesn't come from power or celebrity, it comes from those dreams and inspiration of ordinary Americans who are anything but ordinary."

10:09 Ty'sheoma Bethea, student at school in SC. Wrote to Obama that her school needed help. She wrote, "We are not quitters." I have a tear in my eye. Seriously. Touching moment with Miss Bethea.

"We haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there will be times in the future we will part ways, but every American sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. It's the foundation where American people expect us to find common ground."

"something worthy to be remembered"

THE END (Why are congressman getting autographs from Obama? Like all of them.)

So now the question is what did the American people tonight? Did he sell his stimulas plan to you? Did you feel he had more hope tonight? Was it a vintage Obama speech?

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this! It's a great overview and I enjoy your commentary. I too went "What???!" when he said he didn't believe in bigger government. And McCain's thoughtful late stand was interesting. I'm still processing all that was said and am looking forward to what tomorrow brings... ~:-)

happyathome said...

The "bigger governement" stuck out and also the April 1 date of when you will see the Stimulus package effect everyone, which he also said "the check is in the mail". Not really.
I definitely was not happy when he took a dig at the inherited deficit yet stated not bringing up the past and pointing fingers.
And not passing on a debt to our childen, that was a laugh since the stimulus package was passed.
As for the speech itself, well spoken(no surprise) and he did try to keep it moving.
The Republican response that Gov. Bobby Jindal made were no surprise. I think we will be seeing a lot of him during this current administration, with possibilities of running for President.
Thannks for the breakdown, and it was less "doom and gloom", which we shall see how it effecst the stock market today.

Mrs. C said...

You make me smile. :)

I was entertained by Nancy and how happy she seemed to be to stand - again and again and again.

The Gang's Momma! said...

LOL - our local morning radio anchors were having a blast laughing about NP during the speech. Seems most folks found her to be distracting, with all her ear to ear grinning and winking to the crowd and hopping up and down in her seat. One guy thought she had springs in her seat and laughed about how the chair dwarfed her tiny frame.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't make it for the whole speech. Still pretty tired from being sick, so I headed to bed. But this run down helps. Thanks.

Melissa said...

Speech or sleep? Hmmm....I went to bed. I don't believe a word our president says and am growing weary of Obama-worship. No need for him to point fingers at running up a deficit. Hell-o?! He just keeps on spending money we don't have and he's been in office how many days now? But, there are just so many bizarre things on so many levels with our new president. This quote made me chuckle:

...every American sitting here tonight loves this country...

Wake up from Fantasy Land, Mr. President...that just is not true. Especially among our younger generations.

Thanks, Nat! I knew I could get an impressive and entertaining overview at P4Ms and, of course, I did!

Anonymous said...

Here is another prominent conservative coming to terms with the demise of his once-beloved Republican Party. From the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer:

JIM LEHRER: Now that, of course, was Gov. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, making the Republican response. David, how well do you think he did?

DAVID BROOKS: Uh, not so well. You know, I think Bobby Jindal is a very promising politician, and I oppose the stimulus because I thought it was poorly drafted. But to come up at this moment in history with a stale "government is the problem," "we can't trust the federal government" - it's just a disaster for the Republican Party. The country is in a panic right now. They may not like the way the Democrats have passed the stimulus bill, but that idea that we're just gonna - that government is going to have no role, the federal government has no role in this, that - In a moment when only the federal government is actually big enough to do stuff, to just ignore all that and just say "government is the problem, corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending," it's just a form of nihilism. It's just not where the country is, it's not where the future of the country is. There's an intra-Republican debate. Some people say the Republican Party lost its way because they got too moderate. Some people say they got too weird or too conservative. He thinks they got too moderate, and so he's making that case. I think it's insane, and I just think it's a disaster for the party. I just think it's unfortunate right now.

Promises said...

Thanks for this - I too thought that NP was very distracting and I was wondering how many people were looking at her rather than Obama - that huge smile and bouncing out of her seat before his sentence even came out of his mouth.

I did like the graph that a senator (I belive) showed the FOX reporter after the address - it was in reference to the national debt. Obama talks about the debt that he inherited, then he just put us into more debt, and then in four years, he will cut the debt in half...guess where we are in four years??? Back to where we started before he signed this new "stimulus plan" into place! He talks about being transparent - he should be the one that should be showing this graph to us, so that the people really know what is going on.

I am also interested in knowing what his specifics are to anything that he talked about. He is able to speak well, but I think that people are caught up in that, and forget/don't realize that he really has not given us many details.

Those are my thoughts at the moment.

Melissa said...

Jeff,

I can see some of your points about the problems within the Republican party; however, I just don't see how you can defend a president and house/senate so intent on shoving their EXPENSIVE self-interests down the American's people's throats in a mere 30 days.

I must admit after the election I was disappointed, but I remained hopeful that maybe something good could come out of this administration....perhaps, we need to regulate businesses from becoming "too large too fail" and tighten the lending process so people cannot qualify for mortgages they can't afford, etc.... But, this stimulus package, his non-tax paying posse, and his "doom and gloom" about face from "hope and change" has been a slap in the face. I feel now more than ever he is an excellent con artist. Doesn't his lack of transparency and details concern you? And, do you trust him to protect our country now (while we are extremely vulnerable) from all the terrorist kooks out there? That sort of stuff takes money. And, as if the 787 billion stimulus bill wasn't enough, now the Dems are pushing through another 410 billion of pork-filled spending in the appropriations bill. Jeff, HOW can you support this reckless spending? Please help me to understand.

Anonymous said...

Jindal was awful (let's just admit that). He does much better in one-on-one interviews but he needs to work on his oratory skills.

I was looking at the budget this morning and noticed there 12.3% deficit spending in there. Wasn't deficit spending what the left is so quick to slam the Reagan administration for, claiming it created "the poor"? The funny part is, Reagan only spent 6% on deficit spending.

My predictions for the next few years is that these government programs get good and entrenched all while the Fed's actions from 2007 and 2008 start to take affect and the economy starts to flip around, the Obama administration claims the turnaround, and the debt is not even realized for another 10 or so years.

The dire/negative possibility is that we enter a stagflation and turn into Japan in the 1990s.

Anonymous said...

Melissa,
Be honest, Fox News and conservative talk radio are the primary influences on your political opinions.

You hilariously talk about transparency and spending as if you were in a coma for the last 8 years. As if Republicans have suddenly regained credibility on these issues by pulling out their talking points from the 1980's. Gov. Jindel (who I actually like!) is so outraged by the Stimulus Bill that he is threatening to refuse $100M of federal money for unemployment benefits. GASP! Now, instead of getting $3.7 Billion, poor 'ol Louisiana will only get $3.6 Billion. Yep, he's really taking a stand against wasteful spending.

I could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on (and sometimes do) pointing out the flaws in your rhetoric, but it is really pointless. At the end of the day, there are about 20% of the electorate (on both ends of the political spectrum) that are beyond the reaches of reason and good faith. President Obama is right to ignore the noise coming from those extremes. They will never be partners to progress and, frankly, he doesn't need them. The best thing to do is to just ignore the crazy person in the corner until they demonstrate some level of cognitive awareness about why they're in the corner to begin with. Consider it a journey of self-discovery. :)

Anonymous said...

Stephen,

I'd submit that the Left was wrong to get too bent out of shape about the deficit spending in the 80's. It was necessary for Reagan to carry out a structural shift in the economy (ahh, the good ol' days). However, I also don't believe deficit spending is intended to be a permanent feature of the budget. I don't think Obama believes that either. Hence, we're likely to see major efforts in the next couple of years to tackle the entitlement problem. Look for means testing, a reduction of benefits and lifting the cap on Social Security, among other measures.

I also share your concern about stagflation.

happyathome said...

Stephan,

To say Gov. Bobby Jindal was aweful is a little over the top. I would rather have him better in one-on-one interviews(which he is) than with a teleprompter. And in what way was he aweful? For the statements made or that he did not have a more ornate speech as the current president?

Anonymous said...

Happyathome,

The problem with the Governor's speech, in my opinion, was that it was beneath his own intelligence. He is a very bright guy and could have offered a throughtful response about conservative ideas for dealing with the current economic crisis and setting the country on a sounder economic course. I have to believe someone else wrote his speech. I've heard him speak before and he doesn't normally talk like he's standing in front of a bunch of fourth graders. After 8 years of Bush-speak, you would think he would want to put some smart back into Republican oratory. Also, his complaint about government spending for "volcano monitoring" is hard to take seriously. Was that the best example he could come up with?

Anonymous said...

happyathome,

I think Jeff said pretty much what I was going to post. It just seemed as though he was talking to a bunch of fourth graders. The content was not terrible but it was definitely not his greatest work yet.

Compared to Obama's address, Jindal's lacked the spark needed to win people over.

Overall, I think that Jindal's message in the long run will be that of returning to true conservative values, rather than claiming conservatism and doing something completely opposite (spend, spend, spend). There is a reason that Florida and California have voted down social measures while overwhelmingly voting for Obama. Some would say it's money spent by "right-wingers" (even though liberal groups spent more) but I'd venture to say that it has to do with a good number of people losing faith in the Republicans to actually be Republicans.

Anonymous said...

Jeff,

What worries me is the installation of cap-and-trade and the affects it may have.

The talk of climate change and energy independence struck me as unimportant for the future of our economy in the near term (and that's what we should be focused on right?).

Energy independence itself sends shivers down my spine because of its use as a reason for invasion by a couple of countries in WWII (not saying that is what Obama will do or making comparisons to those societies).

Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

Anonymous said...

Stephen,

Sorry for co-opting you on Jindel's speech (I have a problem with that).

Regarding cap and trade, I think it's an interesting idea, but, honestly, I don't feel like I know enough about it to form a solid opinion. I could see it being a useful tool for recovering some of the social costs associated with poluting industries, but hear the concern about it being an excessive drag on business. What if it were phased-in with a reduction in the corporate tax? I doubt that would happen, but I'm just thinking outloud.

Melissa said...

Jeff,

Ok...I'll be honest...I don't listen to any talk radio and I go back and forth in my car with CNN Headline, CNN and Fox. I also read newspapers and frequently visit a super cool little blog called P4Ms, among others.

Now, that we have that out of the way.....

This has me confused:

"You hilariously talk about transparency and spending as if you were in a coma for the last 8 years."

What are you talking about? Please enlighten me. You can say what you want about extremists (which I am assuming you're talking about me), but you cannot deny the spending and secrecy that have been at the forefront of the last 30 days (and the election, but we we'll let sleeping dogs lie). I never denied that the last 8 years (and more!) have resulted in adding to our deficit, so what's your point? I'm not going to speak lawyer-ease to you but please don't think that I am a robot allowing myself to be spoon fed by Rush Limbaugh.

I'm not very happy of where we have ended up as a result of GWB's policies (or lack of); however, we may ALL look back fondly on his administration after four years of Obama. I just HOPE I have some CHANGE left in my bank account by the time he is out of office.

Anonymous said...

Melissa,

Who was the last fiscal conservative Republican president?

Anonymous said...

Melissa,

If I can be serious for a moment, my point in all of this is not that conservative philosophy (or even you) is totally wrong. In many ways, I tend to agree with conservative principles. My point, however, is that these things are not as black and white as our rhetoric suggests. It's a very complicated world, and it would do all of us well to temper our strongly held beliefs (in all areas of life) with a healthy dose of doubt. Obviously, neither party has exclusive rights to good government. Unlike you, I believe President Obama is exceedingly smart and capable of leading the country. We shall see if his policies are helpful or not. I'm sure the pendulum will eventually swing back to the Republican side someday. For now, however, Republicans have very little goodwill left with the voters. That shouldn't surprise anyone. My hope is that they'll use this time wisely to become a viable modern political party.

Natalie said...

Wow, where to begin...

Jeff: Are you calling people who hold strong conservative views "crazy people"?

Regarding Jindal: First, what a terrible job to have to follow Obama. The guy was in a no-win situation. Plus, the sound was awful and the picture occasionally jumped. Actually, he sounded like he was Mr. Rogers with his sing songy voice and cadence. Not a good night for Gov. Jindal. But I don't think his substance was as poor as Jeff said. I think people just couldn't get past the presentation.

Cap and Trade: Uhhhhhh.....pass.

Last fiscally responsible Republican president: Eisenhower

Jeff: I believe Obama is smart also, but we have no idea if he can lead a country. He has yet to prove he can lead anything yet.

Jeff: I'd love to hear what you think the Republicans should do to become a viable modern political party?

Melissa said...

Jeff -

My question to you is: Was there EVER a fiscally conservative Democratic president?

Yes, yes, yes I agree that this is the time for Republicans to re-group and figure out where things went wrong. But, the bottom line is that we are heading down a road we don't want to go down. Now the House is considering a bill that would allow people ready to claim a personal bankruptcy to go before a judge and renegotiate their mortgage principle and interest at the cost of the lending institution. Boy, Wall Street is going to love that one! Between that and being responsible for the costs of maintaining all their foreclosed properties, be prepared to see only a tiny percentage of our population actually qualify for any credit/loans whatsoever. Again, another promotion of government bailing out irresponsible people who take advantage of the system while we, the taxpayers, pay the bill.

That aside...I believe that Obama is smart, extremely intelligent. So were Hitler and Stalin.

happyathome said...

Peaks and valleys, one party cannot be in control all of the time and now it is the Democrats turn. Obama is a very intelligent person, it is ealy to say he can lead the country and he has four years to prove this.
As for the Republican party, it is a time for rebuilding and that is fine with me. I only think that this will make the party stronger as the country watches the outcome of this irresponsible fiscal spending.
And as I stated about Gov. Bobby Jindal's speech, there was no way he could have topped Obama, which was going to lead to criticism no matter what he stated. It was obvious that it was a 'Republican response' instead of him just shooting from the hip.

 

blogger templates | Make Money Online