Last night, President Obama delivered his 5th State of the
Whenever the President takes the stage, steps to the podium, or takes the mic, there are elements of pomp and pageantry. That this President won election in the first place; secured a second term, and then delivered his 5th address defining the status of our nation is a sequence of events of such momentous historic significance that any and all of the elements would have been considered improbable 5 years ago. Moreover, in the face of high unemployment and an incredibly motivated opposition, President Obama’s re-election was considered unlikely as recently as a year ago. So, historic; you bet!
But the history that leapt out at me does not involve President Obama. It does not apply to the specific tenets raised during the President’s speech, or to Mrs. Obama’s guests. It doesn't even apply to former Rocker Ted Nugent attending the function. Nugent, as you may recall, asserted last summer that if President Obama were re-elected, he (Nugent) would be dead or in jail by that time next year. Mr. Nugent is the invited guest of Rep. Steve Stockman, Texas.
It is customary for the Republican Party to provide a counterpoint response whenever the President makes a formal speech. Last night, the Republican Party inadvertently paid President Obama the ultimate compliment. Oh, they will never concede the point, or call it that; but the fact of the matter is, by choosing to provide, instead of the traditional Republican Response, two responses, the GOP made several statements, including:
- They conceded the Republican Party is substantially split, and does not trust
its leadership to represent “the Party
as a whole.”
- They demonstrated that the Tea Party Movement (which both of the GOP candidate respondents represented) is apparently split
among itself.
- Their actions showed the President’s convincing win in November among numerous voting blocs, including, women, people
of color, Latinos, Asians, and youth, has Republicans shaken to the core.
- Their reaction served as an admission that the President’s articulation of values,
e.g., investing to grow and strengthen the middle class, a fair tax
system, an affordable and excellent education, and a belief that we are
most prosperous when we pursue policies that demonstrate we are all in it
together was a winner; their own tactics and designs, not so much.
- Big ups, Mr. President!
On one hand, in deciding to
offer up both Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul, junior Senators from Florida and
Kentucky, respectively, as the voices
of the loyal, but apparently split opposition, the Republican tag team gave the GOP
twice the usual array of options to effectively respond to the President. In as much as both men have shown early
indications of being interested in positioning themselves as potential
candidates for President in 2016, their responses served as
preliminary auditions for the GOP top
spot.
Of course alternately, the
whole thing reminded of one of the Newhart
episodes that featured, Larry, his brother Darryl…and his other brother Darryl. Seriously funny stuff; but I digress. That’s about all there is to say about, “The State of the Union:The President, The Loyal Opposition, and The Other Loyal Opposition.”
I’m done; holla back!
Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com
or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.
A new post is published each Wednesday.
To subscribe, click on Follow
in the bottom right hand corner of my Home
Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com;
enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me
up.” Subsequent editions of “Break
It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed
information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult
the links below:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment