The State Of Our Union

Although I didn't watch it on TV, it looks like last night's speech from O was a big success for the Dems. By all reports, the President gave a great performance-- subtly putting the blame on the Republicans without surrendering an overall tone of optimism which had been lacking in his recent rhetoric. In a CNN poll, 85% of those watching were more optimistic afterward, and 82% supported the President's economic plan after watching the speech as well.

In an unflattering contrast to the Big O, it appears that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal laid a massive goose egg. Here's a sampling of the lambasting he received:

National Public Radio's Juan Williams: “I think he had a really poor performance.” Williams went on to call the governor’s remarks “sing-songy” and said Jindal looked “childish” compared to Obama.

Fox's Brit Hume: “The speech read a lot better than it sounded. This was not Bobby Jindal’s greatest oratorical moment.”

New York Times columnist David Brooks: “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.”

John J. Pitney Jr., a political science professor at California’s Claremont McKenna College: "Jindal’s act needs a lot of work. His basic message was sound but his language was hackneyed and his performance was wooden."

Fortune Magazine’s Nina Easton: “The delivery was not exactly terrific.”

Thomas Schaller, a political scientist at University of Maryland: “Someday, when scholars are trying to fingerpoint the nadir of the post-Bush Republican Party, they may arrive at Jindal's speech tonight. Though it was a tough moment for any Republican to give the opposition response, his speech came across as unserious in content and condescending in its tone.”


To cut Bobby some slack, we need to point out that he has nothing to work with. The GOP has provided no real alternatives, lacks any vision for the future, and continues to be the party of "No".