10.22 pm. This was the president I supported and still support and will support because he alone is calling us away from the cynicism, the ideology, the rhetorical poison, and the red-blue divide that keep us from the reform we desperately need.
10.19 pm. This final passage is devastating in its rebuke of so many and yet its encouragement of better things ahead. This section remains with me:
Remember this – I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of three hundred million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That's just how it is. Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high, and get through the next election instead of doing what's best for the next generation.
But I also know this: if people had made that decision fifty years ago or one hundred years ago or two hundred years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard; to do what was needed even when success was uncertain; to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren.
10.16 pm. Listen to the silence. It's the silence that greets the truth.
10.13 pm. Ending DADT: it's the right thing to do. But I note that he has committed only to working with Congress and the military to end the ban this year. If he achieves it, I will stand up and cheer. But I have experienced enough crushing disappointments to believe it will actually happen.
10.11 pm. Pretty standard foreign policy boilerplate. But the commitment to remove all forces from Iraq was striking. I don't think it's possible without a bloodbath. Will he allow that to happen?
9.59 pm. Now he's lambasting the cultural poison in Washington. "We still need to govern." And a great riposte to the pusillanimity of the Democrats. And a riposte to the Republicans wielding a filibuster to prevent anything from getting done.
9.57 pm. He is in so many respects a One Nation Tory. A reader notes:
"I was sitting watching the SOTU tonight, and it finally hit me – the man is a compassionate conservative. A real one. He is what Bush told us he was. He is an utterly, deeply serious man who is willing to stand in front of the country and take his share of the blame. I miss that in a leader."
9.54 pm. "I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans." I desperately want him to get a bipartisan commission that cuts entitlements and defense and raises necessary taxes. And then demand the GOP live up to their commitments to cut spending.
9.51 pm. Thank God he could explain why he had to spend in his first year – or risk an economic collapse. And I like the equation of ordinary people tightening their belts – so government should too. It's a trivial matter, but it's never too trivial to get rid of programs that don't work.
9.49 pm. "Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Let's get it done." This was not a firm commitment to the Senate bill. It was an opening for more debate; and an invitation to let the GOP to contribute, which, of course, they won't. It just passes the test of resolution I laid out earlier today. But not much more.
9.46 pm. "I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber."
9.42 pm. I'm struck by how relaxed he seems. Smiling, confident, easy-going, and yet also deadly serious. He's certainly a lot calmer than most of his supporters, including me. I was a bit of a wreck before this after such a depressing couple of weeks. But he is managing to lift that gloom – not by dazzling rhetoric, but by a form of realism that is reassuring.
9.40 pm. His education record has been seriously under-rated so far. It's a strength and again, it's good to see him focus on it. What you're seeing and hearing is a shift in the political atmosphere, a reminder that the MSM who-wins-who-loses, horse-race coverage of the issues is simply unworthy of the times we live in.
9.36 pm. His energy program sounds a lot like McCain's in the campaign: all of the above. And drill, baby, drill! But I love this: clean energy is worth doing whatever you think of climate change. Plenty of conservatives should be able to support this if they could get past their partisanship and bile.
9.34 pm. "The lobbyists are trying to kill [financial reform]." I've noticed a lot of praise for the House tonight. The subtle message is that the Senate is the place where reform is being killed; and the lobbyists have more of a grip on the Senate.
9.31 pm. "How long should America put its future on hold?" Better, I think, to make a declarative statement. I'm waiting for that moment when he seizes authority and command of the room. Not there yet. But you can feel it building.
9.28 pm. Again with the boasting about the stimulus. What I like about the speech so far is its refusal to be coopted by the old left-right gamesmanship of Washington and the FNC/RNC. He is just ignoring their narrative and reminding people of the truth that belies it.
9.26 pm. I loves me a Democrat who gets the vital importance of small business.
9.23 pm. And again he reminds people of the good the stimulus did – against the calculated propaganda and lies of the FNC/RNC. It is such a relief to hear the truth of the past year against the nihilist lies of the unhinged and opportunistic right.
9.21 pm. Thank God he is fighting back against the lies of the FNC/RNC on taxes. And even a little good-natured humor. So far, the Obama magic is on fire again.
9.19 pm. Again, sanity: the need to rescue the banks – the remarkable achievement of getting most of the money back already – and the need to tax them to reclaim the rest.
9.18 pm. Have you noticed the silence in the room?
9.16 pm. So far, it strikes me as extremely effective, a kind of sober reminder to the inside Washington game-players that real people are out there, suffering, and working and resilient. He is the adult in the room. And he is still hopeful. "A government that matches Americans' decency and embodies their strength."
9.13 pm. "The worst of the storm has passed, but the devastation remains": a concise truth.
9.09 pm. A nice big hug for Geithner.
The Dish 