Free Republic

For all of his talk about jobs and the economy, President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech was not an economic policy blueprint. This was a speech about power — about increasing the scale and scope of government and the power of those who govern over the American people. If this claim seems over the top, consider the following: The President begins his speech by lauding the “courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s armed forces…They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together. “Imagine what we...

President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address again rated at an 8th grade comprehension level on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test — the third lowest score of any State of the Union address since 1934. The University of Minnesota's Smart Politics conducted an analysis on the last 70 State of the Union addresses and found that President Obama's three addresses have the lowest grade average of any modern president. "Obama's average grade-level score of 8.4 is more than two grades lower than the 10.7 grade average for the other 67 addresses written by his 12 predecessors," they conclude. "The Flesch-Kincaid...

Obama’s State Of The Union Speech To Focus On ‘Return To American Values’ By David Nakamura President Obama will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to deliver an election-year message focused on economic fairness for the middle class and what he calls “a return to American values.” In a video distributed to campaign supporters Saturday morning, the president said his speech before Congress should be viewed as his “blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last,” a slogan designed to evoke blue-collar imagery and draw contrasts with his Republican rivals. Among the new initiatives Obama is...

House Speaker John Boehner has already given his review of President Barack Obama's forthcoming State of the Union address -- and it's not pretty. "I've read a lot about what the president is going to talk about Tuesday night, and it sounds to me like the same old policies that we've seen: More spending, higher taxes, more regulation," Boehner said on "Fox News Sunday." "If that's what the president is going to talk about Tuesday night, I think that's pathetic."

Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, using his State of the Union address to outline a lasting economic recovery that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few." As his most powerful chance to make a case for a second term, the prime-time speech carries enormous political stakes for the Democratic incumbent who presides over a country divided about his performance and pessimistic about the nation’s direction. He will try to offer a stark contrast with his opponents...

GROUNDHOG DAY 2012 In the coming New Year, 2012, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union address will occur on the same day. This is an ironic juxtaposition of events. One involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to an insignificant creature of little intelligence for prognostication. The other involves a groundhog.

President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to define an activist role for government in promoting a prosperous and equitable society, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty. ...Mr. Obama will call for changing the corporate and individual income-tax codes so the wealthy pay more, both to finance government investments and to alleviate the rise in income inequality in recent years. Republican presidential candidates have countered that government should get out of the way.

Krauthammer reacts to Chief Justice Roberts response to Obama going after the Supreme Court as they sat in front of him at the State of the Union, "It was a break of protocol and decorum, and it was an insult. You sit there and you don't expect to be attacked as the court was...I hope that next year there are nine empty seats at the State of the Union Address, that would be the appropriate

<p>A top White House adviser says it's gotten to the point where almost any unusual reaction or outburst to a speech by President Barack Obama in the House chamber isn't really that unusual.</p> <p>Obama aide David Axelrod was talking about Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's reaction to Obama's State of the Union address last week.</p>

<p>In the case of Barack Obama v. Supreme Court of the United States, that was some oral argument on Wednesday night. With the Justices arrayed a few feet in front of him in the House chamber, President Obama blistered their recent decision defending free political speech for corporations and unions. As Democrats in Congress and Cabinet members rose and applauded around them, the Justices sat stern-faced, save for Samuel Alito, who was seen shaking his head and mouthing the words "Not true."</p>

In his State of the Union address, the president of the United States called out the Supreme Court by name for sharp condemnation and egged on his congressional supporters to jeer its recent decision: "Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests—including foreign corporations—to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps...