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U.S. President Barack Obama on January 24 made his third State of the Union Address in Congress. In his speech he touched upon the issues of economic recovery and key issues of foreign policy. Obama tried to assure that there was no point in speaking about the loss of the U.S. leadership in the international arena, because his country maintains a leading position in the world. According to the American president, the revival of the American leadership is felt throughout the world. Broadcast footage of his speech resembled a scene from zombie film where at every mentioning of "the greatness...

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...

In his third State of the Union address last night, President Obama channeled the mantra of U.S. progressive groups by repeatedly calling for so-called economic fairness in America. Some progressives point to revolutionary socialist Karl Marx as divining economic theory that stresses “economic fairness.” Also, late Harvard professor John Rawls, one of the most important philosophers of liberalism in the twentieth century, named his own theory “justice as fairness.” Some have previously pointed to Rawls possible influence over Obama. Rawls calls for ensuring distributive justice of resources. The headlines in scores of U.S. newspapers and news websites today stress the...

George Will, in describing the statistics of American public's low reaction to Obama's State of the Unuion address.

President Obama’s State of the Union address was disgusting. The president began with a moving tribute to the armed forces and their accomplishments. But as he has done many times now, he celebrated martial virtues not to rally support for the military, but to cover himself in glory — he killed Osama bin Laden! — and to convince the American people that they should fall in line and march in lockstep. He said of the military: “At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They...

The official Republican response to the President’s State of the Union Address was fine—as far as it went. But Gov. Mitch Daniels missed a golden opportunity to put before the American people a better vision of family, faith, and freedom.   Interestingly, the only mention of family in Gov. Daniels’ response was his praise for President Obama’s own family. Let me stipulate: The Obama family is a model family, apparently devoted to one another. The president even lives happily under the same roof with his mother-in-law. Now, that’s devotion.   But Gov. Daniels could have noted that the policies of the Obama...

Cato Institute scholars Malou Innocent, Chris Edwards, Neal McCluskey, Ilya Shapiro, Jerry Taylor, Dan Mitchell and Dan Ikenson respond to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address.

President Barack Obama's campaign speech Tuesday to a joint session of Congress — aka the State of the Union — proves we have been teleported from America to Absurdistan. Cases in point: n Though Europe and the euro teeter on a precipice because of vast, past borrowing, Obama hardly mentioned our record $15 trillion debt. See? Absurd. But Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels clearly defined the debt disaster in his Republican response to Obama. "In three short years, an unprecedented explosion of spending, with borrowed money, has added trillions to an already unaffordable national debt," Daniels said. "And yet the president...

"This was a mass of confusion, hypocrisies, lies, and distortions, and a failed attempt by a failed president to attach himself to America's greatness when he wouldn't recognize it if it slapped him upside the head!" That pretty much sums up Rush's analysis of President Hope&Change's SOTU STFU speech on Tuesday. I would have to agree.[Edited for long silences, commercial breaks, and extraneous talking] (Download clip here) (Download clip here)

There was very little that was really new in the president's agenda-setting State of the Union address to the nation Tuesday. Since when is it new when Barack Obama calls for higher taxes on our economy? He had little to say about the government's $15 trillion debt, nor about the yearly trillion dollar plus budget deficits he's piling up. Even though the Gallup poll says the voters place these issues among their top three concerns, along with the economy and jobs. Nor did he have much to say about the serious troubles millions of Americans still face in the oppressive...

Only a president long shielded from criticism and accountability could make the kind of State of the Union speech President Obama did Tuesday night. It's hard to know where to begin, given his repetition of tired ideas from his previous SOTUs, his taking credit for successful policies he resisted and omitting failed ones he promoted, his numerous misrepresentations on issues big and small, and his glaring refusal to address the main issues that threaten the nation. Let me touch on just a few highlights in this brief space. Excessive spending is the primary threat to our nation's and Americans' financial...

What Do Deodorant And Voting Have In Common?   That silly audience thought he was singing to them... Think Obama Is Incompetent? There's An App For That...    

Only a president long shielded from criticism and accountability could make the kind of State of the Union speech President Obama did Tuesday night. It's hard to know where to begin, given his repetition of tired ideas from his previous SOTUs, his taking credit for successful policies he resisted and omitting failed ones he promoted, his numerous misrepresentations on issues big and small, and his glaring refusal to address the main issues that threaten the nation. Let me touch on just a few highlights in this brief space. Excessive spending is the primary threat to our nation's and Americans' financial...

During last night's State of Utter Confusion Address, Our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama had this to say: ************************************ "But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you're earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn't get...

WASHINGTON — It's an unwritten law of modern America that a political campaign speech should last no more than 30 minutes. The lecture candidate Barack Obama delivered on the evening of Jan. 24 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol came in at just longer than one hour and six minutes. It was full of rhetoric we should expect to hear reiterated from now until Nov. 6. The president's supporters declared his economic message to be "populist." That's liberal-speak for class warfare. In the days since the State of the Union address, politicians and pundits of every stripe...

Andrew Restuccia of The Hill is reporting that Ener1, a battery company that President Obama referenced in his State of The Union Speech on Tuesday as an example of successful energy investments, has just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Editor's note: This piece was authored by Brion McClanahan. In case you missed it, and many did, President Barack Obama gave his annual “State of the Union” address last night. All the pageantry, the pomp…the demagoguery, what’s not to watch? In light of President Obama’s promises and agenda, perhaps it would be useful to analyze his address through the lens of the founding generation. After all, they wrote and ratified the Constitution, so they should have a fair understanding about its meaning, powers, and how it should be interpreted. Obama: “Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward,...

We heard a lot on Tuesday night from President Obama about the wealthy paying their “fair share� in his State of the Union speech. (Well, you heard it a lot; I read the speech and then commenced to have a life on Tuesday night.) Obama made half a dozen references to fairness in relation to taxes in the address, including taking a shot at Congress: But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Just like with charity, perhaps fairness...

Toward the end of his State of the Union speech, President Obama observed that Washington politicians should learn from the example of the U.S. military: "When you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails." Obama recalled the successful Navy SEAL mission, which under his watch took out Obama bin Laden, and observed, "the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other - because you can't charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there's someone behind you, watching your back." At first blush,...

Video catching Obama's lies, distortions and half-truths in the State of the Union.

What did you like in the State of the Union address? The props for U.S. military None of it The call for more natural gas production at home The tax hikes on the wealthy All of it

It sounded like such a soft, even conservative speech. But let me get this straight: 1) banks will be punished (do I understand this right, by a committee headed by Eric Holder?) if their lending is too risky 2) and they will be required (by the same committee) to give more home loans (meaning, it must be, to people who would otherwise not qualify for the loans, or else the government would not have to be involved) at lower rates (which means rates that do not compensate them as much as the market says they need to be compensated for...

The White HouseOffice of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release January 25, 2012 Statements on the President’s State of the Union Address Colorado Governor Hickenlooper “The President tonight hit a tone about working together that is familiar to Coloradans. People here know that partisanship is a significant roadblock to partnership. We must use collaboration as a means to finding solutions to keep pushing our state and our country closer to full economic recovery. “We join the President in the pursuit of unnecessary regulations that handcuff aspiring entrepreneurs, and we applaud his support of great teachers and our nation’s military.

During the State of the Union speech last night we had the TV turned up very loud so I could hear the speech while following along in the released transcript on my computer screen and taking notes at the keyboard while simultaneously roughing a draft of our editorial today. Let him make this perfectly clear... During the 65 minutes he spoke, I developed something of a headache. It seemed to me the president virtually shouted his entire speech. . .

The Republican National Committee has compiled this video comparing lines President Obama used tonight in his State of the Union Address with lines he used in previous addresses before Congress. See amazing video at the link.

38 Million Watch State of the Union Address for 2012 January 25, 2012 – On Tuesday, January 24, 2012 President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address. The address was carried live from 9:00PM to approximately 10:15 PM on 14 networks.* The sum of average audience for those networks was 37,752,613 viewers, with a combined household rating of 24.0. The networks carrying the address were ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FBN, FOXNC, GALA, MSNBC, MUN2 and on tape delay on TEL, TF and UNI. p>

Hypocrisy: As the great investor's secretary sat with the first lady at the State of the Union, the president spoke of economic "fairness." Is it fair to make a supporter wealthier at the expense of the American people? During the 2008 campaign, candidate Barack Obama cited billionaire Warren Buffett as one of his economic muses. In the 2012 State of the Union address Tuesday night, the president returned to his advocacy of the "Buffett rule," a proposed minimum tax on millionaires and billionaires. To highlight his theme of "fairness," there in the first lady's box sat Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek,...

Over ONE MILLION copies sold! On the NYTimes Bestseller List for 19 weeks, 12 weeks at #1!Buy it… read it… live it!“Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., tells Bob Schieffer that President Obama's State of the Union address was "predictable" and explains why he doesn't think Congress will accomplish much this year.

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States: I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here. I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don’t...

Ah, the Hollow Man... I listen to these things so you don't have to, and I've got a pretty strong stomach - but last night's festivities were truly something else. A transcript is available here for those of you into self-mortification, but I'll go over the basics. First off, the speech was obviously very well rehearsed down to the last vocal inflection and raised eyebrow..in fact. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were theatrical directions emanating from TOTUS tonight. Simply amazing..yet as he spoke, the contradictions between what was coming out of his mouth and what we've seen...

Check out this video on Obama's misstatements in his State of the Union.

First lady’s office will not comment ‘as of right now’ on $2K SOTU dress By Caroline May - The Daily Caller 1:27 PM 01/25/2012 ADVERTISEMENT While the president spoke about the economic frustrations of average Americans in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, his wife, Michelle Obama appeared at the event in a sapphire blue dress from designer Barbara Tfank’s 2012 Resort collection, estimated to cost over $2k. The first lady’s press office, however is mum on dress, telling The Daily Caller that they will not offer comment “as of right now.” Tfanks, a West Coast designer, recently...

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The rich and powerful were divided at their annual huddle on Wednesday over Barack Obama's threat to raise their taxes, with some saying it could hurt growth, but others arguing he was right to address capitalism's imbalances. Obama's State of the Union address focused on channeling middle class anger at inequality, including a call for a 30 percent minimum tax on millionaires that could make the wealth of Republican rival Mitt Romney a central election issue. It was delivered on the eve of World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, which found many...

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U.S. President Barack Obama waves before his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress as Vice President Joe Biden (L) and House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, talk on Capitol Hill in Washington January 24, 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 24, 2012

Shortly after President Obama was elected, NBC News interviewed a young woman from Detroit named Peggy Joseph. She explained that she was excited about Obama’s election because “I won’t have to worry about putting the gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage.” In the three years since, President Obama may not have actually paid her mortgage or filled up her tank, but judging from last night’s State of the Union address, he’s still trying. The president’s address — more campaign speech than policy platform — was long on calls for “fairness” and “opportunity,” but...

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...

Don't worry, America. There's nothing that ails this country that can't be made right by a catalogue of piddling proposals that will be forgotten tomorrow--and oh yeah, more taxes on the rich. Such was the message of President Obama's State of the Union address. It made Bill Clinton's notoriously endless lists of poll-tested banalities look like artistry by comparison. It was light and forgettable, so insubstantial it could have floated off the teleprompter. It was spend more here, create a new program there, carve out a new subsidy in the tax code over there--and repeat as necessary, for over an...

It turns out Mitt Romney paid $6.2 million in taxes in the latest year between federal and local taxes and I say bravo for him that sounds fair as hell to me. Really, just think for a moment and ask yourself does anyone get $6.2 million a year in services from the government? This past weekend is a perfect example. A nature preserve sits right behind my house, which is great because it's like having a giant backyard with deer, foxes, and occasional eagles. I worry about those giant trees that lean toward the house in such an ominous way...

Although the political world grinds to a seeming halt when the president addresses Congress every year in January, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything interesting comes out of the ordeal. And on Tuesday’s coverage of the State of the Union address on the Fox News Channel, senior political analyst Brit Hume said this year’s from President Barack Obama was no different. “I’ve covered about 35 of these things and I thought they were always a murderous assignment for any president,” Hume said. “For one thing they are too long and for certain political reasons in Washington, they need to be because...

Had enough of fat cat Barack Obama, his jet-setting wife and his multi-millionaire Chicago consigliere/real-estate mogul Valerie Jarrett attacking the "rich"? Well, brace yourselves. You'll be hearing much more from the White House about the "wealthy few" who aren't paying their "fair share" as Obama's re-election campaign doubles down on class-war demagoguery. As usual, there's always a set of immunity charms for the privileged friends and family of the ruling class. When it comes to all the Green Robber Barons who've reaped an obscenely unfair share of billions of tax dollars from the Obama administration, the envy trumpeteers will be...

In the words of the distinguished Sen. John Blutarsky, when the President's reelection campaign infomercial begins at 9:00 PM EST, my advice to you is to start drinking heavily. 5:43PM Dear Anderson Cooper:It really isn’t necessary to announce in a stage whisper that the President is on his way.Love, -VodkaPundit.5:47PM “The President is resonant on this.�Wise words, my idiot liberal friend.5:48PM Sorry, meant to attribute that last quote to Paul Begala, not to my “idiot liberal friend.�Or did anyone notice the typo?5:53PM In honor of the First Lady’s attendance tonight, I’m drinking martinis and snacking on a stack of thick-sliced...

Do you feel President Obama spoke enough about jobs and the economy during the SOTU address? Yes 52.05% (4,157 votes) No 22.49% (1,796 votes) I didn't watch 25.47% (2,034 votes) Total Votes: 7,987

Coral Gables, FL – Newt Gingrich released the following statement responding to President Obama’s State of the Union address: We have a crisis of work in this country and tonight President Obama proposed nothing in the way of policy changes that will get us to robust job creation and dramatic economic growth. Instead, the president described his conviction that his big government is built to last and should be paid for with higher taxes. But bigger government and higher taxes will not lead to jobs and growth. Bigger government and higher taxes will instead lead to more people on food...

As we prepare to watch President Obama lambaste Republicans for obstructionism in his State of the Union address tonight, remember: Today marks 1000 days since the Senate last passed a full budget. Pass it on:

Following is the full text of Gov. Mitch Daniels' Republican Address to the Nation, as prepared for delivery:"The status of 'loyal opposition' imposes on those out of power some serious responsibilities: to show respect for the Presidency and its occupant, to express agreement where it exists. Republicans tonight salute our President, for instance, for his aggressive pursuit of the murderers of 9/11, and for bravely backing long overdue changes in public education. I personally would add to that list admiration for the strong family commitment that he and the First Lady have displayed to a nation sorely needing such examples."On...

WASHINGTON – It was a wish list, not a to-do list. President Obama's array of plans in his State of the Union speech was light on a key piece of context -- namely, that his hands are so tied until after the election that it is doubtful many if any of them can be done in the remainder of his term. There can be little more than wishful thinking behind his call to end oil industry subsidies -- something he could not get through a Democratic Congress, much less today's divided Congress, much less in this election year. A look...

The secretary for one of the world's wealthiest men and the wife of late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs are among those invited by the White House to attend the State of the Union address. The State of the Union guest list has become an annual rite, with the first lady's box taking on the sort of gravitas shown at the Academy Awards' Red Carpet ceremony. The guests often have ties to a proposal or initiative the president will outline in the address. Among this year's guests are Debbie Bosanek, the longtime secretary for billionaire Warren Buffett. Obama frequently cites Buffett's...