My State of the Union Hangover

Ah, the State of the Union: a parade of those elected hand-shakers and back-patters who dress for the cameras and clap reflexively until they recall their partisan stance.  Then they mug as appropriate to satisfy their national party.  So inorganic.  So American.

This year, the elected folks paired up in a bipartisan buddy system and sat together at the event to show the American people how comfortable they can be with members of another party, like how mom used to say that she had a "homosexual friend" and thus she could never qualify as a bigot.  A lovely effort, in any case, at least visually, as it limited the stark contrast created by the ovations of a single side of the chamber in support of the party's President and the grumpy seat warmers across the aisle.

If there's one thing I can say with absolute passion: Obama is one classy President.  If the hand-grabbing and back-patting has to happen, then I'm happy it's Obama cruising the circuit.  The man can work a crowd and bring an honest smile to the face of the most partisan objector to his presence in the White House.  I like him.  In my heart.  I do.  Obama makes inspirational calls for improvement and tells us how it can all be done.  And we get excited because we like that kind of optimism.  We love all that hope and potential.  Yes, we can!

Over the last two years, unfortunately, he's been met by the perilous downside of a vocal but undereducated electorate amplified by a profit-driven media machine.  You've heard the Mencken quote: "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."  Ah, well.  Yes, we can unless it requires that we educate our children and pay taxes and perform stem-cell research and ensure universal access to health care.

The morning after an Obama speech is like waking up to an empty bed with a bilious hangover.  We remember that we didn't actually go home with the life of the party but actually some loser who bought us a drink and then took twenty bucks from our wallet to play darts.  The folks hired by the people to put the beautiful words into action are the dart-playing frat dudes and mean girls who would much rather make sure they get invited to the cool parties on campus than see to the kids working in the cafeteria.  Bummer.  All that eloquence is so quickly fouled by the general nincompoopery of the Congress.

I remember the old Bush days when the inability to articulate words in the English language at least matched Congressional incompetence.  Does this indicate progress or does the fact that so many people voted in so many under-qualified Republicans in the last election indicate a preference for the inarticulate?  Hmm.  I'm not going to answer that but I am going to give two thumbs up to Obama for delivering a good speech that should at least remind Americans that there are words in the English language other than bailout, job-killing and mama grizzly.

I can ride my bike to this place in New Zealand.  Yep.

One final note: the President said, "... as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth." Well, while not actually there in the chamber with him, I guess I'd like to raise my hand anyway to let the President know that he might be wrong on that point.  Because, personally, I think New Zealand is an awfully nice place to live.  And geez, has he not seen the rankings compiled by the United Nation Development Programme in 2010? In its report, the Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development, the UNDP reviews criteria including life expectancy, literacy rates, school enrollment and the economy to rank the most livable nations in the world.  Looks like Norway and Australia are decent alternatives as well.  Just putting it out there.

Okay, now get out there and start hoping that even half of Obama's proposals for the year see the light of day!