The State of Our Union Is… Sassy!

 

The State of the Union is so overhyped. The speech rarely has any substantive political effect, and it’s important to remember that Obama’s first-year problem has not, depite the past month, been one of narrative. Matt Yglesias makes a great point today:

[W]hat we’ve learned time and again over the past year is that there’s only so far that great speeches get you. [...] Obama seized the mantle of responsibility, pragmatism, and seriousness while challenging the GOP to show some good faith and willingness to be a constructive partner in government. But what he’s never been able to do is to generate the kind of specific, concrete political pressure on incumbent Republican senators that inspires them to vote “yes” on his bills or confirm his nominees. And nothing in his speech changes that dynamic.

It wasn’t a great speech, but it didn’t need to be. No speech is every going to change Olympia Snowe’s vote, or make Lieberman less of an asshole. But what I saw, and what I think the American people saw, was a pissed-off President not afraid to call out his enemies. He’s angry, and so are we! It was a brilliant piece of performance art. Watching Boehner and Cantor smirk through Obama’s rousing defense of the stimulus and bailouts and tax cuts served as a reminder of the fact that the Republicans are simply refusing to legislate. They’re not doing their jobs, and they’re incredibly unpopular because of it! There’s a reason Obama is far more popular than anyone in Congress, and, pace Scott Brown, it’s decidedly not because Americans are against health care reform. The triumph of last night was the return of 2008 Obama, just when we need him.

My first stop after the speech was, of course, The Corner, and boy did those crazies hate it. Which I’ll take as a sign of success, because they are all loony tunes in that silly little bend of the internet. Peter Robinson, Reagan’s speechwriter and hagiographer, asked “What’s the Takeaway?” His answer:

The tone.

Defensive, hectoring, self-righteous, self-referential, and angry. An astonishing performance.

He later added “petulant.” All of these descriptions are true! But what Robinson, who is literally in love with the GOP, doesn’t notice is that this is exactly the point. Everyone is angry. Everyone is defensive and hectoring and self-righteous and petulant when they talk about politics these days. And by showing that he, too, is sick of it all, Obama renewed that remarkable connection with the American people he had established during the campaign. Anger is a powerful emotion, doubly so when it feels righteous. And who better to validate one’s anger than the President of the United States?

As for the policy proposals: meh. Mostly weak sauce. I doubt we’ll hear about nuclear power or offshore drilling or free trade with Colombia from this President again in a long time, if ever. I’m still on the fence about the spending freeze, but a deficit commission by executive order at least signals that he’s serious about it. The health care section was troublingly vague, and buried nearly an hour into the speech (which was too long to begin with). The call to end DADT was a nice touch, as was Bob Gates’ applause for it. But my favorite moment was when the President called out the Supreme Court for its Citizens United decision, and the  justices awkwardly sat still while the Democrats stood and applauded. Awkwaaaaaaaard!

So here’s my takeaway: no speech is going to push health care reform through, or guarantee strong financial regulation, or create jobs. But when even the unaccountable, “politically insulated” Supreme Court feels the heat of America’s anger, you know you’ve done something right.