A Small Dose of Sanity for Your Saturday

This clip from comedian Lewis C.K. has been going around the web this week.  Something of a reality check for these seemingly-dreary times:

I don’t know about the “idiots” part of it, but we’re definitely all (not just my generation) quite “spoiled.”

This Is the Bobby Jindal I Expected to See Last Night

A strong performance during an interview on The Today Show this morning:

I wonder, is there are way to set up a special campaign fund for Gov. Jindal that would just be used for teleprompter coaching?  I might be willing to make a small donation.

Hat tip to The Corner for the video embed.

Some Brief Thoughts on the Speech and the GOP Response

To wit:

- We were reminded again that Obama’s rhetorical talents really are astounding.  Strictly on the basis of delivery, I think that this was the best speech I’ve ever seen from him.  Perhaps the best speech  from an American President since, yes, Ronald Reagan.  Purely on delivery, mind you.

- Alas, Obama was as typically evasive and vague about substance as he was typically stellar on style.  He spent minutes hammering the need for urgent, large-scale health reform, building up to his proposal to … essentially form a commission to look into it.  Moreover, while it was nice that he at least paid some lip service to reforming Medicare and Social Security (getting Democrats just to acknowledge that there are serious fiscal problems with both programs has itself been hard enough until now), there was no mistaking the way in which he got onto and off of the subject as quickly as possible.

- Did I hear the President right?  Did he really assert that we should trust him on the deficit because he has a secret plan to cut $2 trillion in spending? 

- There was one area where Obama sort of approached getting specific: his plans to pump  billions more dollars into a whole host of renewable energy research projects, most of which will wind up having no value beyond their usefulness as pork that congressmen and senators can claim to have won for their constituents. The bipartisan ovation for such projects was, of course, no surprise.

- Speaking of energy proposals, the one word conspicuously missing from that section of Obama’s speech? “Nuclear.”

- Somewhere, there may be a politician less capable of suppressing a contemptuous smirk than Nancy Pelosi.  Maybe.

- I almost desperately wanted Bobby Jindal’s response to be outstanding, the kind of address (like Reagan’s in 1964 or Obama’s in 2004) that helps make a political future.  Instead, … ugh. The first half was just god-awful, with Jindal reading a decent text about solemn circumstances in a cringe-inducing, almost bouncy tone.  Toward the end things got somewhat better in delivery and content, but on the whole the speech was distinctly unimpressive.  Jindal missed a big opportunity to a make a powerful introduction with a whole lot of curious TV viewers; he’ll need to do a lot better with such opportunities in the future.

No, Bobby Jindal Isn’t Thinking of Running for President in 2012. Really. No, Sir. Why Won’t This Baseless Speculation Just Go Away?

In case you didn’t know, the governor of Louisiana will be giving the Republican response to the not-quite State of the Union speech tonight, attacking President Obama’s various fiscal plans.  Of course, this comes on the heels on Gov. Jindal’s high-profile stand about perhaps declining some of the pork necessary infrastructure and welfare spending that Louisiana is now in line for after the recent passage of the Obama stimulus plan.

On an unrelated note, at www.bobbyjindal.com you can fork over your contact info to receive Bobby Jindal e-mail blasts, mailings, and text messages, and even order Bobby Jindal merchandise.  Strangely, these offerings don’t appear to be limited to residents of (and thus voters in) the State of Louisiana only. Probably just an oversight.

[end of heavy-handed sarcasm]

Not Dead Yet

Jeez, it really has been a while since I made some really substantive updates to this endeavor, hasn’t it?  In spite of that, be assured that this blog is not abandoned, and that I have no intention of doing so.

And what better night to resurrect things here than the night of President Obama’s first State-of-the-Union-that-isn’t-State-the-Union-address.  Thought about doing another CoverItLive blogging fest (like I did for election night) but decided against trying to get people to read/participate on such short notice.  Instead, for tonight let’s just stick with that old, tried-and-true wrap-up at the end of the night formula.

Ugh.

It’s been a miserably packed (and just plain miserable) last few days, professionally and personally.  Hopefully, though, I’ll have some significant time tomorrow to start getting back on things here.  Thanks, yet again, for your patience.

Podcast This Friday

I’ve been pretty much swamped by work and some personal issues over the last couple of months, but I think I’m finally ready and able to get back to tending to this blog in earnest.  Stay tuned for some decent substance posts this week, and (as the title may suggest) a return-in-force coming up on Friday evening.