State of the Union 2011

I really enjoyed the State of the Union address.  It was solid and there was lots of comedy.  President Obama's entrance was WWF-esque, not quite as good as the Rock's but definitely better than Chris Masters's.  Bill Livingood did a great job channeling Howard Finkel in his "The President of the United States!" intro.  He just yelled across the House chamber without a microphone.  I was shocked.  I've never seen this part before and I loved it.  Then, the Prez came out and greeted all his fans.  I would have liked a little entrance music.  Something like Hulk Hogan's.  Obama's handshakes really had some authority on them.  I thought he was going to bust out a multi-part handshake with Hillary Clinton like they were Will Smith and Jazz.  He even pointed out that somebody shaved their beard.  It was fabulous.

The speech was pretty standard.  Way too much clapping.  Maybe it's like the game where you yell "penis" as loud as you can, only who can start a clap at the most inappropriate time.  Somebody started clapping after the President mentioned Facebook.  It didn't get very far.  Applause is like tattoos on the ladies.  If there's too much, it loses the effect.  And really, the ovations had the enthusiasm of someone rooting for a handicapped kid in a Little League game.  Put a little effort into it, guys.  I liked when the camera would cut away to a random person in the audience and for some reason CNN didn't put their name on the screen.  I know who John McCain is and all, but I don't watch C-SPAN on a regular basis.  Give me a little info.  The best cut was after the President said he wanted to "out-innovate the rest of the world" and then some Asian guy pops up on the screen.  Classic.  Joe Biden was also riveting.  I am fascinated by his giant teeth.  He might be the perfect Vice President.

I thought Obama was great.  I agreed with everything he said.  He talked about what people wanted and needed to hear although sometimes he goes a little too far talking about bipartisanship.  He's kind of like a mom telling her kid about how great sharing is.  "You just gave your toy to Timmy.  Doesn't it feel great!"  "You're sitting next to a Democrat.  Doesn't it feel great!"  It's not his fault that half of Congress are idiots and would rather vote with their political party than do the right thing.  Obama takes a lot of criticism but I still think he's the best person to run this country.  He may not be assertive enough, but the country's in a tough spot and any President now would be having a tough time.  Obama is a very smart person and it doesn't matter if you're running a gas station or a country, you want a smart person in charge.  He will adapt and figure it out.  3 Stars.