I only listened to a little bit of Obama's speech. It's a fine speech, if you hadn't lived through the last four years. He makes the case for doing things that he didn't do in his first term and takes credit for achievements his administration actively sought to prevent. For example, reduced dependence on foreign oil came about due to U.S. drilling on private lands and the use of fracking; all while his administration closed off new drilling on public lands and sought new regulation on fracking. The disconnect from reality is stark. He claims he will magically create new manufacturing jobs and raise fuel standards, by the mere stroke of his pen. At what cost to the rest of the economy and by what means is not his concern. His speech is filled with a firm belief that government can solve every problem, despite his protest that it cannot; when the size and scope of government are the actual problems. The regulation he champions has neither helped main street nor tamed Wall Street, but has left all of us with the tab for Too Big To Fail. And government itself, by becoming too big, will fail too, if Obama gets a second term.He offers a vision of dependency on a government. I believe that we the people aren't interested in a life where government solves our every problem; because they are wise enough to know that isn't possible, courageous enough to take responsibility for their own success and ingenious enough to meet their own challenges. No one is proposing ending the safety net or eliminating all regulation as he suggests, we merely suggest that net has become too heavy to be of much use and that his regulators have been captured by the regulated.
So put aside the fantasy of his speech and ask yourself if he has made America better off with his time in office. Has he kept his promises to bring a new tone to Washington? Has he focused on growing the economy? Have his regulations and laws helped the insurers, hospitals, drug companies and Wall Street or have they helped the middle class? Was the auto bailout accomplished legally? Did he back his cronies with stimulus cash? Did Brian Terry die because of guns his AG let walk to Mexico? Are a greater percentage of Americans working? Judge Obama by his deeds, not by the lofty fantasy he delivered tonight.
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The speech seems to have fallen flat. It's getting panned pretty much all over. As for the employment numbers, I doubt that will get much play. Instead, people will hear that the unemployment rate went down and think things are getting better.
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