To get a good feel for how the Left is thinking, I check in with The Nation. These folks haven’t been happy with President Obama for a while now and, according to this blog about the SOTU speech by Leslie Savan, last night’s speech did nothing to reinvigorate the Left. The across-the-aisle seating plan, however, seems to be the crowning achievement of the night for Savan. (emphasis is mine)
Even if poor Boehner almost stole the show, the much-vaunted mingling had a huge effect: It made support for Obama look unanimous. Because people who remain silent won’t be heard, when only Democrats applauded, it sounded as if the whole room applauded. And because people sitting won’t be seen in a standing crowd, when only Democrats stood, it looked as if the whole room was standing to cheer the president.
His speech, too, seemed mingled, without highs and lows, mixed so thoroughly that it was flat. Optimistic but flat.
Maybe I feel that way because the White House had forgotten to lower expectations. Howard Dean read the speech beforehand and said, “I’m jubilant about what the president is going to say.”
Still, Republicans have little in the speech to complain about. As Lawrence O’Donnell said, “Republicans should be pleased–it said nothing.”
The soaring oratory of the 2008 campaign and early months of the administration is gone. What’s left is the reality of this administration’s many poor policy choices that have bloated government, crushed economic growth, and created a huge block of the long-term unemployed — all of it now enshrined in a nearly $14 trillion dollar debt. Sad for us all.
