Wednesday, February 25, 2009

"State of the Union"

A few quick thoughts on the anointed one's speech last night:

1. What is this rhetoric about 'encouraging' or forcing banks to lend? This is what got the financial system in trouble in the first place. Certainly there is an overreaction to the previous promiscuity but advocating marginal lending decisions is not the right prescription.

2. If the government wants to encourage lending so much - perhaps it should buy the operations of a large bank and create the "Third Bank of the United States" - then it can lend to its heart's content? [musing here]

3. Obama's message is unmistakably one of big government and government can and should make many more key decisions. A hallmark of the Democratic Party of the last fifty years. Compare that to Governor Bobby Jindal's subsequent speech which encouraged private initiative.

4. Governor Jindal was good but paled behind the President who addressed Congress with full pomp and ceremony while the Governor had to stand someward awkwardly in front of the camera. It looked odd, think it would have looked better had he had a podium or was sitting behind his desk. I must say the Democrats always put on a better 'show' than the GOP. The Hollywood connections perhaps?

5. Speaker Pelosi must have had her proverbial knickers in a twist given the number of times she leapt to her feat to applaud the Messiah.

6. Poor Joe Biden who had to get out every time Pelosi stood. He looked rather put out. And he looked he had used a lot of Botox.

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