You all know me as a critic of this president. About that speech he just gave . . . .

You could have kept that to yourself but you didn't. You stepped up in a big way.

his actions, or lack thereof - not his speeches - are the problem IMO.

I am fucking sick of all the I don't get my pony people

Jesus

go fucking vote for newty/romney then

not even trying to fight for single payer for us. yeah - i indeed have problems with his actions. your remark about voting for romney/newt was uncalled for.

than him, though as the Captain of the ship, the Dems in Congress do look to him for leadership and guidance and they got precious little of either. I will, of course, vote for him, because the alternative is worse, but he hasn't been great. I hope that without the need to campaign for a second term, he will decide to go for a more liberal legacy.

Oh, and BTW, the pony canard is old, old and old. That poor beast is glue. Retire him please.

Going after the Taliban, escalating in Afghanistan, deficit reduction.

not good enough IMO - but it's the so called "choice" we are given.

2 parties - when both are pro-corporate - isn't much of a choice. The Dems are better - but by how much?

Dems=Repubs?

Do you support the Greens or who?

How about SCOTUS?

I suspect you're thinking about how great Teddy did so many years ago, and you're right, it wasn't as good as Teddy's, BUT you must also consider that Teddy had a congress that was on HIS SIDE! I think our Pressident was as strong as he felt he could be at this point in time, and hope to get reelected and get a cooperative congress too. What a dream that would be!

I would say "right" full stop there, but, he's wrong, on that count. Plus, I don't see him attacking Iran unless the circumstances were extraordinary, and give it about a 40% chance (any Republican gives us a 100% chance). So I suppose saying 'center' right on Iran/Isreal is true.

Fracking talk, disliked it a lot, but the renewable energy infrastructure people love it, so, there's sort of a big internal conflict with environmentalists on that issue (gas is lower emission, does really good for peaking or standby at high efficiency for intermittent renewables). He's on the center on this issue, center-right is arguable, but only if you discount the pro-nat-gas environment policy proposals.

Taxes is a mixed bag, people will argue that he's being right wing on it, but "bringing jobs back" is a very progressive idea, bringing jobs back and tax breaks for doing so, it's hard to see how that is even a right wing view. Since he was saying that we needed to end the Bush tax cuts, it's clear that he's really more center-left on that issue, but it will be argued the other way, for sure.

Otherwise the rest of the talk was quite center-left, which is not what I perceived from Obama in 2008.

he is finding ways to take some of the steps needed rights straight from the White House. No need to wait for the support of Congress.

He is finding constitutional ways to circumvent the do-nothing Congress. I think Congress will want to support him rather than be left behind.

cause very often his speeches rock but his actions don't. i certainly won't be voting repub so i hope during his second term he stands up to the assholes in congress at every opportunity.

However, this one does sound like it was a barn burner and despite the likelihood of little of it actually coming to fruition, it did make the Republicant's pissy, in real time! I don't mind that one whit. Luckily, the intertubes will allow me to enjoy their discomfiture at my leisure.

we've all been thinking that for a long time.

Hope it defines his administration's policies over the next five years.

Now, step two. Do the things we've been asking for. Captain the Congress ship into smarter waters. Ditch the teabaggers and GET IT DONE!

But what I did hear was very good.

His voice doesn't make my ears bleed like his predecessor's did and while I've learned to wait and see what he does rather than what he says, it sounds like this one was fun if for no other reason than to watch the Republican's recognize their inevitable defeat this fall.