Well, that was that. the presidents first official State of the Union Address. Time will tell if Congress acts upon his directives. He directly called for Congress to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. He called for Congress to change the way we fund elections. He punted on the environment, but if that is my biggest complaint, then so be it.

I was glad that that he didn't say the 'State of our Union is Strong' -- because it isn't. Instead, he chose these carefully crafted words: These are serious times. We have a serious leader. He has been listening and he has acknowledged that he cannot alone do all of this.

I was inspired when this was said: It's true for both sides of the aisle. everyone was called out on that. But what I found stunning, and jarring was when the President made mention of last weeks SCOTUS ruling. It wasn't what the President said, it was the reaction by Justice Alito.



Protocol is that the Supreme court justices don't even applaud when the President enters the chamber, let alone react like that. They are supposed to sit there -- that is it. It's important as they must at least maintain an air of detachment to political bias. The Supreme Court is supposed to be objective, and a political -- in theory. Alito lost quite a bit of legitimacy last night. This was highly inappropriate of Justice Alito. I suspect that was the 'Joe Wilson' moment of the night, huh? You knew we had to have one, right?

What I found most interesting about this speech was that he talked to Congress as well as to America. This speech was a call to get things done inside Washington as well as beyond the beltway. I am willing to be a part of this. Are you?

and
Raine