The Guardian: Obama full of swagger: State of the Union leaves GOP enraged

[DonViejo]

PAUL LEWIS, THE GUARDIAN
21 JAN 2015 AT 09:07 ET

When Barack Obama looked out into the audience of his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, he was met with a truly historic sight. No Democratic president in the last century has addressed a Congress dominated by so many Republican lawmakers.

The last time a US president delivered a State of the Union address in front of such a large number of Republicans was 1930. And that was president Herbert Hoover, a fellow Republican.

Yet anyone who expected Obama to begin his second-to-last year in office by courting the very adversaries he will need to pass any significant legislation – from tax reform to investment in infrastructure – left disappointed.


There was no sign of a president humbled by November’s electoral defeat. On the contrary, Obama seemed impervious to the new political balance of power in Washington, appearing at times to even goad his political enemies.

There were two especially revealing examples of Obama’s defiance, both of them unscripted. The first came after one of his opening lines, when the incoming Republican majority declined to applaud Obama’s praise for the economic recovery.

-snip-

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/obama-full-of-swagger-state-of-the-union-leaves-gop-enraged/

[DetlefK]

1. Re: Sen. Johnson's complaint that Obama isn't trying to work with them...

"“He wasn’t trying to find areas of agreement in genuine fashion,” said Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson. “The speech was partisan in content. The part about working together was hypocritical.”"


And what areas of agreement can the Republicans offer to President Obama?
Taxes? No.
Climate-change? No.
Diplomacy with Cuba and Iran? No.
Immigration? No.

[Terra Alta]

3. Oh, cry me a river, Sen. Johnson.

Did the Repukes in the Senate work with Obama in the past six years? Hell no, they opposed and blocked him at every turn. And now they expect Obama to work with them? I hope he tells them to shove it.

[procon]

4. He was joking, right? Sure, it must have been a bit of satire. LOL

[djean111]

2. Oh, the nauseating irony.......

Obama’s call for trade promotion authority, which would empower the executive to expedite free trade agreements, was the single moment in a 6,000-plus word address that elicited more support from Republicans than Democrats.

“It was wonderful to watch the Republicans up on their feet, hollering and screaming for the president, and all the Democrats sitting there with their arms crossed,” said Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole. “Trade is an area we want to work on with the president. It is an area we worked with Bill Clinton on.”

That fucking "trade" agreement has fuck all, very little, to do with trade. The British are starting to recognise the TTIP for what it is, too - a deregulating corporate coup.
Yes, wonderful indeed.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. +1. nt

[msongs]

7. bragging about transparency while practicing the opposite in real life. what's the word for that? n

[Historic NY]

6. ..

Last edited Thu Jan 22, 2015, 07:13 AM - Edit history (1)