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Grading SOTU: Post-SOTU Open thread

By Jeralyn

For the most part, I thought President Obama's State of the Union address was excellent. The TL kid and I decided we'll give the President an A and the speech an A-. (Update: CBS poll: 83% of Americans approve the proposals in the speech)

The reasons the speech isn't getting an A: His reference to:

• Allowing (only)those who "play by the rules" to contribute
• "Those who obey the law should be protected by the law." Everyone should be protected.
• No commitment to closing Guantanamo and repatriating those who haven't been charged
• No commitment to criminal justice reform
• Vague on intentions for social security

Obama gets an "A" because of the leadership he displayed, his passion in delivering the speech and the confidence he inspired in us. We think our Government is in good hands.

How would you score the speech and the President?

Update: Best lines:

America must always stand on the side of freedom and human dignity.

and

We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment – to start anew

and

We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August. ... make no mistake: this war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.

Worst lines:

...the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else.(my emphasis)

and

And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system – to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations. (my emphasis)

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 27, 2010 (boomark / email).