# SOTU address Tuesday 01/20/15 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 19, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311 "2015-01-19T20:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/21 "2015-01-21T03:30:32Z")
Joni Ernst: I’m watching it too. Painful. ETA: Blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah blah blah, blah blah. The most wooden political speech I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/22 "2015-01-21T03:32:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “I know, because I won both of 'em.” > > Out of the **park!** 😃 Yeah…Even as a conservative, I had to like that one. A great response to the heckling, and he played it well… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/23 "2015-01-21T03:33:29Z")
“You’ll see a lot of more important work in this new Congress.” [sigh] Joni/GOP, I wish I could you believe you this time, I really, really do. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/24 "2015-01-21T03:35:57Z")
The way she stares into the camera, she’s really giving Michele Bachmann a run for her money. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/25 "2015-01-21T03:36:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Joni Ernst: I’m watching it too. > > Painful. > > ETA: Blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah blah blah, blah blah. > > The most wooden political speech I’ve ever seen. Oh, good fuck, some intern wrote that three days ago. It’s okay, Joni. Just do what the men in the GOP tell ya ta do. It worked for Palin and Bachmann, you betcha! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/26 "2015-01-21T03:44:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The most wooden political speech I’ve ever seen. SIR BEDEVERE: And therefore? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/27 "2015-01-21T03:48:42Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Joni Ernst: I’m watching it too. > > Painful. > > ETA: Blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah blah blah, blah blah. > > The most wooden political speech I’ve ever seen. I was going to force myself to listen to the whole thing, but when she referred to the ACA as a “failed policy” about three minutes in, there wasn’t much point in going further. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/28 "2015-01-21T03:50:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > SIR BEDEVERE: And therefore? Burn her! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/29 "2015-01-21T04:05:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “You’ll see a lot of more important work in this new Congress.” > > [sigh] Joni/GOP, I wish I could you believe you this time, I really, really do. ☹ Believe her-It’s not like they could do any _less_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/30 "2015-01-21T04:50:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You’re the one that said this would start with hammering out drinking game rules. 😃 _hic_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/31 "2015-01-21T04:52:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Burn her! It’s a fair cop . . . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/32 "2015-01-21T18:22:42Z")
[Complete transcript of 2015 SOTU address.](http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378680818/transcript-president-obamas-state-of-the-union-address) Highlights: Obama promises to veto any bill that would repeal the ACA, repeal the new Wall Street rules, or “refight past battles on immigration.” Proposes a budget that will lower middle-class taxes and allow tax credits for costs of children’s medical care. Asks Congress to pass a paid-sick-leave bill. Asks Congress to pass an equal-pay-for-women law. Asks for a higher minimum wage (amount not specified). Asks Congress to authorize free community college. Calls for a “bipartisan infrastructure plan” to upgrade America’s ports, bridges, etc. Asks for “trade promotion authority.” Announces a new Precision Medicine Initiative, which appears to be mostly about funding new medical research. Promises to “protect a free and open Internet.” Calls on Congress to close tax loopholes regarding outsourcing/offshoring. Asks for an AUMF against ISIL. Calls on Congress to end the embargo on Cuba. Promises to continue negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program, and to veto any bill imposing new sanctions. Asks Congress to pass legislation to stop cyber-attacks and identity theft. Discusses his Admin’s efforts to combat global warming, including deal with China; promises he will not let Congress “turn back the clock” on that. Says he is determined to shut down Gitmo. Concludes by generally calling for a “better politics” where “we appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.” ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/33 "2015-01-21T20:30:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Asks Congress to pass an equal-pay-for-women law. > > Calls for a “bipartisan infrastructure plan” to upgrade America’s ports, bridges, etc. “Equal pay for equal work for women” could be a problem in that they would need to define “equal” work. Should the minimum-per-game WNBA wage be the same as the minimum-per-game NBA wage? IIRC, the guaranteed minimum NBA per-game salary is more than twice the _maximum_ (as agreed by the WNBA Players Association) per-game WNBA wage. In the past, the demand has been “equal pay for comparable work”, but again, there’s no definition of “comparable” or even who gets to determine what comparable work is. As for the infrastructure plan, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one get through Congress, but only if it includes Keystone XL authorization. Then it will be up to Obama to decide just how much he wants to “compromise”. (My guess; if he feels that it’s a choice between this and “no infrastructure bill, period,” then he’ll sign it.) Hopefully, the Republicans won’t do something stupid like attach a repeal of ACA to it, although I don’t think it would get past a Democratic Senate filibuster if it did. Besides, they need to save the shenanigans for 2016, when they need to make Obama (and, by association, the Democratic Presidential nominee) look bad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/34 "2015-01-21T22:31:39Z")
Equal pay legislation put forward in Congress generally excludes unionized employers and state agencies. It also usually exempts “highly compensated” employees, like most employment legislation. So the NBA and WNBA shouldn’t be affected in theory. I thought Obama did okay. It was no “A More Perfect Union”. My wife (who is not political, just very annoyed at Republicans these days) was practically jumping up and down, though. Ernst was bad, but she was _superb_ if you compare her to Rubio and Jindal. I didn’t see her go for the off-screen water once. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/35 "2015-01-22T04:03:05Z")
[Here’s the most important thing about this SOTU address, I think.](http://www.salon.com/2015/01/21/bye_bye_reagan_conservatism_why_obamas_speech_was_more_significant_than_it_seems/) > [@](#): > > But as much as the president’s address was characterized by a growing economy finally giving him a chance to say what he’d like to do with the fruits of his labor, the synoptic nature of the speech was also a consequence of Obama’s well-known preference for thinking about the “long game.” For the first time in more than six years, he had an opportunity to boast of changing the “trajectory” of the country like few presidents before him and none since Ronald Reagan. Crucially, he could do so while pointing to benefits that were tangible in the here and now, rather than being likely to occur in the indeterminate future, as has often been the case. He seized the opportunity, and made his case for what it would mean to be a citizen in the United States that Barack Obama helped make. > > It sounds, I know, remarkably ambitious — even hubristic. Still, it’s a goal Obama’s never been particularly hesitant to share, despite the fact that his moderate demeanor and often self-consciously centrist policies don’t fit our expectations for how a guy trying to “fundamentally transform” a superpower acts. But when Obama talks about the long game, worrying less about whether a policy is a half loaf or a quarter loaf and looking instead at whether it pushes the political mainstream in his preferred direction is part of what he means. As an example, here’s how he put it in a press conference in 2010, defending his decision to agree to a temporary extension of George W. Bush’s high-income tax cuts: “Not everybody agrees with [liberals] … And so my job is to make sure that we have a North Star out there.” > > “My question is,” he continued, “does it make sense for me to tack a little bit this way, or tack a little bit that way, because I’m keeping my eye on the long term, and the long fight?” > > \ > > In the end, pushing the “supertanker” that is the U.S. government in a leftward direction, making sure its trajectory now bends away from a reflexive, Reaganite distrust and antipathy for the welfare state, has always been President Obama’s No. 1 goal. It’s what informed most of his most consequential decisions, from accepting a profoundly flawed and unsatisfying healthcare reform, to watered-down Wall Street reform, to self-defeating short-term austerity, and so on. On Tuesday night, for one of the very first times, he was able to tell the American people that following a new North Star had taken them to friendlier waters. Through that lens, however Hillary Clinton decides to run her likely presidential campaign is but a minor part of the equation. Put that way . . . Wow. Just, wow. Critiquing Obama from a decent LW perspective, I have often found him wanting. Why didn’t he demand a “public option” in the ACA?! Why didn’t he prosecute the Wall Street malefactors?! Why the indefinite detentions and drone-strikes?! But this explains a **lot.** Sometimes “the art of the possible” that is politics finds a truly great artist. I recall some pundits early in this Admin asking whether Obama was just flailing or “playing some seven-dimensional game of chess only he understands.” Well. There, above, is your seven-dimensional chess game, and Obama is **winning** it, which means **we the people** are winning it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311/36 "2015-01-22T04:04:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > My wife (who is not political, just very annoyed at Republicans these days) was practically jumping up and down, though. Because of the equal-pay-for-women thing, or something else? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sotu-address-tuesday-01-20-15/710311.md?page=1)