# State of the Union: Obama seals his fate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 26, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014 "2011-01-26T03:25:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/121 "2011-01-26T23:49:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Leaving aside the assumption that the GOP or Democrats are representative of the American political continuum, the problem with this is that I can’t name 3 GOP positions, period. > > The list goes: > > 1. Cut taxes. > 2. Er… I can easily name hundreds of GOP positions. Name any position the Democrats put forward. Use that as a guideline for finding the Republican position and you can always find them on the opposite side. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/122 "2011-01-27T01:00:06Z")
What the hell does it matter what Obama said last night? That was…hours ago! It means nothing…now is now! Like Clinton said…“it depends upons what “is” is”! ---
**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 27, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/123 "2011-01-27T01:05:34Z")
Uh… what? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/124 "2011-01-27T01:12:14Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Maybe I’m cut more from the cloth of Tsongas, I don’t know. Boy, that name takes me back! (I campaigned for Harkin in 1992.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/125 "2011-01-27T01:13:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What the hell does it matter what Obama said last night? > That was..hours ago! It means nothing..now is now! > Like Clinton said..“it depends upons what “is” is”! Is you is, or is you ain’t, my baby? The way you actin’ lately makes me doubt. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Amazing_Hanna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/126 "2011-01-27T01:14:47Z")
I really don’t care about Obama’s fate. I care about the fate of this country. I would vote for anybody with a decent plan for how to tackle them - even Sarah Palin. The Republicans - well, everybody, really - should be thinking hard about how to solve the issues, instead of just opposing everything “the other team’s” President does. Let’s face it, there’s only one team now - Team USA. This isn’t the nineties where we can fool ourselves that every problem will magically take care of itself as soon as Clinton is removed from the Oval Office. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/127 "2011-01-27T02:12:02Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > From where I sit, it’s nice to provide a counterbalance to the blatant idolatry for The Messiah that is regularly on display on the SDMB. Your claims of being a moderate loses some of its credibility when you use phrases such as this. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/128 "2011-01-27T04:50:08Z")
Centrist snobbery, born of the notion that if you are not like that stupid guy nor like that opposite stupid guy, then you must not be stupid. It is the central conceit of the devout non-partisan. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/129 "2011-01-27T04:50:34Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What the hell does it matter what Obama said last night? > That was..hours ago! It means nothing..now is now! > Like Clinton said..“it depends upons what “is” is”! Yeah, what? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/130 "2011-01-27T05:36:08Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Your claims of being a moderate loses some of its credibility when you use phrases such as this. You would benefit from looking at the posts here from an objective viewpoint. Just to cite a very small example, look at how many people put some bastardization of the words Barack Obama in their location field during the election ( **Raven** still has it, I see). People worship the guy, that’s pretty obvious. And that’s fine, despite the fact he’s run us off the cliff financially, after all it’s a free country. But I’m going to call a spade a spade (so to speak). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/131 "2011-01-27T06:10:13Z")
You should probably familiarize yourself with some facts before you spout off nonsense like “he’s run us off the cliff financilaly.” You pretty much make it obvious that you don’t know what you’re talking about and are spouting whatever you heard on Sean Hannity this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/132 "2011-01-27T06:26:01Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > …despite the fact he’s run us off the cliff financially, … Obama did that. All by himself, in two years, with just his little pink paddy paws. Well, that’s one way to look at it. The other is he was elected captain of the Titanic right after it hit the iceberg. “Col. Custer, I’m Major Obama, I’ve been sent to relieve you…” “I told you not to cut the red wire! Jesus, what a mess, looks like a zombie luau…” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/133 "2011-01-27T06:47:14Z")
> [@The\_Amazing\_Hanna](#): > > This isn’t the nineties where we can fool ourselves that every problem will magically take care of itself as soon as Clinton is removed from the Oval Office. Only stupid people believed that in the '90s, and the things that happened in the '90s (the tech and housing bubbles, the festering financial crisis, terrorism, and a host of other things) while people were paying attention to stupid shit are not unconnected from the problems we’re dealing with now. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/134 "2011-01-27T08:16:34Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You would benefit from looking at the posts here from an objective viewpoint. Just to cite a very small example, look at how many people put some bastardization of the words Barack Obama in their location field during the election ( **Raven** still has it, I see). > > People worship the guy, that’s pretty obvious. And that’s fine, despite the fact he’s run us off the cliff financially, after all it’s a free country. But I’m going to call a spade a spade (so to speak). I would argue that the Messiah that ran America off the financial cliff was St. Ronnie. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/135 "2011-01-27T08:46:04Z")
Unless the economy completely stalls between now and election day, Obama’s being re-elected to a second term. As to his SOTU address, it was the standard ‘Ra! Ra! Ra!’ cheerleading and no-way-he-can-keep-them promises that politicians are famous for. I don’t know why anyone expects differently. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/136 "2011-01-27T10:40:08Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > I would argue that the Messiah that ran America off the financial cliff was St. Ronnie. Amen, I’ve never seen so much worship for so one who did so little. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/137 "2011-01-27T14:26:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You should probably familiarize yourself with some facts before you spout off nonsense like “he’s run us off the cliff financilaly.” You pretty much make it obvious that you don’t know what you’re talking about and are spouting whatever you heard on Sean Hannity this afternoon. You are right, **Dio**. I apologize. It’s clear to me by now that the credibility and even-handedness you bring to these discussions only serve to advance the level of discourse. Further, I’m impressed at your ability to stay completely on topic, avoiding all temptation to bury landmines of threadjackiness. You have the rare and uncanny ability to examine all sides of a discussion, from all points of view, and provide witty and germane commentary that illuminates even the densest among us. If anyone at the Straight Dope is listening, I hereby nominate **Diogenes The Cynic** to a moderator position… no, wait, make that: a replacement for Cecil Adams after he finally enters his well-deserved retirement. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/138 "2011-01-27T14:29:03Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > **Brain** , I don’t know many conservatives/tea party types who are pro- Gay marriage/civil unions, pro drug legalization, pro Obama’s approach to ending OIF and OEF asap, pro Defense cuts, and for raising many taxes once the economy has more green shoots (including the gas tax and higher marginal rates). I even thought most of ARRA was a good idea, although many of the specific programs were completely retarded, especially the high-speed rail and green energy claptrap. I’m also a fan of limiting filibusters for Supreme court nominations, something that the GOP used to do (didn’t they approve Ginsburg with something like 90+ votes? And Kennedy ‘borked’ Bork, even though the ABA approved him… IMHO, that’s what started the most recent bad blood between the parties, that and Gore v Bush in 2000) Personally, I don’t think a somewhat-libertarian, mostly-incoherent political philosophy makes one a moderate. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/139 "2011-01-27T16:21:13Z")
This Obama hero worshipping thing is getting old and stupid. Presidents don’t even get a “honeymoon” any more. Obama is getting hammered by lefties and righties every day. He gets pounded by the right wing conservative news and Fox type stations too. Omana was the first black president and many blacks were very excited to see it happen during their lives. They were fired up big time. Now they too are critical. For a short time he was the first black president. Then he became a president and fair game. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014/140 "2011-01-27T17:34:55Z")
Apparently even the Dems are not pleased with Obama’s veto promise: [Cnn link](http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/01/26/sotu.obama.veto/index.html?hpt=Sbin) \*Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, made similar remarks Tuesday when word surfaced that the president would call for an earmark ban. “I think this is an issue that any president would like to have, that takes power away from the legislative branch of government,” Reid told reporters. “I think it’s the wrong thing to do. I don’t think it’s helpful. It’s a lot of pretty talk, but it only gives the president more power. He’s got enough power already.”\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-obama-seals-his-fate/569014.md?page=8)