The State of the Union speech tonight that has now been leaked in some detail to the press is mostly an effort to try to turn around the polls, which show that the public does not approve of a single part of the Administration's agenda and that the public thinks the stimulus package was just money wasted.
But, the real problem is the economy. While the President will pay lip service to the economy and will discuss a handful of incredibly tiny and narrow proposals that he says will create jobs, the overall thrust of the President's agenda is to hammer down hard on the economy, demonize business folks, discourage business activity, raise taxes, and prohibit the free market from doing what it does best -- recover.
The Administration is now forecasting 10 percent unemployment by year end! That forecast and no plan of action! One can only conclude that the President just doesn't understand the economy, doesn't think that unemployment is really an important issue, and that words mean more than actions.
The other important area where the polls show that voters are concerned is the enormous Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree. Unless there is some other plan, even the CBO admits that the nation is headed for bankruptcy (The CBO, the Democratically controlled Congressional Budget Office describes this as an "unsustainable budget path" -- code words for an impending national bankruptcy). What does Obama propose -- a commission! This is laughable. As if everyone on the planet (except the President, I suppose) is not already aware that unless you are going to tackle the entitlements, the country's fiscal situation is not fixable). Prohibiting bonuses to White House executives saves 0.00001 percent of the budget. Thanks, Mr. President. As the Wall Street Journal noted today, this is the "politics of gesture."
With the economy tanking and the country facing prospective bankruptcy, the President blissfully wanders along the left bank in a world of unreality. Not only is the President's agenda opposed by the American public, but many of his own supporters and the media that has supported the President are beginning to raise the competence issue. Does this President really understand or relate to the important economic issues that face the country?
Tonight looks more like politics as usual as opposed to anything presidential.
