Loyal. Opposition.
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Is Obama Speaking Down to the American People or Just Not as Smart as Bush?
Sat. Jan. 30, 10:34am EST
After more than a year of hearing the left crow about how nice it is to have an intelligent president for a change, comes this from the University of Missesota's Smart Politics blog:
However, a Smart Politics analysis of nearly 70 oral State of the Union Addresses since the mid-1930s finds the text of Obama's speech on Wednesday evening to have one of the lowest scores on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test ever recorded by a U.S. President.
The Flesch-Kincaid readability test measures the average grade level needed to read and comprehend a text.
Obama's Flesch-Kincaid grade level score of 8.8 for his first State of the Union Address was the fourth lowest score since FDR's first Address in 1934.
President Bush's average Flesch-Kinkaid grade level score was 10.4.
Thus begging the question: is Obama talking down to the American People or is he just not as smart as George W. Bush?
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2010/01/professor_obama_presidents_sta.php
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Obama's First State of My Union Address
Thu. Jan. 28, 12:50am EST
If there was any doubt about President Obama's arrogance, tonight's State of the Union Speech should lay those doubts to rest.
Obama made it very clear that after electoral defeats in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia; after months of members of Congress from both parties being confronted by angry constituents at town hall meetings, after the complete and utter failure of his stimulus package to keep the unemployment rate from hitting 10%, Mr. Obama stood before the Congress and the American People tonight and told them that they need to stay out of his way.
After a year in office and just a week after a clear repudiation of his agenda by the blue state voters of Massachusetts, Mr. Obama doesn't care if the American people don't like the Democrats' version of health care reform, don't want climate change legislation and don't think he is paying enough attention to our national security.
Even when he lectures the Congress on changing the tone of the political process, he chides the Democrats for not being even more aggressive in ramming their agenda through Congress and takes the Republicans to task for actually trying to have a say in the process. In effect, he told Democrats "you aren't doing what I want you to do" and to the Republicans he said that if you don't see things my way you need to "sit down and shut up." Come to think of it, that pretty well sums up what he said to the Supreme Court as well. I guess Mr. Obama is just not that into the whole separation of powers part of the Constitution.
Tonight we as a nation learned something very important about our president. He really doesn't care what we the people think or want. He is totally unconcerned that we are terrified by his rapid expansion of government, by his out-of-control spending, and by his willingness to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Whether that is to bribe members of Congress, intimidate them or to shut the People out of the process by conducting their business behind closed doors, Mr. Obama is every bit as ruthless as he is arrogant.
Tonight's speech marks the official declaration of the Obama Imperial Presidency.
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Lessons Learned from the Scott Heard 'Round the World: Lesson # 2 Pay Attention to the Voters
If the first and most important lesson from Scott Brown's improbable victory in Massachusetts is elections are about voters and not about candidates, then the second lesson builds on the first.
Lesson # 2: Pay Attention to the Voters
It's not as if the fact that voters are unhappy with the speed and size of Obama and Congress' health care reform efforts is a secret. Remember the spring tea parties? Remember the August recess town halls? Remember the November elections in Virginia and New Jersey? The American people have been making their voices heard for quite some time. Can you hear us now?
The Democratic circular firing squad that has formed over the past couple of days is forgetting one glaringly obvious fact. The Coakley campaign is guilty of nothing more than buying into the administration and DNC's belief that the tea parties and town hall meeting were "astroturfed" and not real. By turning out their Democratic base, the Coakley camp thought she could cruise to victory. Oops.
Yesterday, there were signs that some people might finally be getting the message. And signs that other people are as arrogant as ever. President Obama now appears to think slowing down and shrinking down health care reform might be a good thing. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi think nothing has changed. You want to ask Harry and Nancy, "did either of you watch TV on Tuesday night?"
Here's the thing about voter anger; apathy is much more normal. If everything is ok, then there is no reason to get worked up about anything. It is simply impossible to astroturf the size and scale of voter anger we have been seeing over the past 9 months. If you want to represent the people in any elected office, you need to be paying attention to them.
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Lessons Learned from the Scott Heard 'Round the World--#1 Elections Are About Voters, Not Candidates
Wed. Jan. 20, 08:27am EST
There are many lessons to be learned from Scott Brown's stunning defeat of Martha Coakley in last night's Massachusetts special election. Most of them are of the most basic variety, but as last night's election results show, it is important to start with the basics.
Lesson # 1--Elections are about voters and NOT about candidates.
Martha Coakley thought the election was about her preordination as the heir apparent to Ted Kennedy. President Obama thought the election was about him, Congressional Democrats thought the election was about them. Scott Brown understood that the election was about the people of Massachusetts.
This is the first rule of election politics and it is one of the most forgotten or ignored rules.
Martha Coakley certainly forgot or never even understood this rule when she expressed scorn for Scott Brown's willingness to go out in the cold and meet the voters in front of Fenway Park. It was never exactly clear what repulsed Coakley the most, shaking hands with the people, doing it in the cold, or going to Fenway Park to greet them, but each of those objections exhibited a deadly disdain for the people whose votes she needed. Voters pick up on that.
Likewise when Obama made fun of Scott Brown's pickup truck, he was making fun of a campaign symbol that placed Brown among the people rather than apart from them. Here's a suggestion: guys who ride around in limos and in Air Force One should probably avoid ridiculing folks who drive pickup trucks. There are many more folks driving trucks than riding in limos. Just a little basic campaign math.
As a candidate, It's all about identifying with the voters, or rather inviting the voters to identify with you. That's the thing about our representative form of government. We tend to want the people who represent us to have the same sorts of values we do. We want them to believe in the same sorts of things. We want them to listen to us when we speak.
Turns out that the voters of Massachusetts were frustrated with the way that health care reform was being pushed through the Congress. Only one candidate listened to the voters and said "I hear you." That's the candidate that won last night.
Now it remains to be seen if anyone else in Washington is listening to their voters.
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Judge in Legislator Leave Case has Obvious Conflict of Interest
On Friday Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge granted a restraining order that blocks enforcement of the SBOE policy mandating that legislators employed by the two-year college system use leave time when legislative duties take them away from their jobs.
My question: Why is Judge Hardwick hearing this case? He accepted $1,000 from the AEA in his 2008 re-election campaign, giving the appearance, if not the fact that he has been bought and paid for by the AEA. Hardwick's 10-5 day report for the Nov. 4 election shows a $1,000 donation from A-VOTE on October 8, 2008.
The AEA has been very vocal in its opposition to the SBOE policy. Does anyone think that Hardwick is going to rule any way other than the way AEA wants him to?
I repeat my question. Why is Hardwick hearing this case?
