Sit Down, Stand Up, Walk Into the Jaws of Hell

Last night marked President Obama's first State of the Union address. Videographer/photographer Blake Hawk and I went downtown to the Main Street District to a little place called Mixx Ultra Lounge.

The event was hosted by the local Young Democrats and members from the democratic group Organizing for America. A little disappointing with the show up, but I heard that the season premier or finale of Lost was also on.

But what happened last night wasn't anything special. It was somewhat inspiring, but, if you go back and read the transcript, a lot of what he said were things he said during his speeches when he was on the campaign trail. Americans are "hopeful." But hopeful maybe for change in Washington -- maybe Obama has given American people the motivation to move faster than even he can.

Let's get something straight, though. Obama's been in office for just about one year. He's seen Kennedyesque approval and eventually ended up being lambasted by the extreme right- and left-wingers. But now, after his address, he called out everyone. Democrat, Republican and Supreme Court justices were all mentioned. But he also took some of the blame himself, regardless of the situation of the economy and the war when he was sworn in last year.

Analysts say he appealed to both parties. But, what remains to be seen is whether it's middle-of-the-road politics or if it's bipartisanism. Research on clean coal has shown that the only thing really "clean" about it is the way it's mined -- not the way it's burned. Offshore oil rigs, tax cuts, redistributing payback dollars from big banks and helping college students.

But this country isn't his. The entire "holding up" of legislation could potentially put a dent in his agenda or even force certain areas to crumble into a version that's "bipartisan" but not even close to what he said. It's reform, sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's what he said. Maybe that's why he called it "reform" in the first place.

He's got his work cut out for him. I heard someone on the radio call the State of the Address a "laundry list." It's a little more important than that, though, because, sir, this is actually a "how to make good on the impossible" list.

-Gin