My Synopsis of President Obama's Speech to Congress

It was not a State of the Union but it sure felt like one.

Overall Grade: A-

Dedicated Proper Time to Pertinent Areas:A

95% of his time was spent on the largest concern in our country today, the economy. At the end, he mentioned some additional initiatives such as defense and terrorism. This was a stark contrast to Bush who seemed to be transfixed on The War Against Terror during his presidency. As recently as President Bush's last State of the Union, even as the wheels had come off the economy, he still not only mentioned defense first, but spent the majority of his time on the subject.

Had a Detalied Plan: B

He broke down three areas of spending which he felt were key to reboosting our country back to its rightful place as the leader of the freeworld (not that i think anyone has taken our place, but its like a race that we should be winning by a mile and are only barely winning). 1)Healthcare 2)Education 3)Energry Efficency. While you could argue he was not specific enough, I would argue that it is not his job to have all of the details. He essentially gave congress an outline for what he would like to see in the bill that ultimately must come from congress

Tone: A+

President Obama's tone was very different from two weeks ago, perahps on purpose. He used fear to emphasize the importance of getting the stimulus passed quickly. The market did not like this. Many people felt that he was not optimistic enough, however, you can't understate our current problem. It truly is the perfect storm. Many people have compared the current environment to the great depression, however the japense credit, banking, and real estate bubble of the 80's is far more similar. It is now 20 years later and their market still has not recovered.

Now that the bill has been passed, he used optimism to let america know its going to be okay. I can honestly say that i haven't fel that good about our country in quite sometime. There was on tone of uncertainty or confusion, everything was in the simple context of "We Will". Well the naysayers will say that his message of hope is just words, please remember, perception becomes reality. When people beleive we are in a recession, the Pavlovian response is to stop spending, whether we are or aren't in one. It is good to finally here someone say that the economy will recover. The president was positive and reassuring in tone but also "kept it real", its going to take time and recovery may not be right around the corner, but we will recover.

Attempt to reach across the aisle: B

Still needs work, but is light years ahead of Bush on this one, just look at his cabinet. There is republican representation, how much did Bush have. This doesn't count all the members who resigend over the years. You could get a full court pick up with all of the guys that left his cabinet, it was like a revolving door. Whether Obama gains Republican consensus is irrelevant right now, because when you have the majority in the house and you're the president, its your playbook.... at least till 2010.

My #1 Concern: B

I will start him out here on this one b/c it remains to be seen on this one. He is trying to tackle a multitude of different issues. My concern is that he will become the Jimmy Carter of the 21st centruy: Too Unfocussed On Too Many Different Issues to Be Effective. The likelihood of solving our economic problem while also creating universal healthcare and energy independence is very slim. However, as a mentor once told me, if you're gonna swing you might as well swing for fastballs.