What's That Smell?

Again the pundits are calling tonight's State of the Union speech by President Obama, the most important speech of his political life.  Really?  He's already had several do or die speeches, press conferences, etc., and he's just a quarter of the way through his presidency (hopefully).  There's obviously a strong curiosity factor for tonight's speech.  Will he admit his overreach on health care and perhaps other policy areas, pivot, then run to the center?  Or will he take the more likely approach, admitting no false steps of his own, but continue to blame a poorly constructed footpath by Bush, Inc.?  I think whatever the president says tonight will be largely irrelevant.  Why?  Because we already know he has a rocky relationship with the truth.

Whatever the president says tonight will have no more lasting impact or longevity than anything else the man has told us since arriving on the national scene.  His words may be eloquent to some, but they are hollow, effervescent, and immaterial to what he might do tomorrow, next week, or a month from now.  Whatever is politically expedient will be told to us.  Whatever can buy him a few points in the polls (and they are extremely expensive today) will be passed on to us as pearls of wisdom and salve for our pain and suffering.   Blather, blather, blah blah blah.

For those of us on the right, the best that we can hope for from tonight's SOTU is that the president leaves us with something tangible we can work with.  Something easily discernible between moderate Democrats and conservative Republicans that can be crafted and utilized into making American lives better, not more expensive.  Here is another opportunity for the president to communicate clearly where he wants to take America.  Let's see if he has learned anything in the last week or two.  If not, you can expect a popcorn fart of speech and a lingering odor of failure as he departs the podium.