The State of the Union — Obama makes his case

President Barack Obama presented his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress tonight. The speech, which many see as his chance to reposition himself in the presidential election, centered on economic fairness. Give us your reactions.

President Obama’s State of the Union address lasted more than an hour, just like Bill Clinton’s used to.

Journalists facing deadlines (or having midnight reservations at their favorite Georgetown restaurant) just hate long speeches by presidents with approval ratings that are under 50 percent.

But in polls the next day, Americans often seem to like them just fine.

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Just in case you didn’t have time to watch the whole thing, here is gist of the President’s speech, summed up in five bullet points:

1) Did I mention that I got Osama bin-Laden? He’s totally dead now. So are a lot of his pals.

2) Warren Buffett’s secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does, and Warren (who is as smart as he is rich) thinks that’s wrong. So do I. Make the Buffett Principle our Prime Directive for tax policy.

3) I love businesspeople. I really do. Particularly the ones with “tech” and “green” in their corporate names. I want to shower them with tax breaks and investments. It’s just bankers that I hate.

4) That recession hit BEFORE I took this job. You know that, right? You’re clear on that?  Now, I’ve got tons of ideas to help you keep your home, educate your kids and find a job – but the darn Republicans in Congress just want to cut taxes on the wealthy.

5) America’s fighting men and women (who, by the way, helped me get Osama bin-Laden) are really, really great. Why can’t Congress be more like them?

Here’s a similar summary of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ reply for the GOP opposition:

1) Republicans are both patriotic and loyal, and all this stuff about us being nakedly partisan and nasty is nonsense. Just look at me: I’m everyone’s favorite uncle.

2) President Obama is sincere, but he’s just totally wrong about everything.

3) The thing he’s most wrong about is that governmental deficit spending will fix the economy. He’s turning us into Greece.

4) Governments don’t create jobs. Capitalists do. Get the heck out of their way.

5) Any government that tells you which light bulb you must buy is not to be trusted.

Now, if you watched the speeches, you know they contained a lot more detail and many, many policy ideas. What did you think?

Give us your reactions inthe comments below.

Below is an archive of our tweeting, and a bunch of other sources’ tweets, during the two addresses.

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