Because the State of the Union aired Tuesday night and I was unavailable to comment, I feel compelled to talk about it, if only because I noticed an odd evolution in our leader's voice.
He's transformed himself from a Commander in Chief, to a fretful parent trying to get you to finish those remaining peas on the plate.
As his voice strained higher - it reminded me of my favorite episode of the Brady Bunch, when Greg urged his family members to put on a show, to help pay for a gift for dad and mom's anniversary. I kept thinking Obama was gunna suggest we break up into small groups, and come up with collages that best express our drive to do better.
Now, this "come on, everyone! Let's put on a play!" may work well in a tree house, where you can fashion old blankets into stage curtains...but in front of the country - it's weird.
Maybe because I think he was trying to convince himself, not just us - that America was great.
Or perhaps he felt he had to prove to us that he really felt that way, even if he didn't.
Or maybe even he was simply exhausted - after years of banging on America's faults - and now it was time to come home and sleep in his own bed.
In the end, the speech wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was a fiery "Eh."
I think he should have kept it fast and simple, like "America rules, now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go to work. And Black Swan was overrated."
To me, confidence isn't built by sixty minutes of earnestness, but by relaxed optimism - made acceptable by an innate trust that you know what's really important in troubled times.
I'm not sure it's solar shingles, or anything to do with Sputnik.
So let me sum up PrezBo's entire speech with this paraphrase--America is a great nation and as Americans we can achieve anything and everything if we really, really want to. And OH--Look -- I found a shiny new quarter.
