Annotated paraphrase of this year's SOTU--the faint-hearted shouldn't read the most irreverent notes.

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Courtesy of Google.

The first time I watched a session of the UK parliament on television, I marveled at how physically fit they all were in the House of Commons, bobbing up and down like the pegs in that children's game: smash one and another pops up.

Audiences of the SOTU don't pop up and down that often. They stand for longer times. But there wasn't that much standing at this year's SOTU. And I heard a few BOO's also, one the last sound before the president began his speech.   

Then, up above the prez for some reason, the VP and Speaker of the House sit looking down on him--God and the devil? So it seemed this evening as Biden got full camera while only the far right of Boehner's visage was apparent, a slice. No symmetry there or in Congress. A microcosm perhaps. I studied camera foci as much as I listened to Obama's plea for four more years or, as the ABC commentators said, his response to three months of Republican campaign attacks.   

I heard Diane Sawyer's count of nine months and three days until Election Day and I couldn't help but think of another greater speech that began with "Four score and seven years." Indeed Obama did hearken back to at least one distinguished Republican, Abe Lincoln. Oh, come on. Lincoln's statue would shatter at that parallel. Speak softly, Bar. 

Other pre-SOTU thoughts from Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos: two-thirds of the country don't believe that things in this country are getting better. Congress is as divided as we've ever seen it. But how Gabrielle Giffords has twice brought together Congress as a unit, as if it were a unit, as the Senate marched into the chamber in a single clump tonight. Can't something less drastic than fatal gunfire create nonpartisanship, patriotism? 

Boehmer hadn't spoken to Obama in a month, we were further told; the prez has a score of 54 percent favorability, an achievement that has crept up slowly from the doldrums of--I'm not sure how low a score, but low. And how many incumbents have regained their seats after this pattern? I don't know, but with one open-marriage nut running against a tax evader and outsourcer, stranger things have happened than the incumbent kept. Surely we've chosen the lesser of two evils before. Last time we got whom we wanted, but the two previous times the "worst man won." So "lesser of two evils" is the trope of our times, perhaps. 

I don't mean to diminish the speech itself, which was filled with effective anaphorae like "Send me a bill for _____ and I'll sign it." And lots of occurrences of "fair" and "share" and even an echo of a time long gone, something akin to "Yes, we can." That means it's campaign time again. 

The camera crew denied us the real show by hiding all but an expressionless slice of Boehner's face. Those shots of Cheney sitting next to Nancy Pelosi were priceless from 2006 and 2007.   

The SOTU described, despite those 66.6% of little faith, how rosy things really are and how the best is yet to come:   

For the first time in nine years the U.S. is out of Iraq, completely out. (Think not of how many died, but how many survived);   

The twenty-year threat of bin Laden is now over (thirty years ago we were friends, though);   

Some troops have returned from Afghanistan, more will return next summer, and think how much money we will be saving; that poor war-shredded country will no longer be a haven for our enemies (forget how much we spent--it wasn't in the budget anyway);   

Our military have exceeded all of our expectations. If we follow their example, we'll learn a lot (no wise cracks, but you know what I'm thinking--all that weaponry that didn't go unused). Tuck this in; the theme returns).   

Here's what we can do: lead the world again in education, high-paying jobs, an economy built to last, rewards for hard work. We can do this. (not "yes, we can!!")   

Consider the twentieth century, a great time when we triumphed over the Great Depression and Fascism. Thence was born the American dream: house, kids, two-car garage, picket fence, mortgage, car loan (desperate housewives?)   

WE MUST BRING BACK THE AMERICAN DREAM! No more failure for many and success reserved for a few (Right, Boehner? Couldn't see his face).   

Remember the huge CRASH in 2008 (that's when I was elected)?    

Banks' gambles didn't pay off--we bailed them out and now they can pay us back with a small fee charged to them for each--(I forget what, but something that will benefit the rest of us)   

There is a division between the District and the rest of the country. And get this: SEND ME A BILL TO BAN INSIDER TRADING IN CONGRESS AND I'LL SIGN IT! (Oh. My. God.)   

We've got to separate lobbyists from donations. That is, lobbyists shouldn't bribe and political donations shouldn't be bribes. (something like that. Uh, run that by again?)   

Criticism of Congress (Boehner, please stop cussing me out back there. Let's be friends);   

Criticism of the executive branch: outdated, remote, watch me slim down the bureaucracy and consolidate all those redundant agencies in five different departments, fr'instance. LET US END MUTUAL DESTRUCTION AND BUILD CONSENSUS (he does endorse free trade later on, which gains a camera shot of the whole Boehner, briefly) 

To quote Lincoln, the government should do for the people only what the people can't do for themselves (Did I get that right? Thunderous applause from below--Lincoln was a Republican! What's in a name?)   

We can make progress in nonpartisanship. WE MUST ACT TOGETHER (camera on Mitch McConnell, expressionless, still as stone, no pop-up peg) 

Let's get rid of Assad (reluctant applause from Boehner).   

And then the camera fixed squarely on Lieberman as the subject of IRAN was broached. The world has come together. We will not step down from those crippling sanctions (cripple Achmedinejad, not the poor people). Peace is still an option (Will there be anybody left?) (Eric Cantor, who has been photographed dry as cement a few times, now applauds.)   

Our oldest alliances are stronger. (Now camera is on grinning Chuck Schumer) We have the closest military involvement ever with Israel; relations with Burma are improving.  

AMERICA IS BACK! WE'RE NOT IN DECLINE!!   (standing ovation for a few seconds)   

The U.S. is an indispensable nation in the realm of world affairs (too many people have died, haven't they?)

We will save half a trillion dollars and still have a wonderful military   . . . 

And then, And then, "FREEDOM ENDURES BECAUSE OF THE MILITARY! (Boehner stands up and applauds--that was worth it)   

Now it is our turn to serve them. Annual V.A. allocations have risen each year of O's administration. New tax breaks will be awarded to firms that hire veterans (the ones who are still functional)   

We will hire new cops and firefighters--veterans will be great for those jobs (Yoo hoo, GI Bill, where are you? $74,000 a year tuition? We will have saved half a trillion clams, don't forget!)

Again, we can learn from the military; they do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed or gender (sorry, there is sexism, bad sexism--pardon my irreverence);

They look out for each other (agreed)

One of his most prized possessions is a flag given to him by one of the Navy Seals who killed bin Laden. Watching that mission go forward, he sat in between Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton (did Hillary stop applauding long enough to shake hands with Bar? Did he slip more asides to Bill than her? Gates, that is.)   

The mission succeeded because each unit of it trusted each other (and they all blamed 9/11 on bin Laden--again, pardon my irreverence)   

Our destiny (both Republican and Democratic as well as Independent etc.) is stitched together like the fifty stars and thirteen stripes (there's a statistic! Don't lose it! But flags are mass-produced today, Bar. Betsy Ross died a while ago.)

THERE IS NO CHALLENGE TOO GREAT! LET US JOIN IN OUR COMMON PURPOSE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. AMERICA WILL ALWAYS BE STRONG! ANYONE WHO TELLS YOU OTHERWISE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT! (anyone specific in mind? Evidently not a woman, not even Bachman. Oh, that's the generic "he").

I twisted things around a bit; the president did not end with a negative. That was just close to the end. Please don't fault me if I haven't quoted verbatim--that's a disclaimer. I did my best. It's been a long day.   

I listened to a few Democratic criticisms and then turned off the tube before the Republicans could charge. I'd seen enough of them.

First, the decision to allow young illegal immigrants to stay and thrive and then lock the border in stone comes a bit late (he wouldn't be campaigning, would he?). 

Then, a speech about everything is a speech about nothing.

And then, Obama's ratings went up a bit during the speech. And then, we'll have to choose between a cultural populist and an economic populist (Who might they be?).

Commented Diane Sawyer, "One hour and five minutes" (not four score and seven years, by a long shot).

( c )

Authors Website: http://www.wordsunltd.com

Authors Bio:

Marta Steele is an author/editor/blogger who has been writing for Opednews.com since 2006. She is also author of the 2012 book "Grassroots, Geeks, Pros, and Pols: The Election Integrity Movement's Nonstop Battle to Win Back the People's Vote, 2000-2008" (Columbus, Free Press) and a member of the Election Integrity movement since 2001. Her original website, WordsUnLtd.com, first entered the blogosphere in 2003. She recently became a senior editor for Opednews.com. She has in the past taught college and worked as a full-time as well as freelance reporter. She has been a peace and election integrity activist since 1999. Her undergraduate and graduate educational background are in Spanish, classical philology, and historical and comparative linguistics. Her biography is most recently listed in "Who's Who in America" 2019 and in 2018 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Who's Who.