That's Life

Leave it to the genius of Mark Steyn to invoke Frank Sinatra in his reading of President Obama's SOTU address.

First Steyn quotes Obama :

"They have done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility. And they have done so in the midst of war and depression; at moments of great strife and great struggle.

It’s tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable — that America was always destined to succeed. But when the Union was turned back at Bull Run and the Allies first landed at Omaha Beach, victory was very much in doubt. When the market crashed on Black Tuesday and civil-rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday, the future was anything but certain. These were times that tested the courage of our convictions, and the strength of our union. And despite all our divisions and disagreements; our hesitations and our fears; America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation, and one people."

Then Steyn comments :

"It sounds like an all-purpose speech for President Anyone: We've met here in good times and bad, war and peace, prosperity and depression, Shrove Tuesday and Super Bowl Sunday, riding high in April, shot down in May. We've been up and down and over and out and I know one thing. Each time we find ourselves flat on our face, we pick ourselves up and get back in the race. That's life, pause for applause . . ."

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGQyYzZlNTY2MTdjZWZhNTU0ZGE4NTNmZGRlZDRkZWQ=

George Will makes a few observations about the liberal ideology behind Obama's speech.

"It (a stimulus) will inject into the economy money that government siphons from the economy, thereby somehow creating jobs. And you thought alchemy was strange."

"Last Feb. 24, he said he (Obama) had an activist agenda because of the recession, "not because I believe in bigger government -- I don't." Ninety-seven days later, he bought General Motors."

"Obama's leitmotif is: Washington is disappointing, Washington is annoying, Washington is dysfunctional, Washington is corrupt, verily Washington is toxic -- yet Washington should conscript a substantially larger share of GDP, and Washington should exercise vast new controls over health care, energy, K-12 education, etc."

http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2010/01/28/a_lobe_divided_will_not_stand?page=2