tOfficial 2016 State of the Union Reaction thread

[Turtleneck]

I am sure this thread will get a lot of action.


Obama just repeated one of the most common and dangerous myths about the presidency

President Obama has now served in the Oval Office for seven years and has learned repeatedly about the real limits on the power of the bully pulpit. Yet in his final address on the State of the Union Tuesday night, Obama repeated one of the most pervasive myths about the presidency: that the occupant of the White House, through words alone, can overcome the division of American politics.

"It's one of the few regrets of my presidency -- that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There's no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide," Obama said.

Obama's choice of predecessors is revealing. While both were renowned for their rhetorical abilities, there is little evidence that President Lincoln or President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had much success in persuading the public or members of Congress to put aside their differences.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/12/what-obama-got-wrong-tonight-about-lincoln-and-fdr/

[DWags]

Thanks obama