State of the Union: The Reviews are In

And, just like John Boehner’s tie, they ain’t pretty.

A disappointing State of the Union address
The Washington Post
Maybe Mr. Obama, in the budget he proposes next month, will grapple more realistically with the hard choices than he did Tuesday night. But even if he does, how can he expect public support if he hasn’t made the case? From the man who promised to change Washington, it seemed all too drearily familiar.

An uninspiring performance
The Economist
The address in the House of Representatives felt as if it had been written by a committee with too much time on its hands.

Hogwash, Mr. President
Robert Scheer, The Huffington Post
He had the effrontery to condemn “a parade of lobbyists” for rigging government after he appointed the top Washington representative of JPMorgan Chase to be his new chief of staff.

FACT CHECK: Obama and his imbalanced ledger
Associated Press via Yahoo!
The ledger did not appear to be adding up Tuesday night when President Barack Obama urged more spending on one hand and a spending freeze on the other.

Obama and his speech
Mark Levin, via Facebook
As a matter of basic logic, how could the biggest deficit-spender in American history reverse course and become a responsible fiscal hawk?

The State of the Union and the End of Audacity
Ben Domenech, The New Ledger
The most laughable moment in all this came when Obama called last night for finding “a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.” Why, just such a proposal had been put on the table only months ago, by the President’s own deficit commission!

Check out the live blog at Bearing Drift.

The Urban Muse: 30 Writing Quotes to Kick Off 2011

 

The Urban Muse offers  “a round-up of my favorite writing quotes to help you get (or stay) inspired as we enter a new year.”

via The Urban Muse: 30 Writing Quotes to Kick Off 2011.

It’s a good resource.  And a good idea to keep my own file.