Obama's Speech, a Grumpy Schwarzenegger

Maureen Dowd
Dana Milbank
E J Dionne Jr

Did you watch President Obama's speech to the Joint Session of Congress last night? There can be no question that this man is one of the greatest orators in American history, and he makes it seems so effortless. He gave us an explanation of where we are and what he plans to do to get us out of the mess without condescending or trite remarks. It was inspiring and gave you hope that we could actually do it. If he can pull off even one fourth of what he promises to do our country will be a lot better off for it.

Personally, if he can change the way that government does business, turn it into a transparent, honest, and responsible organization, then I will be utterly amazed. Over the past 40 years the right wing has perverted the idea of limited government into one that tries to destroy government. Too many people were appointed or hired into agencies where they tried to subvert those agencies, rendering them useless. So Obama is now going over the budget line by line, getting rid of programs that don't work, getting rid of obstructionist employees who were politically appointed, and possibly saving a few trillion dollars in the process. This is stuff that was only paid lip service in the past. Also, healthcare is the 800 lb gorilla in the room that everyone has been trying to ignore, and its high time that we start a national debate on how to make it work.

The polls afterwards showed an 80-92% in favor of what he had to say, which leaves a very bitter, hardcore 8% of nattering negative nabobs untouched. 

Lousiana's Governor Bobby Jindahl gave the Republican response. This was his opportunity to impress a national audience, hopefully to be further groomed as a contender in 2012. Unfortunately, anyone would look like an amateur after Obama's speech, and Mr Jindahl gave a really fake performance, with forced smiles that were out of synch with his text, and a speech that clearly was written before even knowing what Obama was going to say. So, it was a canned response, and, as the Political Animal reports: "On one of the cable networks, viewers were told that Jindal was "almost childish," and this "was not Bobby Jindal's greatest oratorical moment." The network? Fox News." Because the response didn't have one new idea in it, just the old retreads that have been uttered over and over and over again, Bobby Jindahl came across as John McCain lite, and it may have ruined his chance at more public exposure. People who know Mr Jindahl swear that he isn't such a brain dead party hack, unlike our own Doug Lamborn, who is one.

Myself, I think that it was Sarah Palin's people who slipped in one of her and John's old speeches to sabotage Mr Jindahl. Go Sarah! Go Sarah!

The The Daily Beast  reveals that California's Arnold Schwarzenegger at times has thought about dropping out of the Republican Party. Most of the fights he's had in the legislature have come with fellow Republicans, he seems to be able to work with Democrats because of his moderate views. "If GOP legislators were willing to support their own governor’s agenda, Schwarzenegger now would boast a record of accomplishment that would put him in the first rank of California governors, right up there with Earl Warren and Pat Brown. Instead, commentators here routinely dismiss Schwarzenegger as a Gulliver tied down by legislative Lilliputians—“an amateur governor,” as the Sacramento Bee’s Dan Walters recently put it, who couldn’t turn political opportunities into substantive change.

How did the marriage between Schwarzenegger and his party go bad? The truth is that it was never much of a marriage. Schwarzenegger’s criticism of Republicans pre-dates his entry into political life. At first, however, many Republicans loved the actor’s image so much that they didn’t pay attention to his words."

To celebrate the big guy, here are some vintage Arnold jokes:

"In a speech this week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said America needs to work together to conserve oil. Then Arnold lit a cigar and drove over the crowd in his hummer." --Conan O'Brien

"As Schwarzenegger found out, the trouble with getting voted in as a joke, sooner or later, the joke gets old." --"Daily Show" commentator Lewis Black

"California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity has been slipping in recent months as residents slowly begin to realize they elected Arnold Schwarzenegger to be their governor." --Tina Fey

"Republicans went from Arnold Schwarzenegger last night to Dick Cheney tonight. It's like, Arnold's like the picture in the dating service ad, and Dick's the guy who shows up." --Jay Leno, on the Republican convention

"In a shocking announcement, Governor Schwarzenegger said he supports changing the constitution to allow people like him to run for president. I'm shocked he would want that. Do you think he can win? Well, you know, it's interesting, he has Ronald Reagan's appeal as an actor and George W. Bush's difficulty with the English language. And, let's not forget, he's got a little Clinton in there too, so he could win." —Jay Leno

"Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced he will refuse his $175,000 salary and will work for free. I believe he will be worth every penny." —Craig Kilborn

"Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the Governor of California. He put one hand in the air, the other hand on the Bible, which is a good start — at least we know where his hands are now." —Jay Leno

"Immediately after Arnold was sworn in, Gloria Alred jumped in: "While you have your hand on the Bible, I’d like to ask you a few questions." —Jay Leno

"More problems for Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. California Attorney General Bill Locklear has suggested a special toll free number be set up for women to call in allegations about Arnold's past. I have a better idea — why not make it a 900 number and charge $1.99 a minute. We'll pay off $33 billion dollars right there." —Jay Leno

"Bush joked last week during his meeting with Schwarzenegger that they are both sometimes accused of misspeaking the language. Mr. President, he's from a foreign country." —Jon Stewart

"On Thursday in California, President Bush met privately with Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. What did the pair talk about? Neither is sure." —Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"

"Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he is going to ask President Bush for help with the budget. What better way to deal with a $38 billion deficit than get advice from a guy that created a $450 billion deficit." —Jay Leno

"In his first news conference after being elected governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to clean house in Sacramento. He also threatened to molest the energy crisis, and date rape the deficit." —Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"

"Time was, our leaders were all veterans of World War II, the Korean conflict or even the struggle for civil rights. But now, with the election of Jesse Ventura in Minnesota and Arnold Schwarzenegger in California, it is clear that the next generation of political leaders will all come from the movie 'Predator.'" —Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart