Live blogging Obama Speech 8:25 PM

Watching the Obama Speech right now...it's funny that he won't address the fact that the budget is generational theft except by saying that it isn't generational theft and then describing a process in which budgets are re-examined periodically and "its tough".  It sounds to me like he's saying that the giant budget isn't generational theft and then describes exactly how generational theft works.

Crocodile Tears

Anyone else find it a bit weird that Obama came out "expressing outrage" at the AIG bonuses, giving tacit approval to his minions in the House to promote their bill to punitively tax bonuses, but meanwhile comes out, quietly, and mentions that, oh yeah, that might be unconstitutional?

He's using the House's radical and unconstitutional stance to help justify the more moderate stance he will take--and make him look better to the moderates who by and large elected him.  Don't let his crocodile tears fool you.  He's using the House to price high so he can sell it, watered down, low.  

Take the steps to right the country or run for re-election?

President Obama making all those nay-sayers who posited that he hadn't actually DONE anything in office besides run for the next one look pretty smart.  

Now, as poll numbers slide and almost Bush-like cat-calls of "incompetence" are ringing through the galleries, Obama is taking the only course he knows: make promises, be vague, and target key demographics.  It was no coincidence that every ad on the internet was Obama for a year (targeting younger voters)--nor it is coincidence now that most of his speeches are in battleground states.  It's easy to argue that he's trying to be "accessible"...but it's also easy to argue that he's not-so quietly nurturing a fanatic cult of personality.