ITT We discuss the state of the union address Obama gave last night.

I am happy that he wants to cut spending. As long as he does as he says, that is, cut from defense as well as cut out social programs that don't work equally, I can get behind this. I think its surprising that he wants electric cars on the road by 2015, since car manufacturers are notorious for working on cars sometimes as early as five years before the launch date. I think a bit more time would greatly help the industry. (However some car manufacturers are already developing have developed electric alt energy cars, so this may not be as large as a problem as I foresee). I think he's also assuming that a great part of the nation wants to go out and buy a new car in 2015. On that note, I do like that he interjected concrete milestone markers on projects, and I like that some of them span far out into the future - I think I heard one in 2035. Which, considering how short sited a lot of our policies are, is nice to see.

I am happy that he has put our relations with India and China in place. I think that this was not Bush's strong suit by any amount. I'm glad they are starting to like us. To that effect, I'm glad he's stressing new job creation instead of 'retrieving' outsourced jobs. I think that's one of the things that caused a lot of friction between us and countries like India. I also think that his script write is light years ahead of Bush's, even if some of what was being said was cheesy.

I am not happy with the super extreme emphasis he put on science and tech. I am all for strengthening those programs, don't get me wrong. But for an administration that is dealing with high levels of corruption in the corporate world (think, health insurance) I'm surprised he didn't say something along the lines of ethics programs for business schools needs to be strengthened. This has been my soap box for a long time. I am largely disappointed with the lack of emphasis on proper ethics in schools. Sure, all programs offer the 101 course on ethics, (in my case it was called Business Law and Ethics - don't do something illegal just cause its convenient was the underlining theme there), but I am now into upper division and strategic classes. We're supposed to be focusing on blending all functions together - marketing, accounting, finance...but we haven't touched on ethics as much as we should. As I've mentioned in other threads, I think that if ethics/social responsibility was a stronger focus in business programs, business leaders would be more willing to offer benefits without been required by the state. Buuuut that's drifting into another topic. In short, I think Obama hand waved business/small business on a number of occasions. I think he used them as an example of what made America great, but other than a convenient example to appeal to naysayers I didn't hear much in the way of resolutions concerning them. I'm still hesitant to believe that he truly thinks the government is not hindering small business. Afterall, government regulations as well as information is a barrier to entry. Releasing expansive documents that take several days to read let alone interpret could kill a small business. They don't have the luxury to send someone off to read it, nor do they have the luxury to close down while they are figuring it out. So what is really happening is that there is a resurgence of 'part time' employees - employees who by law do not need to have health care provided for them.

Moving on. Pick on me or drop off your thoughts on the address.

The English-speaking world would do well to worry about the state of the union. We are distant cousins after all, and when the US sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold.

I can't really comment on the domestic policies but any normalisation of relations with emerging superpowers is a good thing.

I am of the impression that China and India like Obama. I did hear that after Obama visited China the Chinese president went on the air, said something about needing to work on human rights issues - and the broadcast hiccuped. Very interesting timing, isn't it? I didn't see the broadcast, this was something my boyfriend mentioned to me when we were watching it last night.

I was actually really satisfied with his SotU address overall. Though I do appreciate how he is trying to bridge the gap between both parties and work through everything, I did like how strongly he stated that he will not back down about his healthcare reform. He was absolutely right to say that we should be moving forward and looking to the future rather than keep fighting over things that have been mulled over for two years. I do think it was funny that in the official Republican response, a call to repeal the healthcare bill was in effect, so it looks like we're going to be hearing more of that rather than things we need to move on to.

I really liked that Obama wanted to restructure government. I don't think it will actually happen, but he made a great argument as to why it should happen. Out government could be simplified.

I also really liked that he pointed out other nations' advances in technology, education, and infrastructure compared to ours, and how far behind we are. Everyone knows countries like Japan are kicking our ass, but when we hear that China, India, and South Korea are better off in some ways, then I hope that really resonates with people.

Obama has also clearly made a huge impression with other nations, and I'm glad he's sort of fixed the image that Bush created. I always appreciate a president with good foreign policy.

Also, Michele Bachmann needs to shut the fuck up. Her "Tea Party" response made her look even more like a Stepford Wife.

Although I am a die hard liberal, Bi-partisanship is key during these times.

However, you reap what you sow and the Republican party has whipped up its base with crazies, i.e The Tea-Party. The tea-party movement is so vague it's ridiculous, but I can see a lot of partisan hackery and infighting among the republicans before anything resembling bi-partisanship becomes the norm.

Also DEMS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GROW SOME BALLS JESUS.

My two cents.

Is bi-partisanship another term for "consensus politics"?

Well, kind of but not exactly. We have a two party system. Bi-partisan legislation means that both parties benefit (or else lose, depending on how you look at it.

It means "We can't do anything without you, so you give us this and we'll give you that."