Reaction to the State of the Union

I had a hard time staying awake through this years State of the Union. He didn't seem to offer up much in the way of new policy initiatives or legislation. I think he mentioned passing something on the energy front but other than that, it came across like a weather report. I was sorely disappointed by the absence of a coherent strategy or even explanation of what going's on with Iran and how we're going to deal with them. All in all, it wasn't worth the wait and not one of his better SOTU's.

I give this speech a D.

But I'm just a substance abuse counselor, let's hear what our elected officials had to say courtesy of Forbes.com:

"He talked about the things that I think need to be talked about. Health care, education, energy independence, but there wasn't any beef there. There didn't seem to be any serious proposals that would call America to action." - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"The administration has not taken the initiative or pushed the chemical industry to improve security to make the American people safer. Closing these and other gaps in our security will take the kind of leadership, resources and commitment that this administration has not provided. Without this commitment, the state of our union will continue to be way too insecure." - Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

"America deserved more from President Bush tonight. It just wasn't credible to hear him talk about making America more secure and honoring our troops or making America energy-independent or making health care more affordable without hearing him explain why he's done just the opposite for the last five years." - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev

"Tonight, the president told the American people that when America leads, America wins. Unfortunately, when President Bush and the Republican Congress have led, the special interests have won and the American people have lost. That is the cost of the Republican culture of corruption." - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"President Bush has succeeded and continues to succeed in offering once-in-a-generation levels of tax relief and trade agreements that produce opportunity for American workers. Those policies are a pretty easy sell in Congress for those who of us who believe in free markets." - Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

"The president must enforce our immigration laws before we consider any guest worker proposal. Until we bring law and order to our border anarchy, importing more workers into the equation is out of the question." - Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.