Doug R --

Now let's get some perspective. It was not an excellent speech. It was a good piece of showmanship. His rhetoric relating to his determination to duke it out was oh so thrilling. His assertions about Iraq and, interestingly enough, Iran, were interesting. His promises, as always, were enticing if somewhat beyond his ability to actually deliver. He did not dwell on the record of actual accomplishments of his two years in office, and that for good reason.

He left out major, major concerns and did not in fact address the state of the Union, which is generally as subdued and depressed as at any time in the last fifteen years.

For a nice slant on the things that were NOT addressed and should have been, see this article in Slate.

A