My initial take on Obama's first SOTU

I caught bits and pieces on the office TV, and, of course, it's in our paper for tomorrow....

First, the "angry Obama."

Gail Collins (it's a shame she's the NYT's op-eds editor, if it in any way eats into the possibility of her doing more columns herself) notes, in seriousness and not in jest, that Obama doesn't "do" angry well.

Now, on to some specifics.

Liked his pledge to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I'll like it a whole lot more if he actually does it. (I still say no Congressional action is needed and that Obama can use an executive order, as Commander-in-Chief, just like Truman did to integrate the armed forces.)

Liked him calling out the Supremes over the Citizens United decision. Liked Alito being perturbed. Liked the hypocrisy being removed from the Court allegedly being non-political.

Disliked too much focus on education, especially when it's playing around the edges. It's called a 200-day school year, Obama, if you want real reform. It's called reshaping vocational education for the future. It's called driving down the cost of adult re-education.

Disliked the nickel-and-dime approach to high-speed rail, that I know of, and that's probably for many other programs. Dislike the politicization of high-speed rail nickel-and-dime approach with North Carolina. Don't tell me the Tar Heels got high-speed rail dinero and it has nothing to do with Obama wanting to win there again in 2012.

Disliked the Clintonesque length, too.

If you're going to give a 70-75 minute speech, ultimately, you have no laser-like focus, and you might as well be Thomas Jefferson and give Congress a written message.

At Salon, Joan Walsh gripes that too much of that over-lengthy rhetoric was borrowed from the GOP anyway.