FactChecking President Obama's SOTU Address

From our friends at FactCheck.org regarding last night's SOTU:

We found no outright false factual claims in Obama's State of the Union address, but we did note some that were arguable, and some promises that may prove unrealistic.

* He called his Race to the Top initiative "the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation." That's debatable. Some independent experts say Bush's No Child Left Behind program had a greater impact.

* The president set a goal of generating 80 percent of the nation's electricity from "clean" sources by 2035. That's ambitious. The first large-scale "clean coal" plant has yet to begin operation. And Obama counts nuclear energy as a "clean" source, despite the unresolved waste issue.

* He set a goal of giving 80 percent of the U.S. population access to high-speed rail in the next 25 years. But the U.S. only has one high-speed rail line in operation now.

* He said his new health care law will slow rising health care costs. But the office of Medicare's chief actuary estimates the law won't have much impact on costs, and there will be a slight rise in total spending as more people gain coverage under the law.

* He said "exports are up" since he set a goal of doubling them in five years, which is true. But the rise so far falls short of the pace required to meet his goal.

Teach Your Children Well

There is a new tool available to teach others -- especially kids -- conservative principles.

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table.  So, tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins.  And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let them know and nail them on it.  That would be a very American thing to do." -- Ronald Reagan

Whether you need a refresher course in the principles of conservatism or you are teaching them to others, especially your children, "What Am I Conservative?" by Melanie Angell Elliott is an alluring choice.

The book contains a series of 24 principled and well-reasoned sections, each based on a particular tenet of conservatism.

You'll identify with the principles and use them to craft a conservative ideology.  It's certainly no tome -- quick quotes from famous conservatives and the Founding Fathers induce a brisk yet enlightening reading pace. 

If you have a family, this book is perfect -- you can ready a chapter per day with your children or use it as a refernce to counter liberal teachings at school.

To order "Why Am I Conservative?", click here.

President Obama Delivers a "Mr. Compromise Goes to Washington" SOTU

Following last November's tidal wave that destroyed the Liberal monopoly in Washington, President Obama delivered his most centrist speech of his presidency last night at the State of the Union address.  He appealed to the public that he has the right answers for our country, beyond those proposed by the far right and far left in office.  He delivered himself as "Mr. Compromise".

He proposed discretionary cuts to the operations of the federal government, consolidation and elimination of similar federal programs, health care tort reform, and holding teachers accountable -- all traditional Republican ideals.  Sadly, these were all issues that he either spoke against or ignored during his first two years in office.  In the next few months, President Obama will submit his FY 2012 budget and government reform packages to Congress.  We'll watch closely to see if his words last night match the words on the draft legislation.

Based on his centrist promises made last night, the re-election campaign (Obama '12) is now underway.  He knows that he needs to run a different campaign than the one that got him elected into office.  The American people have voted against his radical reform measures taken during his first two years.  It will be interesting to see how attractive it is to the far left, whom he has now abandoned, the African American community, who voted in record numbers for him in 2008, and the broad independent voting base.