1. I agree with Mitch Daniels. The State of the Union has outlived its usefulness. Perhaps 100 years ago, it was nice to see (or hear) the President of the federal government informing Congress (via radio) of the actual state of our union. Mind you, this was pre-New Deal, so the Federal Govt. was comparatively limited. Also, this was pre-focus groups, etc. Now, the State of the Union is little more than a partisan spectacle. Provide a written report, based on facts, and leave the conjecture to the campaign trail.
2. Nancy Pelosi owns Donald Trump. This picture says it all:
You get Mike Pence, doing what Mike Pence does best (grovelling), and then you have "the Donald" looking at Madam Speaker for approval, which she seems to mockingly give him. Mr. Trump, you have met your match, "and when you're speaker of the House, they just let you do it."
3. Go big for the wall. It seems pretty clear that President Trump wants his wall built, regardless of what people tell him about its effectiveness or necessity. With that said, Mr. President, GO BIG. You want to be a transformative president? Make a big deal! Deals don't get made by demanding the same terms over and over. Mr. President, if you want your wall, make the Democrats an offer they can't refuse. Your threats to shut down the government don't scare anyone because everyone knows that it is you, not congressional Democrats, who is demanding something in exchange for keeping the government open. Offer something so important to the democrats that they will have no choice but to go along with your quixotic wall.
4. The only part I liked was the women cheering. I noticed President Trump cited women's employment numbers; based on the context, I thought he was trying to troll Democrats. Of course, they stood up and cheered, insinuating (if I picked it up accurately) that Donald Trump is personally responsible for so many of them being elected. Surprisingly, President Trump appeared to have a good sense of humor about it.
5. I didn't hear any policy proposals that I expect to become law. President Trump complained some about prescription drug prices and said that it is going to change, "and real fast." Of course, complaining about a problem is not a policy proposal. It is one thing to ID the problem; it is quite another to have any idea of what to do about it. As I've heard more than once: "The only legal question worth answering is 'what do we do now?'"
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