Trump's State of the Union

Trump's SOTU speech has been well received by the public who watched it. In the CNN poll public opinion turned out to be about the same as the reactions to Obama's and Bush's first try, about 3/4 favorable. Trump has a way different style from Obama but in his own way is an effective orator. His many years of being in the spotlight make him comfortable and confident in front of the cameras. His detractors will certainly disagree but his mannerisms bespoke a sincere personal belief in the words he spoke. He made extremely effective use of a large cast of sympathetic persons exemplifying the points he was making. 

It was booked ahead of time as being conciliatory but turned out to be a fairly full throated endorsement of conservative principles. The deal he offered on immigration was just that - a deal, and not a strategy of attempting to become friends with his opponents a la President Obama. The Democrats are opposing it and they showed their attitude in their behavior last night. It seems to me however that it's going to be difficult for them to hold the line and convince the so called Dreamers to turn down such generous terms. It would be a far better situation for them than the temporary reprieve they had under the Obama executive order which could be easily reversed and did not lead to full citizenship. 

It was largely an American pep talk, reminding me of the Reagan days. His supporters will love it overall, even those who don't like the idea of citizenship for the Dreamers. I think it will largely improve the Trump image with the apolitical independent group who will be swayed by appeals to economic improvement and patriotism. 

I disliked Obama and had a visceral negative reaction when I watched him speak despite a grudging admiration for his oratorical ability. However the Democrats, with a few exceptions,  have an almost pathological detestation of Mr. Trump and they showed it last night. I don't think that their inflexibly dour facial expressions will help them in public opinion except among their like-minded supporters. Minority leader Pelosi especially should have gotten some preliminary acting advice. To my mind she was almost for the first time showing her true age, perilously close to my own.

I found the image of the Congressional Black Caucus especially puzzling. The President's touting of the low black unemployment rate appeared to anger them. It is understood that they have a different opinion about the cause of the statistic but, knowing ahead of time that it was coming, they should have had a different response prepared. What really bothered me though is that in the Congress of the United States, a country that's supposed to be celebrating its diversity, especially among the Democrats, we have all the members of one race clustered as a bloc together, and all wearing symbolic African garb. These men and women are not Africans. In fact, despite all the despicable treatment their forebears received, they have more ancestral ties to this country than most others, and would do better I think to proudly display that reality. Isn't a special section for black people something those that preceded them fought so proudly to end? Just asking.