The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice.

I know I scheduled Glee for my Tuesday runs, but the state of our union threw a wrench into those plans.  My original plan was to run while I watched the State of the Union Address, but I couldn't find my fully-functioning headphones (and I still can't) so I got a late start at the gym and I was forced to listen to the SOTU through just one operating ear bud.  I was on the treadmill by 9:10 which means that if the processional lasted as long as it usually does I missed (at most) 5 minutes of the actual speech.  I then ran for 25 minutes and 21 seconds.

Sidebar (that is too long to put in parenthesis): It's a pet peeve of mine that I can only set the speed of a treadmill and not the pace.  Without doing long division in my head, and then based on that calculation, changing the speed of the treadmill at an exact moment in time, it's impossible to run at a pace that is nice and round (e.g. 8.5min/mi).  (I'm pretty sure that if you add "flux capacitor" somewhere in that last sentence you will have a line out of Back to the Future.)  To run that pace I'd have to set the speed at 7.059mph, and unfortunately the treadmill settings are in increments of 0.1mph which means that instead of running 3 miles in 25 minutes and 30 seconds, I have to run it in 25 minutes and 21 seconds.  Does this bother anybody else?  No?  Did you at least enjoy the Doc Brown reference?  Great Scott! What a waste of a sidebar...back to the SOTU.

To make a long story short I watched just under half of the SOTU.  I'm going to read the transcript as soon as I finish this blog, but here are a few observations from my initial, partial screening (in bullet-point form because I'm lazy)

• Regardless of your political bent, you have to agree the President Obama is a great orator--better than Clinton in my humble opinion.
• Wasn't it a nice change of pace to look past the President and not see Nancy Pelosi's botoxed face and her obnoxious red suit?  Not that Boenher is much better, but I'll get to him later.
• I thought the overtones of entrepreneurship throughout the speech were very powerful (and inspiring)
• I also appreciated the time and attention Obama devoted to education.
• Maybe it was because his speech wasn't filled with awkward pauses that practically forced people to clap, but I felt like there wasn't as much clapping this year.  That could also be because...
• THE STUPID SEATING ARRANGEMENT!  Given the events of Tuscon, I think it was the right thing to do, but I liked being able to see who stood and who didn't.  I'm sure it also dissuaded people from yelling things like "You Lie" since they were sitting beside people who are on the opposite side the aisle, I mean on the same side of the aisle, I mean in a different (political) party.
• With that said, I did think the speech was fairly non-partisan.  That gives me hope that something might actually get accomplished over the next 2 years.  I'm an eternal optimist however so we'll see.
• Back to Speaker Boehner.  Was this the first TV appearance where John Boenher didn't cry?
• And while I'm on the topic of O-H, I-O, do you think Boenher's guests would have rather been at the SOTU or the Cavs game?  I'm going with the SOTU, hands down.

Those are a few quick thoughts/observations for anyone that may interested.  I'm going to go read the transcript to see what I missed.  I also want to see Congresswoman Bachmann's response.  Maybe I'll turn on MSNBC to see what Olbermann is saying...oh, wait a minute.