This crisis persists

President Obama gave his sixth State of the Union address last night. The White House has posted the text here; the video is below.

Obama declared: “The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.” In every relevant respect, on matters both foreign and domestic, a deep dishonesty permeated the speech. The crisis of BS hung heavy over every word, including “and” and “the” (to borrow Mary McCarthy’s formulation regarding Lillian Hellman). The crisis persists.

The disparity between rhetoric and reality is so wide that it would be funny if the matters in issue were not so serious. The dishonesty about such serious matters is not in the least funny. The president continues to count on and to exploit the ignorance of many of our fellow citizens.

Obama found a moment to depart from his text to taunt Republicans with his two electoral victories at the top of the ticket. “I’ve run my last campaign,” Obama said, and then added, “I know because I won both of them.”

Obama adds pettiness and vanity to his dishonesty. He presents the complete package. One might reflect, however, as war has been said to be the health of the state, Obama is the health of the Republican Party.

As she did during last year’s address, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg contributed an honest note to the proceedings (photo below, via Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard).

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