CNN: Independents now reacting negatively to mere mention of “hope” by Obama

Via Philip Klein, a reminder that the SOTU is good for only two things: Drinking games and those irresistible political EKGs they show afterwards of Dems, Republicans, and indies reacting in real time. No explanation required for the snippet on ObamaCare that you’re about to see, but can the Hopenchange brand really be so soiled that simply hearing “hope” come out of The One’s mouth now sets independents to shivering? Over to you, Sarahcuda:

Last night, the president spoke of the “credibility gap” between the public’s expectations of their leaders and what those leaders actually deliver. “Credibility gap” is a good way to describe the chasm between rhetoric and reality in the president’s address. The contradictions seemed endless…

Everything seems to be “unexpected” to this administration: unexpected job losses; unexpected housing numbers; unexpected political losses in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey. True leaders lead best when confronted with the unexpected. But instead of leading us, the president lectured us. He lectured Wall Street; he lectured Main Street; he lectured Congress; he even lectured our Supreme Court Justices.

He criticized politicians who “wage a perpetual campaign,” but he gave a campaign speech instead of a state of the union address. The campaign is over, and President Obama now has something that candidate Obama never had: an actual track record in office. We now can see the failed policies behind the flowery words. If Americans feel as cynical as the president suggests, perhaps it’s because the audacity of his recycled rhetoric no longer inspires hope.

That about sums it up. Follow the link for a long, long list of his contradictions.

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