Let me first get this amusing tidbit out of the way — The host on MSNBC is actually interviewing Rep. Engel of New York about how he managed to get TWO handshakes from President Obama last night! That’s it. That is the entire point of the interview.

OK, to the point of my post …

Unlike my husband, who was at a hockey game during the president’s speech, I was home for entire “I’m not really supposed to have a State of the Union speech this year but I want the attention anyway” love fest last night. (UPDATE, thanks to Sean — President Obama certainly is not alone in sharing his vision before Congress so shortly after taking office. They all like the newly acquired sense of power and the attention.) I will admit that I occasionally switched over to The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion because I wanted to see some genuine people with substance, but I caught enough of President’s Obama speech and the aftermath.

Here are some of my thoughts on the night:

1. I’ll start with the second speech first. Yes, Governor Jindal looked like a kid walking out in daddy’s suit last night and he needs to work on increasing his style points. But, we had already heard that night what happens when all you have is style and we know that’s no good. As far as substance, I thought that Jindal message was excellent. I cheered for nearly every word, those such as:

To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you, the American people.

and

We appreciate his message of hope, but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington — they place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you, the American people. In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government.

Americans CAN do anything. His advocacy for limited government as a way of getting out of this mess was a breath of fresh air! Of course, Rachel Maddow either misunderstood or intentionally misrepresented what Jindal said about the government and Katrina. He said that government at all levels was the problem during Katrina, not that we needed to use Katrina as a government model for fixing the economy. Come on, Rachel. And, stop mocking Republicans who bring up Katrina as a model of failure. The Democrats had MUCH more culpability in that situation and they will never be held responsible for it. That was a disaster on all levels.

2. President Obama had a few zingers in his speech, my favorite being:

Not because I believe in bigger government — I don’t.

Kudos to you, Mr. President, for keeping a straight face during that line.

There were also scary statements, such as health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year, with this one frightening me the most:

That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education — from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.

I do not want the Obama administration taking my baby from the hospital nursery to begin what it deems to be a “complete” education. This sounds eerily similar to a reeducation camp. And, we already know that the government does a horrible job with the competitive aspect of preparatory education. Since the teachers don’t have to compete or show any signs of effective teaching or even comprehension of material in order to keep their jobs, why should we expect anything more from the kids in their classrooms? As I already stated in a previous post, not every child (with child being defined as anyone aged thirty and under … see SCHIP) needs or should have an extensive formal education. Of course, I want the federal Department of Education abolished altogether, so I am never going to be a fan of education policy issued out of D.C.

3. Obama repeated his misleading statement that “if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime.” Maybe not in straight-up income taxes, but there is no doubt that all of the other planned tax increases will have a direct impact on jobs, prices of goods, cost of travel, and plenty of other items that affect people who earn less than $250,000 a year. Back to MSNBC, I thought it was hilarious when Chris Matthews said, “President Obama knows how to play to the room on this one, because no one in there makes more than $250,000 a year! And, they won’t as long as they stay in Congress. Maybe they know their donors won’t like this, though.” What??? A majority of the members of the Senate are millionaires and those in the House of Reps aren’t exactly hurting. What a ridiculous comment, Matthews.

4. I think the First Lady is gorgeous. I think the color of her dress last night was gorgeous. However, I did not think it was appropriate to wear a sleeveless top. My mother always taught me not to show my shoulders in a house of faith or in a business setting. It was too casual for the chambers of Congress. I know this may seem fashion-nitpicky, but it really stood out to me.

5. Finally, Keith Olbermann hopes that this speech and these times will finally force everyone to think about “excessive wealth” and what constitutes making “too much money.” Yikes. Maybe, Keith, you should start by asking those excessively wealthy members of Congress who stood and applauded sixty times last night. I’m sure they will agree that they are making too much money.