Oh! What a relief it is!

Barack Obama presented the State of the Union tonight to begin his 3rd year as President of the United States.  As a response to the country's mood following the tragic shootings in Tuscon and the extreme partisanship of the previous two years, the Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate sat among each other.
Last year's speech was dominated by partisan cheerleading and I was bothered by it.
I appreciate this year's tone (Please do it again.)  I think it's much harder to whoop and holler when you're not part of a huge gang sitting together.
Once again, Barack Obama's speech hit the same theme this year as last year and the year before and I really wish we'd see some financial investment in education, research and development, and infrastructure.  It seems like a no-brainer.
Paul Ryan (R-WI) gave the Republican response, and although he hit many of the typical fear-based Republican talking points and he allowed his facial expression to appear smug a couple times, he spoke well and was easy to understand.  His most potent point was mentioning the austerity measures recently instituted in several European countries.  If you're inclined to agree and are swayed by fear, he was warning us away from going down that road.
Bottom Line - Barack Obama is the best president ever!  We have a long way to go.  I'm interested to see how the Republicans act under the leadership of John Boehner.
Onward America!