Let's Have Some FUN With the Video of Obama's Speech!

Here's the link.

I want everyone to visit it, and hit the Thumbs DOWN button.  It has less than 2,000 votes, so, if we do so, then send the link to everyone on our Facebook pages, and our personal email list, we can probably move that ranking to more DISLIKES than LIKES.

Wouldn't THAT be FUN!

I watched it today (I fell asleep waiting for it to come on - well, the convention was boring, but also I had an early - 7:30 am - interview). I noticed several things:

• Obama's got only a few gestures - he twirls his hands around his wrists, he puts his fingers against his thumbs and uses the whole hand as a pointing gesture of emphasis,  sometimes he separates the fingers and thumb, but does the same gesture, and he puts his flat palms about 6-10 inches apart, and does a karate chop (sometimes karate chops with fists).  He uses all of them a bit too much - he's clearly been coached by a "speech doctor".  Who wants to make a drinking game - a shot or chug for each time he does his hand calisthenics?


• I never saw anyone - Black or White - look more Nixonian when he frowns.


• When he's talking about something that is arguable (some would use the word LIE), he closes his mouth and runs his tongue over his teeth before continuing.  An unconscious indication that he knows he is telling an untruth?


• Again, he makes that tongue-moving gesture right after he claims that he cut taxes for small businesses.


• Again, he make that same gesture right after he says, "you elected me to tell you the truth".  I really do think we have our "tell".


• The applause and cheers, through most of the speech, seem tepid and obligatory.  This is not the frenzied, over-the-top enthusiasm of the last campaign.  This is:  I HAVE to cheer for this guy - the alternative is worse (for me).  Looks like the "spontaneous" excitement of a crowd in a Communist state.

How does imposing new regulations MAKE cars go further on a tank of gas?  MAGIC?  Imposing a regulation simply sets the goal - if it's not achievable, it could KILL the auto industry.

"LESS dependent on foreign than anytime in the last 2 decades"?

This from Forbes:

U.S. crude oil consumption is roughly 7 billion barrels per year, of which approximately 4.5 billion barrels is imported.  Based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, about 24 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year would be needed to replace the 4.5 billion barrels per year we import.

The U.S. currently produces just under this amount each year.

From the LA Times:

U.S. net petroleum imports have fallen to about 47% of the nation's consumption, down from a record 60.3% in 2005, Energy Information Administration statistics show. It's been 15 years since the nation's reliance on foreign oil has been this low.

Finally, from FactCheck.org, who analyzed a campaign making the same claim:

Obama "boasts that U.S. dependence on foreign oil has declined to below 50 percent, as a net share of total demand, for the first time in more than a decade. That’s true, and increasing U.S. oil production is a factor (despite Republican criticisms that Obama is anti-drilling). But economists say the chief factor is reduced oil consumption, brought on by the recent economic recession."

I'll have more later - I can only take so much of this bilge at one time.