12:26 EST: (Sean) “Nihilism.” Per MyDD, David Brooks on Jindal: “In a moment when only the federal government is actually big enough to do stuff, to just ignore all that and just say ‘government is the problem, corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending,’ it’s just a form of nihilism…. I think it’s insane, and I just think it’s a disaster for the party.”
More Kenneth: Jason Linkins of Huffington Post posts comparative videos. Sullivan “can barely count the number of emails” about it. And: the Facebook group.
11:11 EST: (Nate) The full text of Jindal’s speech can be found here.
10:56 EST: (Sean) Josh Marshall has “Kenneth the Page” up; it’s everywhere… all anyone will remember about this night three months from now is Obama gave a great speech and Bobby Jindal = Kenneth the Page. Big Republican winner tonight: Mike Huckabee.
10:36 EST: (Nate). OK: positives on Jindal. He comes across as sincere, very likable, and I think ultimately can be a better spokesperson for conservative principles than a frosty old white guy. He’s just not there yet. Not by a long shot.
10:32 EST: (Sean) “Saddle our children with debt.” Alternate reality. I hear Facebook is lighting up with “Kenneth the Page” to the point that this may go down as the Kenneth the Page Speech. This guy is the anointed Republican rising star, by the way. Obama’s gotta be laughing about this.
10:29 EST (Nate): If it sounds like Jindal is targeting his speech to a room full of fourth graders, that’s because he is. They might be the next people to actually vote for Republicans again.
10:25 EST: (Sean) This guy Jindal sounds like every tour guide ever. Ever been to Monticello? Here’s where Thomas Jefferson slept! A friend is insisting “Kenneth the Page” from “30 Rock” though I have never seen the show. (There’s no basement in the Alamo!)
10:20 EST: (Sean) Where’s Jindal? We heard the reply was supposed to begin sooner than this.
10:14 EST (Nate). And notice that he did pretty much everything that Lakoff suggested.
10:10 EST (Nate). I thought that was done, very, very well. If the country/markets/etc. were looking for a symbolic pivot point, this might have been it.
10:09 EST: (Sean) Who ever wants to volunteer to follow Big Speech Barack? What was Jindal thinking?
10:08 EST: (Sean) “Something worthy to be remembered.”
10:03 EST: (Sean) Trademark Obama cynicism-to-hope pivot begins. We’re near the close of the Obama part. Bobby Jindal really wanted to follow this?
9:57 EST: (Sean) “For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.” Yet, unresolved is whether photographs of flag-draped caskets at Dover AFB will be allowed. No photos = hiding the price.
9:54 EST: (Nate): Cut agricultural subsidies? We ain’t in Iowa anymore, Barack.
9:52 EST: (Sean) Obama translation: “did you realize there wasn’t any bit of pork or earmarks?” Republicans boo. So deep in the wilderness.
9:45 EST: (Nate). Just like he used the inaugural address to sell the stimulus, he’s using this one to sell health care — hard. Although, I think his pitch is much more effective tonight.
9:42 EST: (Sean) Obama strong rhetorical rhythm point of the speech on “a retooled, re-imagined auto industry…. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”
9:41 EST (Nate). Bipartisan applause for cap-and-trade.
9:38 EST: (Sean) Sneak preview on high school dropouts: “Every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country.”
9:33 EST (Nate). More prosaic than poetic tonight, but I think he’s communicating very, very well. Frankly, I think this is the approach that a lot of folks were expecting at the inauguration.
9:30 EST (Nate). The Straits Times index is up almost 0.21 percent since the top of the hour! Rejoice!
9:29 EST: (Sean) We have a drinking game winner. The Empathizer-in-Chief uses “you/your” 48 times.
9:25 EST (Nate). The GOP needed to have a better clapping gameplan. Mitch McConnell not clapping (and, in fact, looking like he’s getting ready to pick his nose) at college tuition tax credits = bad.
9:20 EST: (Sean) Nate’s here. I accidentally keep erasing his posts. I have been meaning to ask, of Sean Penn and Taraji Henson, which is Indiana and which is Omaha? “Omaha Sean Penn” kind of rolls off the tongue pretty well, I think.
9:14 EST: (Sean) Obama enters the chamber just ahead of Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer.
9:11 EST: (Sean) Look for an emotional moment in the speech involving a certain Senator from Massachusetts.
9:07 EST: (Sean) Starting late. Word search is fun.
Health: 23 (usually health care)
Education: 16 (once is educate, once is educators)
Challenge: 7
Responsibility: 13
Jobs: 14
CEOs: 1
9:05 EST (Nate): Probably not a coincidence that they wanted Geithner (least popular cabinet member) and Clinton (most popular cabinet member) in the same frame.
9:02 EST: (Nate) For those obsessed with the market’s reaction to all of this: the Nikkei index, which is trading at this hour, now sits at 7,383.91.
9:00 EST: (Nate). CNN has already called Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut for Obama.
8:57 EST: (Sean) Chris Matthews not impressed “at all” with Jindal’s speech, cites “Disneyland” mockery of light rail. Matthews loves rail.
8:55 EST: (Sean) A few more.
Recover/Recovery: 15
Crisis: 11
Recession: 6
Democrat/s/ic: 3
Republican/s: 3
8:50 EST: (Sean) 10 min to go, though they’re supposed to be running late. The text has the following words this many times:
America/American/Americans: 38
Economy: 22
Congress: 11
Confident/Confidence: 7
Optimism/Optimist: 0
Difficult: 4
Also, I wonder if anyone messes with Joe Biden.