The Day After 

Last night the president delivered a prime-time speech to a divided nation. As we noted in yesterday's report, only 31% of Americans believe the country is better off now than in 2009, when Obama took office. 

The general consensus is that Obama's remarks amounted to "small ball" with little substance beyond his pledge to stretch the limits of his power with more executive actions. Charles Krauthammer said: 
 

• "Well, there wasn't a lot in the speech. … You know, he brought out stuff he tried last year and that went nowhere… When he repeated Guantanamo, which is a cause he gave up on himself years ago, you knew that he'd sort of run out of ideas."

Of course the liberal media are trumpeting Obama's declaration last night to end run Congress. During his remarks, Obama said, "Wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation … that's what I'm going to do." 

Every judge across America and every member of Congress should be worried about this assault on their constitutional authority. Sadly, while some members of Congress are pushing back, since Robert Byrd passed away virtually no member of the president's party has had the courage to say, "Mr. President, enough! I may agree with you on the issues, but we are nation of laws, sir." 

Is A Backlash Building? 

The media may swoon for Obama flexing his executive muscles, but the American people are not. A new Rasmussen poll finds that 69% of likely voters believe the president should work with Congress, while only 27% believes the president should go around Congress.

A CNN snap poll conducted among State of the Union viewers found similar results: 67% said they wanted Obama to compromise with Congress, while just 30% said they preferred for him to act on his own. By the way, the CNN oversampled Democrats by 19 points. 

A Brief Rebuttal 

I could write pages critiquing the president's speech, but here are just a few thoughts.
 

• Obama claimed to support an "all of the above" approach to energy. But his administration is attempting to regulate the coal industry out of existence. Obama called for higher taxes on energy companies and failed to mention the Keystone pipeline. His vow to protect more federal lands was a not-so-subtle suggestion that he intends to make even more land off limits to energy exploration. 
   
• His claim about cutting the deficit in half sounded good but lacked context. Deficits exploded to record levels during Obama's first term. In fact, the national debt increased more in Obama's first three years than it did in all eight years of George W. Bush's presidency. 
   
• On climate change, Obama declared, "The debate is settled. Climate change is a fact." No one is questioning climate change. What is debatable is the left's obsession with global warming and the efficacy of the big government, redistributionist policies they propose to address it. 

  Yes, the earth's climate changes. But what if liberals have it exactly wrong? There is evidence indicating we could be entering another dramatic cooling period. 
   

• One of Obama's proposed unilateral actions is his "MyRA" plan -- sort of a forced savings tax allowing the government to get its hands on even more of your paycheck. Asked about the idea this morning on CNBC, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Budget Committee, said, "I don't know what it is. … If he's saying he's doing this without going through Congress, then I have no idea what he is proposing."
   
• And perhaps the best laugh line of the night came when Obama suggested he was "in the process of fixing" our "broken health care system." 

  Standing With Israel 

  I am writing today from deep in the heart of Texas, where Christians and Jews, Americans and Israelis who care about the U.S./Israeli alliance against our jihadist enemies are meeting in San Antonio under the auspices of Pastor John Hagee's Christians United for Israel. 

  I spoke to the group yesterday and confess I was concerned that my remarks might be too negative and depressing. I didn't have anything to worry about. 

  Other speakers included Israelis involved in the Israeli Defense Forces and with contacts in the Israeli intelligence community. They warned that the policies being pursued by the Obama Administration, including its agreement with the mullahs in Tehran, may well lead to a horrible conflict and the use of the very nuclear weapons the president says he opposes. 

  By the way, the text of that deal is being kept from the American people. The only possible reason to keep it secret is fear that the American people would be furious if they knew truth. Obama knows what he signed and the Iranians are saying, "We won!" 

  Obama seems to have said to Iran, "If you like your nuclear program, you can keep your nuclear program." And unlike his false promise to the American people, he seems prepared to keep this one. 

  Referring to Obama's quoting of the old John Lennon song, "Give peace a chance," I noted in my remarks that while it is a catchy anthem, it is not a foreign policy. It would not have stopped Hitler, it would not have brought down the Soviet Union and it will not stop the jihadists who remain at war with us. 

  House Bans Taxpayer Funding Of Abortions 

  Just hours before President Obama spoke to the nation from the House of Representatives, that chamber passed a bill to prevent your hard-earned tax dollars from being used to pay for abortions. The bill passed 227-to-188. Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), H.R. 7 also prevents taxpayer subsidies in Obamacare from paying for insurance plans that cover elective abortions. 

  Unfortunately, it is unlikely to get a vote in the Senate, and President Obama vowed to veto the bill if it passed Congress.