Like many Americans, I caught President Obama’s speech last night.  I normally try to listen to the speech and then read it later.  I also attempt to stay away from the cable and network news and form my own opinion.

I succeeded and here it is…

This was a very important speech.  If you are one of the millions of Americans who are out of work, you are probably wishing more than most that the officials “serving” us in Washington, D.C. will work together for the good of the country – to help get it on track.

If you have read my columns for any length of time, you know that I believe politicians mostly look ahead to their next election more than they look out for us.  The President hit on that issue right from the start:

This past week, reporters have been asking, “What will this speech mean for the President?  What will it mean for Congress?  How will it affect their polls, and the next election?”

Then he gives an answer I would give:

But the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care about politics. They have real-life concerns. Many have spent months looking for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by — giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to send a kid to college.

One of my friends texted me during the speech and said, “When was the last time they (Washington politicians) had to eat tuna casserole.”

The President introduced the American Jobs Act and tells the audience that it is something Democrats and Republicans have supported in the past and that it is paid for.

He goes on to say, “It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for long-term unemployed.”

Falling into two of those categories, I think it is a good deal – but as they say, “The devil is in the details.”

So the American Jobs Act should be easy to pass, right?  If they really wanted to help America, they could probably pass it today or this weekend and get the ball rolling next week on getting America’s ship righted.

Sure, and there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for you and me.

After explaining his plan and toward the end of the speech, the President brings his audience back to reality with this paragraph:

But know this: The next election is 14 months away. And the people who sent us here — the people who hired us to work for them — they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months. Some of them are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, even day to day. They need help, and they need it now.

And some of us are eating tuna casserole, too.

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