During the State of the Union address, the president showed fight and spunk. Where has that guy been for the past year? Obama nailed it when telling spineless Democrats: "I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills."
The message: Quit whining and buck up because I am in the game. It's about time. "No Drama Obama" needs to step up to the plate and take a swing at job creation and healthcare reform. He has been in the dugout for far too long. To Republican leadership, Obama said, now that Massachusetts wunderkind Scott Brown is on board: the "responsibility to govern is now yours as well." The New York Times called the SOTU "a bid to recapture the magic, a dose of reality."
We can do with less magic and more reality surrounding the daily lives of millions of Americans who are jobless and suffering with healthcare relief just inches from their grasp. No more pixie dust. Obama has got to close a healthcare deal ASAP, and then move on.
The Apple CEO, meanwhile, is a victim of the company's own hype. Alas, Steve Jobs, a master showman and design genius, is no Superman.
The much-anticipated Apple tablet computer was pitched by the media as the potential savior of the newspaper industry. One recent item told how Jobs is a champion of the free press, and a firm believer that the collapse of "mainstream media" is a threat to America's democracy. Apple's secretive PR squad did nothing to cool the hype. Drumroll please, welcome to the iPad.
The iPad looks like a bigger version of the iPod Touch. During the great unveiling, it appeared that Jobs got a jumbo iPod Touch as a reward for being CEO of his "personal mobility company." A song popped into my head. It was the 1969 classic >"Is That All There Is" by Peggy Lee.
My family loves the performance and reliability of Apple's line-up. We have a Mac mothership, two laptops, three iPods, an iTouch and an iPhone. One questions where the iPad fits in the grand scheme of Apple's product roster. Some say the iPad is a killer of Kindle, Amazon's e-reader. That raises the question: will Americans shell out $500 for the cheapest iPad when they can pick up a Kindle for $259 and use Apple laptops and iPod Touches for everything else an iPad can do?
Time will tell. One thing is certain: never underestimate Jobs. The iPhone was considered a dud when it was introduced. Early critics were proven to be very, very wrong. Keep an eye on the iPad.