I watched both Obama's State of the Union address and his Q&A "in the lion's den" with the Republicans on Friday.

As much as I love Obama, it makes me mad to see him "explaining" current difficulties and giving reasons as to why something isn't done yet, which is what he did in both appearances.

I wanted to see if anyone had the same reaction as me. When you spend your time rebutting and responding to criticism, that really makes you look pathetic even if you're right. As a matter of fact, it's not even necessary to respond to anything (or at least not in so much detail), you just go over people's heads and boldly lead.

Why? Because

1) People aren't stupid; they see everything and there's no need to respond to every little criticism like a hurt schoolboy because people collectively understand what's going on and that's why they elected you, meaning they generally already agree with you.

2) It's not a good idea to "explain away" why you didn't accomplish something, because even if there are good reasons, people don't like losers. If I see a loser, I can try to feel sorry for him and understand his situation, but much more intense is my feeling of disgust toward that loser because he happens to be a loser rather than a "winner." Excuses for bad luck make people just as mad as excuses for deliberate bad things. Not a very nice thing to say, but such is human nature.

Anybody have the same reaction?

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."