Anyone else watch the president address Congress last night?

I love the fact that his speech is also on the White House website in Spanish.

The Bush administration might have done that—but only so that they could track anyone who read the Spanish version, eavesdrop on their phone calls, arrest them without charges, torture them, try to convert them, and then deport them.

(And by the way—how great was it to hear Obama say, ” I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture”? Pretty great.)

Hyperbole aside, some simple reactions:

I thought it was a fine speech, conveying his concern about the economy to the American people, and that the Republicans behaved boorishly.

I loved it when he said that health care reform would be addressed within a year, but I find it hard to believe; members of Congress just don’t get how terrifying the idea of getting sick without health insurance is for so many people across the country.

I like Joe Biden, and now I like him more; I’ve never liked Nancy Pelosi, and now I like her less. Could she stop jumping up and down like someone is goosing her?

I really wish members of Congress would stop asking the president for an autograph. Ticky-tack.

I also wish that CBS News consistently identified Dan Bartlett, whose analysis was clearly partisan, as a former close aide to President Bush, instead of as “a CBS News political analyst.” I’ll bet most Americans have no idea who Bartlett is….

Sure, it was cheesy, but I loved that bit about the young girl who wrote, “We are not quitters.” It’s great, how inspiring children can sometimes be, and how they can remind us of what we should aspire to.

I love that Obama said that we need to ” save our planet from the ravages of climate change.” Jesus, it’s about time that an American president acknowledged this.

If you don’t think that Obama was terrific last night, try this exercise: Imagine how you would have felt if John McCain were standing up there under the same circumstances…..

Now, that’s scary.