The President’s report to Congress on the state of the Union wasn’t too long - maybe the clapping just didn’t take up as much time as in the past. If you missed it, you can go to the Whitehouse site and watch a full length stream. I went there to read the transcript because I was greatly distracted by Speaker Pelosi last night.  What is up with all her blinking anyway? John Stern, Ph.D. and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis found that “When information acquisition is important, you actively inhibit your blinking.” Enough said.

Now that I am done analyzing blink rates, I’ll tell you that I found President Bush’s address to be very mild and not confrontational - representative of his lame duck status. I am not saying it’s good or bad but the polarization of America is either getting better or it’s just on a dangerous hiatus. His speech had something for both sides at the same time. For example, he wants the government to buy oil for the SPR and simultaneously, wants consumers to reduce their consumption of gasoline, primarily through biofuels and improved automotive fuel efficiency. He even pushed for alternative energy such as wind, solar, battery, etc. and said “..these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change.” They weren’t satisfactory to most Dems, but he even offered up more liberal plans for health care benefits. As I said, the speech was a safe one despite how much some politicians and spinmeisters will try to stir the partisan pot.

Regarding the effect on our markets, I didn’t hear or read much that would provide a challenge or push during his remaining tenure. I just don’t expect much to get done by Congress that he will not veto and anything that gets through will not likely have an impact on the factors that affect stocks.