I'm not surprised. The water thing was hard to miss. Plus, the fact is that Rubio didn't say anything new. He'll recover from last night's performance, but if he truly wants to be the party's savior, he has to have something fresher to say.
I wouldn't call President Obama's speech exactly dazzling. I thought it was quite good. The last part about gun violence, of course, was amazing. The rest was a compendium of policies that, taken together, are quite impressive -- but also pretty unlikely, given the nature of the current Congress. So pay attention to the things he can do through executive action.
By the way, sorry for the late start. A bit overscheduled today.
I hope we get one soon. I can't claim to be optimistic in the short term, but as Republicans begin to realize the challenges they face in national and statewide elections, I think they'll come to their senses.
President Obama has been calling for lower corporate tax rates for some time. You must be talking about some other Obama.
You have a point. Senate Democrats will have to take a stand if there is to be meaningful action on gun control. I understand the political reasons for their reluctance, but I believe there's a moral imperative here.
The opposition "response" is a useless exercise. All it seems to do is hurt (Jindal) or help (Huckabee) the career of the hapless politician who delivers it.
You've put your finger on the problem with Rubio's speech, in my view, which is that he seemed callow. He managed to sound less experienced and knowledgeable than he really is. Just a bad outing for him, in his prime-time debut.
When are politicans going to realize that they are operating under false premises regarding gun violence? Much of the legislation proposed will help to reduce the toll that guns take, but none represent a cure, and I submit, even if all the proposed legislation is passed and enforced, the death toll will decline only marginally. The real problem is the honoured place guns have in American society. Guns almost outnumber people, and if the NRA has its way, guns will outnumber people soon . Almost everyone who speaks against gun violence prefaces his or her remarks with a reverence for the right to own guns. American movies are often a vehicle for demonstrating how the solution to almost every problem is a firearm. The movies rarely show the long-term effects that gun violence has on people. Until guns are seen as the problem and not the solution, and until it becomes uncool for people to open carry or have an arsenal in their homes, gun violence will continue, Public attitudes have to change, and I'd love for just one political leader to openly say that guns are the problem. The proof of the concept is watching 1940s movies (or Mad Men) and see how pervasive smoking was before it became socially unacceptable.
Good points, but the fact is that even if all gun sales were somhow banned tomorrow -- which would require a constitutional amendment -- this country would still be supersaturated with firearms. The modest gun-control measures under consideration would have limited impact on the death toll. But they would have some impact, which means that some young girl might live to see her senior prom. That's not trivial.
The president has submitted a budget every year. Talk to Congress about passing one.
I'm afraid liberals aren't that diabolical.
I don't see how SNL can avoid it, although it's almost too easy. I actually felt sorry for Rubio. What idiot staged that mess? If you're going to give him a bottle of water, put it within reach! Rubio's mouth was so dry he could hardly get the words out. It happens. His mistake was to keep looking at the camera as he stooped to grab the bottle, as if nobody was supposed to notice. Instead, he had to own it. He should have said "Pardon me," turned his attention to the water bottle, reached for it, taken a sip, put it down, and then turned back to resume eye contact with the viewers.
That's all for today, folks. Sorry again for the late start, and I'll see you next week.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions or criticisms about The Post's Live Q&As? Send us an e-mail.
Become a fan of Post Live on Facebook.
Follow @WashingtonPost on Twitter.
