Fineman: Obama Should Be On Mt. Rushmore For That Speech

"If presidential leadership were only about giving speeches, the jackhammers would already be at work on Mt. Rushmore."

So amazingly said Newsweek's Howard Fineman shortly after President Obama finished his State of the Union Address, but that wasn't the only absurd thing he told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Wednesday's "Countdown."

"In many, many ways, this is one of the most conservative speeches that a Democratic president has given since I think the middle of Bill Clinton's time," Fineman idiotically claimed.

I guess in all his excitement, Fineman forgot that Obama IS the first Democrat in the White House SINCE Clinton (video embedded below the fold with transcript, h/t Story Balloon): 

HOWARD FINEMAN, NEWSWEEK: If presidential leadership were only about giving speeches, the jackhammers would already be at work on Mt. Rushmore. I thought the guy dominated the room, used humor, occupied the middle ground. It was both theatrically very good, playing in the hall much better than it read on the page, tactically quite smart. Keith, this was one of the most conservative speeches that I, leaving aside the fact that the tax, some of the Bush tax cuts will lapse, some of the other features in there. By and large, talking about tax cuts, stressing tax cuts, spending freezes, talking about the virtues of the econ, free enterprise and the economy. In many, many ways, this is one of the most conservative speeches that a Democratic president has given since I think the middle of Bill Clinton's time. And it was tactically quite smart on the President's part. And his tone, which was all sweet reasonableness, designed as Rachel said to force the Republicans to stand up as they eventually did, I thought it was, it was very, very well done, and really left the Republican governor of Virginia very little to say. He didn't have much to say to begin with.

And people think there's a liberal bias in the media.