Bipartisanship remains elusive

President Obama's first State of the Union address Wednesday night was a "do over." Fresh from the devastating Senate race loss in Massachusetts last week, Obama and team realize they must shift course. Part of that was reiterating the word "bipartisanship" several times. Obama even offered to meet with Republicans.

At the same time, Obama couldn't resist the urge to remind his audience that his predecessor took office with a budget surplus and left him a huge deficit. When the cameras quickly turned to John McCain, you could clearly see him lean over to a colleague and say in an exhausted manner, "Blame Bush." Mr. President, reminding everyone that George W. Bush wasn't the best at math won't help your push for bipartisanship.

This is not to say that this is all Obama's fault. From the day Obama took office, Republicans in Congress have rebuked him at every turn. Sure, they have genuine policy differences with him, but it's no secret that the GOP hierarchy would rather Obama fail with the hope of re-taking the White House in three years. That's politics, but it's also turning off Americans and quickly growing the number of people who call themselves Independents. Meanwhile, the country's problems grow and solutions remain elusive. Republicans might be happy that healthcare reform has been derailed, but medical attention is still expensive and is bankrupting families and governments alike.

Leadership could mean getting party leaders from both sides behind closed doors and figuring a way to give both parties a little of what they want. Maybe Democrats would give up anti-business labor ideas and Republicans could agree to support some limited but meaningful ways to reduce healthcare costs. Both parties might be pleasantly surprised at how a little "win-win" bipartisanship would be received by most Americans. Will it happen? I doubt it.

Is Obama a UK fan or a Kentucky fan?

What an honor it was Tuesday for President Obama to call the UK basketball team and congratulate them for the money it raised for the efforts in Haiti. UK basketball is riding high again at the top of the college basketball world and deserves the president's kudos for another job well done.

As I watched the replay of the call on TV, however, I couldn't help but think about the irony of it. President Obama lost big in Kentucky to John McCain, his environmental policies threaten Kentucky coal, its corresponding low electricity rates and economic competitiveness. Plus, Obama's chief antagonist in the Senate is, of course, Kentucky's Mitch McConnell. To add to the irony, Lexington Congressman Ben Chandler joined the president in the call. Chandler's vote for the liberal and controversial cap and trade bill in the House soiled him badly in his home district and promptly stripped him of his previous "unbeatable" status.

Make no mistake. The call to the UK squad and Coach Cal from Obama was very appropriate (and perhaps a precursor to another congratulatory call later this spring). UK basketball is bigger than politics and is probably at least one thing Governor Beshear and Senator David Williams agree upon. Still, I couldn't help but smile at how the president shined a positive light on Kentucky for a few moments; at the same time, many don't think his environmental priorities are positive for the state in any way.

Note: I wrote this prior to UK's loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night.