Major Owens: “today is the day after the State of the Union Address, and I have been asked to make many comments by the press, by…”

“today is the day after the State of the Union Address, and I have been asked to make many comments by the press, by constituents, on the State of the Union Address. It is a very important occasion for our Nation, and our lives should be focused on it. We heard last night certainly one of the greatest State of the Union Addresses ever delivered in this Hall. We heard last night the voice of a great leader of the Western World. We heard a President that sent a clear message to Washington that he is ready to take charge. We heard a President send a clear message to the establishment that he will not tolerate their tricks, he will confront them head on on what matters most. If I had to give a grade to the President's State of the Union Address, I would give it an A minus, and I only say 'A minus' because we cannot afford, as Congresspersons and legislators, to admit that the executive branch has done anything perfect because there would be no need for us if we have a perfect executive. All we would have left to do would be to rubber stamp whatever he has proposed and go home. The A minus gives us room for a rationalization of our being. Madam Speaker, there is room for some improvement on the President's program.”