State Of The Union Successfully Unites America Around Oily Fish

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address, intent on being inspiring and hopeful and uniting the country around the shared idea of investing in our future. It was, as he said in remarks that were basically trafficked around the mediasphere for days before the speech, "our Sputnik moment." Well, Americans listened. They found the speech inspiring. They remembered it being hopeful. But mostly, they remember it being about fish.

Yes, the "conversation" has "changed." And mostly it's changed in the direction of a popular fish that's used to make sashimi and is high in Omega-3 fatty acids. It all stems from this joke that President Obama told in the middle of the speech:

We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked.

And, per NPR, that's basically the only thing anyone is going to remember about the 2011 State of the Union address:

Right after President Barack Obama finished his State of the Union address, we asked our listeners to describe his speech in three words. We received responses from more than 4,000 of you. We've run them through a word cloud generator and this is what all of you said:

NPR found that even if you break respondents down into Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, the big takeaway was something about salmon.

Still, the good news is that Saddam Hussein did not obtain this salmon from Niger, to make weapons.

READ THE WHOLE THING:
The State Of The Union, In Your Words [NPR]

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Comments

[dsws]

06:18 PM on 01/28/2011

Ok, "salmon" is the winner. But couldn't we have "anadromous" be the runner-up?

[CAMBEL]

02:51 PM on 01/27/2011

Hey, at least people are remembering something from it!

[Star2000dancer]

08:02 PM on 01/26/2011

And there is no one that deals with protecting tenents from abusive & poor housing. Why is that?

I have called & searched everywhere. Today I called our State Attorney General. Some ditzy, enept Lisa calls me in the morning. I had left the message to call mee after noon. Wakes me up, & starts babbling about they do not have anything to do with abuse by Medical & Dental Universities, nor Tenents rights.

When I told her I had personally spoke to our last Attorney Generals & they were VERY interested, then asked her what position she held, she hung up on me. What is going on?

And for the record. I sick of hearing about entitlement spending. Leave out the paid benefits for the people who have paid for their benefits all theirs lives. You've already cut them for 2 years in are by at least $1.00 per day. That's huge. The rent went up, gas, utilities, phone, food. clothing, etc. Now these people are stressed out & alot have to move & can noe even afford necessities.

Paid benefits are NOT entltlements!

[ChelleAgain]

07:49 PM on 01/26/2011

Yep, would have been in my three word list too. Sometimes when you're president, you need the Wisdom of Salmon. ;)

Paul Ryan had really bloodshot eyes, like he'd been smoking some ... salmon. Bachmann, of course, always looks like she's having a bad trip.

[gurukalehuru]

06:27 PM on 01/26/2011

It wasn't about salmon. www.gurukalehuru.com

[Bike Commuter]

05:57 PM on 01/26/2011

Yes, it was a very good line, and it highlighted a very real issue that both Democrats and Republicans can get behind - runaway bureaucracy. Cutting unneccessary spending was one of his main points, and a single joke made everyone notice that part of the speech.

[dsws]

06:20 PM on 01/28/2011

But should we really structure our government around the fact that a few species of fish are anadromous?

[crabcake]

05:39 PM on 01/26/2011

I thought he was laughing at us folks along the Gulf coast. Hey, things are still bad here. No news doesn't necesarily mean good news.

[styrofoam]

11:37 PM on 01/26/2011

U tell um crabcake! This entire house is a mess. our world leaders need a new pool service because whats going on now isnt working. our swimming pool that we share with the entire world is so dirty that I found it so ironic that the key word of the speech was fish. pure poision. enjoy...and the Dems were strategicaly placed for the illusion of the entire room standing.

[p456]

08:33 AM on 01/27/2011

Most or the governors, senators and congress men and women from Gulf Coast states are republican. Ask the GOP for the help you need especially if you voted for any of them.

[ShawnRay]

05:33 PM on 01/26/2011

I thought he was talking about Nancy Pelosi.

[Xenobion]

05:24 PM on 01/26/2011

It was a good joke that reflects the bureaucracy that is our government.

[gurukalehuru]

05:18 PM on 01/26/2011

Folks like jokes
and some folks like to smoke
the joke wasn´t really bout nuffin

like the DEA
or the FDA
the salmon was just the macguffin

[framingtheissues]

05:12 PM on 01/26/2011

The problem with the president's statement about salmon, is that it seems to make the opposite point than what he intended to make. Judging by its name the Interior Department should be concerned with what is in the interior of the U.S., fresh water is generally found in the interior of the U.S., while salt water is more likely to be found in area outside the interior of the U.S.. It makes perfect sense that regulations that relate to departments with jurisdictions related to geography, are based on geographic boundaries, and not the actions of animals that cross those boundaries. For, example (not to compare people to fish), when people cross national borders, they are expected to follow the laws of the country they are in at the time (not just the laws of the nation that they come from).

[Tunghoy]

05:10 PM on 01/26/2011

As I was watching the address, all of a sudden I got hungry for lox and bagels. Hmmmm, maybe some nice whitefish salad, too.

[Laddy McFaddy]

04:35 PM on 01/26/2011

The punchline was a double entendre about the FDA and the DEA, I thought. And it was sly and clever. And definitely was the high point of an otherwise pretty color-by-numbers feel-good speech.

[mjc]

04:24 PM on 01/26/2011

Wonder what agency controls the coloring that is put in "farm raised/pond raised?" salmon? Seriously that dye is dangerous, according to Dr. Oz...not the wizard, the MD. But of course Obama would have had to criticize the fish wholesalers, probably a big business.

[Sharkcellar]

04:23 PM on 01/26/2011

I love salmon sashimi.

[Fretslayer]

05:18 PM on 01/26/2011

Oh, Hell ya!
:D

I could give up eating meat if it weren't for BBQ pork and Sushi!

[Sharkcellar]

06:56 PM on 01/26/2011

Yeah, cooking salmon to me is anathema. All I can think is "what a waste.".