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President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address is complete. Article II Section 3 of the Constitution states:

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;

The STOU was not always spoken.  Though George Washington and John Adams did deliver speeches to Congress, in 1801 Thomas Jefferson merely delivered a written account, and it wasn’t until 1913 that Woodrow Wilson began delivering a speech again. Broadcast technology provided radio addresses beginning in 1923, and TV addresses in 1947.

In this article, I’ll provide initial impressions of Mr. Trump’s speech, and of the personalities and events swirling around it. Tomorrow, I’ll add more detailed coverage, including analysis of the commentary of various politicians and various talking heads.

Initial Observations:

* At 120 minutes and some 115 applause lines, the speech was substantially too long. I suspect Mr. Trump won’t make that mistake again.

* Melania Trump entered in a stunning, white pantsuit that seemed to glow, but not nearly as much as her smile and grace.

* Mr. Trump’s speaking skills have dramatically improved. He seldom repeated himself as a sort of vocalized pause. He was not nearly so bombastic, and was–dare I say it–Presidential. His reading was generally fluent, and he seemed sincere throughout. He’s still not a natural, but he’s much better.

* Early statement: He said America’s “righteous mission: to make America great again for all Americans.” Democrats could not have disagreed more.

Democrats on the right, seated, scowling: Mr. Trump’s view for the entire speech.

*He early called for unity and common ground. I watched Fox, and they seldom focused on Democrats responding to Mr. Trump, but when they did, most sat, refusing to applaud, looking either disgusted, sullen, angry or some combination of the three. Nancy Pelosi, clad in a shapeless black dress, stared daggers at Mr. Trump.

* Mr. Trump’s recitation of the great economic news brought nothing but disdain and hatred from the Democrats. When he said Black unemployment is at the lowest level ever recorded, the Black Congressional Caucus sat motionless, hate obviously radiating from them.

* Mention of the tax bill and its many benefits brought the same disrespectful response. It’s impossible to convey the degree of mindless hatred the Democrats have for normal, deplorable Americans. Mr. Trump is merely the focus of that hatred. For them, there is no going back to love for America and working for all Americans, to whatever degree they were able or willing to ever do such.

* Mr. Trump’s first callout was to Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee Lappert who saved many lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Another early callout was to the flag, and another, to standing for the national anthem. Most Democrats remained seated, refusing to applaud and scowling.

* All the good news and worthy initiatives Mr. Trump mentioned, from supporting our veterans, defending the Second Amendment, protecting religious liberty, removing unnecessary and destructive regulations and allowing the terminally ill to participate in experimental treatments that might save their lives, were clearly and crudely opposed by Democrats. There appeared to be nothing of value to the American people they support. No doubt, Mr. Trump expected just that response, and he surely got it.

* When President Trump introduced two sets of parents–both Black–whose daughters were murdered by MS13 thugs, many, but not all, Democrats rose and applauded them. They were smart enough not to behave like animals at that moment–barely.

* Mr. Trump framed immigration issues in terms of protecting Americans, and observed “Americans are dreamers too.” Brilliant, and it drew a predictable response from Democrats.

* When Mr. Trump mentioned ending chain migration, and putting America first, there was substantial booing and catcalling. Classy.

* Mr. Trump took a swipe at Obama when he declared Terrorists “unlawful enemy combatants,” said they’d be treated as such for our benefit, and would be kept in Gitmo. Democrats hated that.

* In speaking of destroying ISIS and our other enemies, he observed we set no artificial time lines, and don’t tell our enemies our plans. The Democrat reaction was as predictable as it was disgusting.

* No fewer than six Democrats gave rebuttals to Mr. Trump’s speech, including in Spanish (what, no tagalog or attic Greek?), carried, of course, on the major networks. Double standard alert: if Republicans asked for more than one response after a Democrat’s STOU speech, the screams of outrage would be deafening. And they say Republicans are divided.

* Some Democrats walked out early. Comity in Congress is dead.

Final Thoughts:

The official Democrat response was done by Joe Kennedy III, at a technical school in his Massachusetts district. He had an audience of sycophantic students who would have applauded if he sneezed. To Kennedy and the Democrats, America is pretty much summed up by “hatred and supremacy marching proudly in our streets.” Everything positive that has happened in the last year was given a 180° negative progressive spin. In other words, not only did Kennedy fail to directly respond to Mr. Trump, virtually everything he said was a lie.

Mrs. Trump is one of Mr. Trump’s, and America’s, national assets. And she’s a successful immigrant, proud of her adopted country, and contributing immeasurably to it. I wonder why the Media and Democrats never mention that?

The primary lesson of the speech is Democrats will never willingly work cooperatively with Mr. Trump for the good of America. They’ll only act if their political fortunes are so bleak they have no other choice. They either hate Mr. Trump and all Americans that support him so madly they can’t do good, or their ideology won’t allow it regardless of whatever Republican is president. Which is worse, gentle readers, is for you to decide.

Everything normal Americans are for, everything America needs, lower taxes, low unemployment for everyone, including Blacks and Hispanics, the lowest unemployment claims in 45 years, the destruction of ISIS, firing incompetent and harmful federal employees that brutalized our veterans, 2.4 million new jobs in a single year, all of that, they oppose.

Democrats clearly oppose American success and individual liberty. Perhaps the greatest benefit of Mr. Trump’s presidency, other than Hillary Clinton not being president, is he has so deranged Democrats, they are demonstrating their absolute loathing of Americans and America without concealment for the first time.

I suspect Mr. Trump said many things in this address to give them the maximum opportunity to demonstrate their hatred, derangement and their anti-American beliefs. That’s one opportunity of which they took full advantage.

It was a good and effective speech. Too long, but almost entirely devoid of soaring rhetoric that meant nothing and is forgotten before the echo dies away, and full of the practicality and down to Earth surety of a man who understands what it is to make a payroll, and to actually build things, on time and under budget.

More tomorrow.