The State of the Union in 2011

President Barack Obama offered his third State of the Union address to the nation last night. It was not particularly remarkable. Indeed, it was rather bland, as though it had no real direction.

He tried throughout the speech to sound positive and upbeat, yet it seemed forced. That the President is a man with a certain charisma is without doubt. But that does not seem to translate well into a man who can inspire, which is what he seemed to be attempting last night.

No doubt that many of his supporters will point out that his proposals received high marks immediately after the talk; A CBS News poll had what the President proposed at an astounding 92 percent approval while seeing support for his economics jump to 81 percent. But those numbers cannot be counted for much as they will surely wane as the Tucson shootings fall further back into our history. We need only remember George W. Bush high marks immediately after 9/11: the nation tends to rally behind whoever is the leader right after a sudden and inexplicable event.

Mr. Obama wasn't all that smooth in his delivery. He stumbled a few times late in the speech and truly offered few specifics. A time or two an attempt at humor to lighten things up fell flat, although to his credit the remark leading into comments on health care was properly snarky: "Now, I've heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law." The President deserves praise for his comments in accepting John Boehner as the new House Speaker, too. They were well said and well played. Much of the speech was a laundry list, but that was to be expected. There were few surprises there.

In the end, what the President asked for was bipartisanship. What else could he do, given the circumstances? He was trying to tell the country that he would work with whom we have sent him. How far that will play out remains to be seen, of course, and even on this night of coming together, newly elected Republicans need to stay emboldened and focused on what they were sent to Washington to do. This is a President willing to force his views on your constituents even when they clearly did not want them; don't be too quick to accept the olive branch merely for appearances. The glow will fade, and you have real work to do.

It wasn't a terrible speech, yet it was not a very good one either. The President played the right keys under the circumstances. But can he find the right ones as the shirt sleeves are rolled up and he's not the center of attention?