(Danville, California)

One of the things I love about the Internet is that I can write and file my blogs from anywhere. I started the day in Rhode Island, drove to Boston and then flew to San Francisco for two days of business. It will be a quick turnaround, with a “red eye” back to New England Thursday night.

Anyway, I watched Democratic President Obama deliver his first State of the Union address tonight, just as I watched Rhode Island’s Republican Governor Don Carcieri delivery his eighth and final State of the State address last night.

The similarities were striking. The focus of both was jobs, jobs and jobs. Both proposed tax cuts and tax credits for small businesses in particular, since small businesses still generate most of the new jobs.

Both Obama and Carcieri called for more bipartisanship. Good luck to both! It’s an election year, and I don’t see more bipartisanship happening, which is sad. Rhode Island has an unemployment rate of 12.9 percent, with 73,000 out of work. The overall national unemployment rate is at 10.2 percent. You would think both parties might work together to find common ground and, at least, to approve measures on which they can agree.

From Governor Carcieri last night calling for spending cuts and no new taxes: “To do these things, it is time for us to put our differences aside. It’s time for all of us in this Chamber to come together and do the people’s business—to make the common sense choices to steer our state through this storm. The time is urgent. It is now!”

Tonight from President Obama, stinging from recent Democratic election and legislative losses and speaking about the American people: “They are tired of the shouting, the partisanship and the pettiness.” He said the public wants the two parties to work together--“for Democrats and Republicans to work through our differences.” He even got Republicans to stand and applaud when he said that it's time to explore building new nuclear power plants and explore offshore drilling. So, let’s see the bills to make that happen. Or is it just talk?

But then Obama took a shot at Republicans: “Just saying 'no' to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. Let’s show the American people we can do it together.” That was hardly an olive branch.

So, will the two sides work together at the state or federal level? Don’t count on it. It sounds nice; but, in an election year, each side is trying to gain a tactical advantage. The Republicans will try to leverage a Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts and its appeal to independent voters. The Democrats will likely try to leverage the people who have no health insurance, but probably won’t succeed, because the big bill in Congress is probably going to fail or be greatly scaled back.

One thing I can admire tonight is the Republican response to President Obama, delivered by Virginia’s new Republican Governor, Robert McDonnell. No, not for the content. It was the backdrop. For years, the opposing party's response--whether from Democrats or Republicans--has resounded with a giant thud. After hearing a President in all the grandeur of the Capitol, then hearing a person standing in an empty room, the scene has always been way out of balance. Tonight, the opposing party at least had the good sense to put people (with applause) behind their speaker. Nice job!

The only other thing I remember from the opposing speech tonight is another call for Democrats and Republicans to work together. Don’t bet the farm! But what each side is learning (as Scott Brown and Barack Obama learned from their election victories) is that the winning side is the side who wins the middle, that vast and growing group of people--dissatisfied with both parties--who call themselves independents.

This is the group which will decide the outcome of campaign 2010.