Giffords highlight of State of the Union speech

All State of the Union speeches wear thin pretty fast for me. Last night's was no exception.

While President Barack Obama is one of our best orators, his lilting style of articulating domestic policies that clearly have failed have me yelling at the TV set too much to really enjoy the experience. Couple that with the partisan standing Os, the unbecoming display of Congresscritters clamoring for the president to sign their copy of the speech and the tiresome technique of inviting real people to the speech and then referring to them as if that somehow makes the policy point true and it's just not a pleasant experience anymore.

But I watch because I care about what's happening to this country. I'll write more on that later.

The one bright spot for me last night came in seeing again Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a farewell sort of appearance. After her assassination attempt that left her for dead with a gunshot wound to the head, her remarkable recovery captured the attention of the nation. And while her recovery is nothing short of a miracle, she decided to resign for the good of her constituents.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. I am getting better. Every day my spirit is high. I have more work to do in my recovery. So to do what's best for Arizona, I will step down this week."

Wow. That's inspirational. Here's to you, Gabby. May your recovery be as remarkable moving forward as it has up until now.