Real Shocker? MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Not Sold On Obama Speech

Of all the MSNBC commentators providing post-speech analysis, new 8pm host Lawrence O’Donnell provided the most unpredictable take on President Obama’s State of the Union Address. While Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Eugene Robinson, all thought Obama impressively gave a speech that unified the country, proved his belief in American exceptionalism, and helped him reclaim his stature as a leader, O’Donnell was most concerned with the fact that Obama hardly said anything specific.

O’Donnell continued with his critique:

“Very soft language all the way through. Gene [Robinson] said his language transcended our previous political vocabulary – to me it transcended it so far, that I don’t know what it meant through most of it. What does ‘out-innovate’ mean? There is no government program that’s being discussed there, so his intent is for us to not know what it means.”

The other MSNBC hosts laughed and anxiously tried to defend the speech, arguing specifics will come later. However, O’Donnell did not back down, and later declared Republicans should be content with the speech because “it actually, in the end, says very, very little.” Wow, talk about a refreshingly honest point of view, and one that might make O’Donnell leading off MSNBC’s primetime lineup a ratings blessing in disguise.

Watch the clip from MSNBC below:

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