Two Notes on the State of the Union

1. To whoever was sitting behind and to the First Lady's left: Fishnet pantyhose are acceptable attire if you are going to a costume party or are renting out your body. For a Presidential address before a joint session of Congress, particularly if the seating arrangement assures maximum TV exposure of you from the knee down, go for solid hose in a nice neutral tone.

2. To the President: when you begin by addressing "fellow citizens," please remember that includes people in their 20s, even if none of us are in the room at the time. Those big cameras pointed at you are piping the address straight into our TiVos, and no matter what you may hear, some of us do pay attention. More of us would probably pay attention if you at least pretended to talk to us. Try addressing me directly, not talking to my parents about the need to fix Social Security so it will be around for my generation. My parents are not paying into my IRA; I am. I thought I was at least a decade beyond having to feel like someone is saying "Shush! The grownups are talking." What he actually said was

I recognize that 2018 and 2042 may seem like a long way off. But those dates are not so distant, as any parent will tell you. If you have a 5-year-old, you're already concerned about how you'll pay for college tuition 13 years down the road. If you've got children in their 20s, as some of us do, the idea of Social Security collapsing before they retire does not seem like a small matter. And it should not be a small matter to the United States Congress

Let me say that those dates aren't so distant, as anyone in their 20s planning a stable retirement will tell you. In 2018, I'll be 40, and in 2042, I'll be 64. I'm old enough to be concerned about my own retirement, thank you, and would like to at least nominally be included in the discussion. I find it very patronizing to listen to the President talking about the obligation to the children and grandchildren when I'm probably younger than a lot of their children. I graduated from the kiddie table a long time ago. I'd like to be able to sit with the grownups and talk about things that impact me personally.