I don't know whether this is a compliment to the man himself or his consultants, but it is a compliment nonetheless.

It is rare that I, with all my particular biases, find fault with his speeches the first time through - the way I would immediately react, in the midst of almost every sentence, to most of the Republican field.

No, to find fault in Obama, I have to consult a written form and let it all sink in.

Regardless, I thought the program the president laid out in the state of the union was unambitious. I suppose that's what you get when a president and his policies, against all reason, have been labeled radical.

Obama doesn't want to back down from the course he has charted, but can't bring out anything truly meaningful without risking a return to the "radical" moniker.

On the other side, he can't backtrack for fear of losing those of us on the left who may still nurse a glimmer of "hope."

For all these faults, I still believe his program - not in every detail, but in whole - is much more pragmatic than anything I've heard a Republican suggest.

But that's not was, in my opinion, the single most important part of the president's speech last Tuesday.

The point to which I refer was repeated often, in different formations throughout the speech, and was almost subtle enough to escape immediate recognition. I'm sure it was intended to do so.

Even so, it was not enough to stop Romney's people from picking up on it and on its importance - the candidate replied directly in his rebuttal.

Have you guessed what it is yet? I hope not, after I've spent all this time building up suspense.

"Send me a bill and I will sign it!" There it was. Anticlimactic? Let me explain.

This short turn of phrase, elaborated on later in the speech, is a subtle reminder to the American people that the president is not the sole mover of the nation. It's a reminder that it is the legislature, not the executive, which is vested with the power to institute any true changes in policy.

Not to ignore the power of the presidency, but let's face it: the stagnation of Congress almost brought our government to its knees last summer. It has still failed to solve the budget deficit. The senate has filibustered more in the last session than ever before. Healthcare reform was gutted. They even refuse to appoint Obama's nominations to the circuit court.

To blame the president for the faults of government is a mistake. Meaningful reform requires the legislature and the legislature, now more than ever before, refuses to work effectively.

Obama was shrewd in his decision to remind us.

Daniel DeCarlo, a senior psychology major, writes about modern politics and government.