On Pearl Harbor Day, according to Google Trends, we’re reading about Alec Baldwin not being able to play Words with Friends on an airplane, Rod Blagojevich’s sentencing for trying to sell Obama’s old Senate seat, the apparent suicide of Rita Hayworth’s grandson, and the new preview for Jersey Shore Season 5.

Yesterday afternoon, the American President gave a history-making speech; he aligned his presidency, and the Democratic Party, with the struggle against stark income inequality, he declared war on unregulated businesses and banks, and set up a great debate with the Republicans, who believe bowing before business is the way forward to heal our economy…but was anyone listening? Do we have a case of the amnesia Obama referred to in his speech?

Newt Gingrich, according to a national Gallup poll, is ahead of Mitt Romney 37% to 22% among Republicans. On a state-by-state basis, Gingrich holds a substantial lead over Romney in Iowa, South Carolina, and Florida…3 of the first 4 Republican primaries. Newt shutdown the government in 1995, but the American people want an end to gridlock. Newt opposes taxing the wealthy, but the American people want the 1% to pay their fair share. Newt made a million dollars lobbying for Freddie Mac, and the American people want politicians that aren’t bought and paid for. Amnesia.

Mitt Romney’s platform looks pretty much the same as Newt’s, despite Romney’s fancy 59 point plan: reduce taxes on the wealthy, cut government spending, gut regulations passed in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, and cut government programs. Both of the Republicans who would be president are absolutely counting on American amnesia in order to win. They want us to forget that a reduction in taxes on the wealthy (the Bush tax cuts) was one of the main things that led to the deficit we now have, they want us to ignore that cutting government spending means more layoffs and no investment in education or science…making the U.S. economies second place ranking to China permanent, they want us to turn a blind eye to the lack of regulation that led to the 1% gambling away the American future in 2008, and they’re counting on us not to notice that the government programs they want to cut are the only thing keeping hundreds of thousands of American families afloat. They’re hoping that the only thing American voters see is a bad economy, and an out of touch President.

In Osawatomie, Kansas, yesterday afternoon, President Obama showed he is far from out of touch. Even though it’s not clear yet if the American people heard him, I’m pretty sure I know two guys who did. Mitt and Newt wanted to run against a Spock-like, cold-hearted professor; yesterday afternoon, they were presented with a candidate Obama who’s “fired up” and “ready to go”. Ruh-roh.