What a joke for Obama to call our national crisis a Sputnik moment. Most Americans dont even know about Sputnik or the America of 1957. If they did, they would be LOLOLOL at Obamas speech line.

This is NOT the America that won the Cold War, much less the national surge called the "Space Race" sparked by Sputnik!

The USSR's Sputnik stunned the world because they had launched a ballistic satellite in the middle of the Cold War. Sputnik was a clear and present EXTERNAL danger to American democracy. The current economic crisis is a clear and present INTERNAL danger of our own making. Obamas speech did nothing to seriously address the threat.

In 1957 America, unemployment was only 4% and inflation was 2.9%. This is wildly different from America today at 9.2% unemployment and holding.

In 1957, President Eisenhower reduced the deficit by 11% in his first term and another 5% in his second term. Obamas budget for 2010 totals $3.55 trillion with the debt projected to nearly double to $20 trillion by 2015. Under his "leadership" the federal debt is expected to increase to nearly 100% of GDP by 2020 and remain at that level thereafter.

Thus, while it took America 12 years to put a man on the moon after Sputnik, Obama shows no capability to solve this crushing of the American Dream -- ever.

More 1957 2011 comparisons?

The average teacher in 1957 made $4,230/year. Today, it is $40,400 + benefits.

Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" opened on Broadway. What is on Broadway now? Does anyone care about real music now?

"Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS, ushering in an era of television shows that depict the ideal American family as a role model. In 2011, MTV is opening "SKINS" which depicts underage sex, drunkenness, and drug use -- all of which would have landed you in jail (appropriately) for many years in 1957.