Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos said on CNN Tuesday night that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address was "a lot like sex."
As CNN "Crossfire" hosts Stephanie Cutter and Newt Gingrich looked on — somewhat befuddled — Castellanos remarked, "I've said before that I think a speech by Barack Obama is a lot like sex, the worst there ever was is still excellent.
"And I thought
he gave a very competent performance tonight."
In analyzing the president's speech Castellanos went on to say, "One of the things working with candidates and political leaders is when they're in a weak political position, sometimes they confuse volume and loudness with strength. And that's what I felt the first half of the speech, that he was willing himself to demonstrate strength and confidence."
"But he did it with optimism, and that is the rare gift a president has," Castellanos added. "The president is the only guy in that top job who can say, 'We're going to some place better, follow me.' I think it's going to help him, it's going to help the Democrats."
But Castellanos agreed with some of his fellow CNN commentators that "the policy" the president spoke of in speech "was too small for the moment."
Castellanos, well-known GOP-leaning media and campaign strategist, is co-founder of Purple Strategies, a bipartisan public affairs firm. He appears regularly on NBC's "Meet the Press" and on CNN's "Best Political Team on Television."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.