Good, But Not Too Filling State of the Union
President Bush gave a solid speech tonight, but it was pretty light. The introduction was very gracious to Nancy Pelosi and added a touch of class. The domestic policy portion was pretty uneventful except for Vice-President Cheney's snack. First time I have seen someone eat during a State of the Union. I assume it was a mint. I love the phrase "clean coal technology." That just sounds like a lie. I also love how tan John Boehner is. He's orange.
The nation was watching the speech for some red meat on Iraq. While I disagree with the policy, I thought the speech writing was excellent and was the kind of selective rhetoric I have come to expect from the Bush Administration. The speech was completely void of any past tense statements or mention of the current situation. He focused exclusively on the future with the kind of dreamy tone that is necessary to think that a troop surge will help. Much of the Congress gave few applause lines and stayed seated during many parts of the Iraq portion. Great guests during this speech though. Dikembe Mutombo made me clap as I watched the speech by myself. The subway guy was great too.
If I were a Republican, I would be proud of this speech. The President delicately negotiated some difficult issues and gave an eloquent speech. The reality is that the events on the ground in Iraq are not making us safer and the American people know this. This speech did little to change that.
The nation was watching the speech for some red meat on Iraq. While I disagree with the policy, I thought the speech writing was excellent and was the kind of selective rhetoric I have come to expect from the Bush Administration. The speech was completely void of any past tense statements or mention of the current situation. He focused exclusively on the future with the kind of dreamy tone that is necessary to think that a troop surge will help. Much of the Congress gave few applause lines and stayed seated during many parts of the Iraq portion. Great guests during this speech though. Dikembe Mutombo made me clap as I watched the speech by myself. The subway guy was great too.
If I were a Republican, I would be proud of this speech. The President delicately negotiated some difficult issues and gave an eloquent speech. The reality is that the events on the ground in Iraq are not making us safer and the American people know this. This speech did little to change that.
By Kyle - 1/24/2007
27 Comments:
Kyle, no shock, I agree it was a good speech - espically when you consider his poll ratings are in the tank. He looked like the man I voted for twice tonight, not the shell of himself he has been. I agree his Pelosi introduction was classy. For one night at least, everyone seemed to get along.
I was surprised by how civil it seemed in the room. Given the policy challenges, it had the potential to get ugly and didn't. I think it is the calm before the storm.
It must be that Dems have taken away his power, because I didn't get furious every 8 seconds.
and during the immigration discussion, i genuinely agreed with him, and even trusted his stance, for the first time in years. sort of scary.
2 other thoughts.....
1) Pelosi's face scares and embarrasses me.
2) Cheney was emotion-free until the talk on foreign oil. Once oil came up, he initially seemed to be making dirty faces. Then he seemed to be laughing and gesturing to other people, all during the oil independence stuff. Very creepy.
(now, i need to watch the second half. i still did not listen to the Iraq stuff. AND, more importantly, I evidently missed a Mount Mutombo appearance!)
And thanks but no thanks on the Pelosi rhetoric. From Think Progress.....
2006 - BUSH SUGGESTED ‘TERRORISTS WIN’ IF PELOSI ELECTED SPEAKER: “[President Bush] mocked [Pelosi] as ‘a secret admirer’ of tax cuts and an opponent of measures crucial to keeping Americans safe, warning that ‘terrorists win and America loses’ if her Democrats prevailed on Election Day” - AP
Why be charitable to the man who has severely damaged this Nation?
Face it - Hes a bag of dirt - no matter what he says now.
Ben: you voted for him TWICE.....especially after the 2004 one - you should get to a priest for you souls sake
Thanks Petey...you would think the man jumped parties or something....give me a break..it's a speech for crying out loud
Ben has his reasons for supproting the president, a different interpretation than most on this site, but I can respect a man even though I disagree with him. Kyle, I had alot of work to do last night can we get Webb;s rebuttal as a topic. I had to miss the whole enchilada-stupid work
Petey is right. Bush has us stuck like a shipwreck in Iraq and showing his neck for a few minutes and making nice in public is like misting and watering a dead plant after ignoring it for three years.
That Bush is able to look so confident and refreshed standing knee deep in blood and deficits should be of grave concern to all.
The comment about Pelosi's face was uncalled for and irrelevant, especially when Laura's face looked like she gets her Botox via a 1000ml IV bag.
Kyle and especially Chuck...I guess the President not mentioning New Orleans or Katrina was fine with you as well?!?
Mencken, excellent imagery w/ Bush standing knee deep in blood and deficits. Couldn't be more true!
I said on PBD, we have such low expectations of Bush that when he is civil to the Speaker of the House, it's headline news! She was elected and is leading a chamber of Congress. We should expect him to be respectful, not be surprised when he is.
anonymous, hang on
Anonymous, this President doesn't have a strong record and so this speech focused on the future. I would have liked to have heard a renewed focus on restoring the gulf region too.
I agree with Kyle: the State of the Union address and its pomp and glamour were the civilities before the outbreak of hostilities.
All said, it's still nice to see peace in DC every once in a while.
Come on you guys: Most of whaT Bush said was total bullshit. For Example: His new plan for Iraq is an absolute lie...He disregarded every last advisor and just "Stayed The Course".
Most of the other pandering was just : Tell em what they need to hear and then DONT FUND ANY OF IT.
As one pundit put it: "He is a guy offering to rescue you from a 40 ft deep hole with a 10 foot rope."
& Ben, I was just yanking your chain- nothing personal...unless of course, you are undertaking BOTOX treatment.
As one pundit put it: "He is a guy offering to rescue you from a 40 ft deep hole with a 10 foot rope."
Petey, I am so stealing that line.
Menck, its all yours - Thats what the man said and the shoe fits!
Bush is a man who needs some approval so is willing to kiss asses to get it....He is truly desperate and very untrustworthy at this point in the game.
blah, blah, blah, what did he say that wasn't said on evey news channel for the last three days. i would've rather seen my ass farting into the microphone for an hour than listen to that turkey!!!
D
there is a market for that d
There is nothing I enjoy more than a love fest. When Hillary and the gentlemen from Illinois played-kissy face.
Regarding the clean coal issue I am sure Gov. Strickland's largest contributors ( I beleive it was over 6o%) will be very sad to learn that coal should not bepart of the future.
As far as the speech. On is given every year.
I talked with a friend who is an environmental engineer. He said that clean coal technology is really clean except for the CO2 emissions. Well, the CO2 is a big problem given the reality of global warming.
How do they get this clean coal? Do they still have to blow the top off a mountain? Unacceptable. We have solar and wind at our disposal and we're not using it.
Good point Terra, the clean coal definitely refers to the burning and not mining process.
Unfortunately Terra, that coal is not going to jump into the rail cars without a little urging on someone's part. Wind power is fine if you want every single house to have a 125 foot windmill and solar power is fine as long as the sun is shining which is only ocassionally around here. The awful truth is that all forms of energy have some sort of fatal flaw,
be it cost, pollution or limited usability.
Mencken, we don't all have a coal mine in our backyard. A lot of states use wind power, or even dams, and transport that power to other states. The same can be done with windpower. The possibilities need to be explored, not pooh-poohed.
Terra, we all don't have power plants in our backyards either. The point is that windfarms produce a tiny fraction of the power that a nuke or coal plant produces. It would be like trying to heat your entire house with one space heater. Sure it works, but it won't allow you to take a hot shower, wash your dishes or laundry, or wander too far from it.
I'm all for the research and I really think fuel cells are a big part of the solution but as long as we're all users we're all part of the problem.
it is time to develop alternate sources of power so we can help all the people.
p.s.--just not near me
Post a Comment
<< Home