State of the Eunuch
I just looooved seeing Nancy Pelosi up there with Dick and Georgie -- Cheney looked even more pissed off than usual, and why not? Pelosi's approval rating is more than both of theirs put together, that's gotta chap their asses. And the way she didn't stand up and clap when Georgie was talking about his idiotic health care plan... heehee, I love her.
Anyway, no bombshells from Georgie tonight, (partly because of the helpful leaks); it was an exquisitely uninspired performance of mock humility and muted arrogance. Unlike most SOTU speeches, this one was given before an almost hostile congress.
Georgie got rolling with domestic issues, an idiotic health care plan that only benefits private providers and his annual admonishment to use less gas. When he got to the war in Iraq, the administration's plan to pass the bloody, gut-splattered buck became clear. "The War on Terra is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our responsibilities over to others." So he's passing this pig right along to the next one in line in 2008.
He went on to describe the clusterfuck in iWaq as "sectarian rage and reprisal", still refusing to admit what it really is, a civil war. No Georgie speech would be complete without a description of the "Nightmare Scenario" (a/k/a "Mushroom Cloud") that would ensue if the US lost or left Iraq, and the terrorists' Evil Totalitarian Ideology Of Hate. We must not forget the Lessons of September the 11th! For all his jibbering about the Lessons of 9/11, he said practically zip-all about the country where the Lessons of 9/11 originated, Afghanistan. (But he did mention Iran 5 times.)
Finally, Bush had the unmitigated gall to say that the American people had voted for a "new direction" (true, the door's that way, Georgie), so Congress should support his plan, sending another 21,000 troops to Iraq, because it's a new direction. Mindblowing: So what if it's the opposite direction than the one people voted for. It's a direction. And it's new.
Senator Jim Webb delivered the Democratic response after the SOTU speech in a way I can only describe as polite fury. (Senator Webb's son is a marine serving in Iraq, so the war is very personal for him.) He made it clear: democrats will not be fucked with. He ended his speech on what almost sounded like a threatening note (yes!), pointing out that Bush should explore other options to resolve the war. "If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way." I almost peed myself, I thought he was going say "We'll show him the door"!
The most interesting thing about this address was all the republicans that were reading their notes or looking at their watches or sitting on their hands while the rest of their party was clapping, particularly during the Iraq part of the speech. If I hadn't known, there were times I'd have thought I was looking at the democratic side of the house. A portent of things to come.
Anyway, no bombshells from Georgie tonight, (partly because of the helpful leaks); it was an exquisitely uninspired performance of mock humility and muted arrogance. Unlike most SOTU speeches, this one was given before an almost hostile congress.
Georgie got rolling with domestic issues, an idiotic health care plan that only benefits private providers and his annual admonishment to use less gas. When he got to the war in Iraq, the administration's plan to pass the bloody, gut-splattered buck became clear. "The War on Terra is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our responsibilities over to others." So he's passing this pig right along to the next one in line in 2008.
He went on to describe the clusterfuck in iWaq as "sectarian rage and reprisal", still refusing to admit what it really is, a civil war. No Georgie speech would be complete without a description of the "Nightmare Scenario" (a/k/a "Mushroom Cloud") that would ensue if the US lost or left Iraq, and the terrorists' Evil Totalitarian Ideology Of Hate. We must not forget the Lessons of September the 11th! For all his jibbering about the Lessons of 9/11, he said practically zip-all about the country where the Lessons of 9/11 originated, Afghanistan. (But he did mention Iran 5 times.)
Finally, Bush had the unmitigated gall to say that the American people had voted for a "new direction" (true, the door's that way, Georgie), so Congress should support his plan, sending another 21,000 troops to Iraq, because it's a new direction. Mindblowing: So what if it's the opposite direction than the one people voted for. It's a direction. And it's new.
Senator Jim Webb delivered the Democratic response after the SOTU speech in a way I can only describe as polite fury. (Senator Webb's son is a marine serving in Iraq, so the war is very personal for him.) He made it clear: democrats will not be fucked with. He ended his speech on what almost sounded like a threatening note (yes!), pointing out that Bush should explore other options to resolve the war. "If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way." I almost peed myself, I thought he was going say "We'll show him the door"!
The most interesting thing about this address was all the republicans that were reading their notes or looking at their watches or sitting on their hands while the rest of their party was clapping, particularly during the Iraq part of the speech. If I hadn't known, there were times I'd have thought I was looking at the democratic side of the house. A portent of things to come.
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