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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
A Laundry List
I have just finished reading President Bush's State of the Union address. Did I miss something by reading the text and not watching the speech on television?
Hope so, because reading the text, the State of the Union's predictability was matched only by it's mediocrity. President Bush ran down the list, checking off the boxes: "Coretta Scott King? Check. Optimistic note on Iraq? Check. Soldier's wife? Check. Play up the economy? Check. Tax cuts for corporations? Check. Sensible immigration reform, check; end our dependence on foreign oil, check; more educations spending, check—
"Wait, I'm not sounding to sensible and centrist, am I? I'd better obliquely imply that Jack Abramoff is gay:"
"Stay in school, God Bless America, I'm outta here."
The President touched all the bases he needed to touch, defended himself against the Democrats issue-of-the-week (the NSA wiretaps, for those of you not keeping score) and he said some pretty words. But there were no unifying themes, no penetrating insights, no new ideas. (Well, OK, there was the one joke about "two of my dad's favorite people: me and President Bill Clinton." That was funny, but makes me wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that 43 and 41 aren't on speaking terms.) It was a laundry list. But unlike President Clinton's laundry list State of the Union speeches, it wasn't a list of new policy proposals. It was a list of things we already knew.
State of the Union? Check. Reaction blog post? Check.
Hope so, because reading the text, the State of the Union's predictability was matched only by it's mediocrity. President Bush ran down the list, checking off the boxes: "Coretta Scott King? Check. Optimistic note on Iraq? Check. Soldier's wife? Check. Play up the economy? Check. Tax cuts for corporations? Check. Sensible immigration reform, check; end our dependence on foreign oil, check; more educations spending, check—
"Wait, I'm not sounding to sensible and centrist, am I? I'd better obliquely imply that Jack Abramoff is gay:"
They [Americans] are concerned about unethical conduct by public officials, and discouraged by activist courts that try to redefine marriage."Hopefully that's got me covered on social issues. I mean, I'll throw in some coded anti-abortion stuff just to be sure, but I think I can check that off the list, too. That just leaves 'AIDS is a tragedy' and I think that's everything. Yeah, that's everything.
"Stay in school, God Bless America, I'm outta here."
The President touched all the bases he needed to touch, defended himself against the Democrats issue-of-the-week (the NSA wiretaps, for those of you not keeping score) and he said some pretty words. But there were no unifying themes, no penetrating insights, no new ideas. (Well, OK, there was the one joke about "two of my dad's favorite people: me and President Bill Clinton." That was funny, but makes me wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that 43 and 41 aren't on speaking terms.) It was a laundry list. But unlike President Clinton's laundry list State of the Union speeches, it wasn't a list of new policy proposals. It was a list of things we already knew.
State of the Union? Check. Reaction blog post? Check.
Me thinks after reading about it that i am glad i had a volleyball game instead of being stuck at home with a choice between watching the WB (Supernatural - yawn) or the State of the Onion, I mean Union.
-spiker in tn
Posted by@ 9:48 AM
BORRRRING, The President is required to report on "TSOTU" by the constitution, but it should be posted on the internet. I think it was Bob Shieffer who said it is one of the great Ego Trips in American politics. - Bored in UT (so what else is new?)Post a Comment
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