Why was Bush taking the HARDLINE in the SOTU?

[JCMach1]

I was expecting more of a reemergence of the old 'I'm a uniter not a divider' Bush. Instead, he gave a speech that threw red meat to the Right wing.

The timing of the SOTU was purely political. So, I will assume that the content was as well.

Why did Bush give this kind of speech? Does he have that many problems with his base?

OR, will he take the hard-right line into the general election? That seems a recipe for electoral disaster for him...

What's going on?

[grasswire]

1. it was a poke in the eye

He, Rove and Cheney were daring Dems to come after him. He directly said "bring it on" regarding Iraq. He said "Do you have the guts to go after me?" I thought the tone was threatening and very political.

That's what I took from it.

[Old and In the Way]

2. He declared war on the Democratic Party and the majority of

Americans. Why?

Because they can't afford to lose their grip on power, I think. Heads would roll.

[Terwilliger]

3. he was throwing a bone to his base

with this SOTU....he'll do the more centrist campaigning later

[Leilani]

4. His base is not happy

They are mad about high spending, deficits, immigration proposal, & feel he hasn't done enough for the social/religious nuts.

[Momof1]

5. I didn't see the speech, but only because I didn't feel like

getting LIED to again. But I think Bush is having problems with his base. A LOT of problems. His immigration plan was ridiculed on FAUX News. And I think his space plan & prescription drug plan, FREAKED out the base that doesn't like to waste money. He needs to kiss butt big time. Which is probably why he went into the Gay/lesbian marriage thing.

[Lexingtonian]

6. It's not _that_ far into his campaign....

This one was for his Christian Right base, the donors, etc. Swing voters won't remember a thing about what was said today- except that it looked impressive on TV and Democrats didn't like it, which is fine with the Bushies.

It's all in keeping with his Administration's rigid disposition of never giving Democrats anything for free and never really giving in to moderate Republicans' demands.

[Sapphocrat]

8. Yep, definitely a bone for the base, but...

What astounds me is that he used the SOTU to do it. Press conferences (yeah, yeah, I know, he doesn't do 'em), radio addresses, whistle-stop stump speeches -- those appearances don't "go down in history." But a SOTU??? You get four of these in a term. This isn't some lousy little Sunday-morning, read-from-the-page-and-go-home radio address.

Either the whole thing was a huge miscalculation on the part of his handlers, or he's really setting the stage for what's to come, and he's just cutting his teeth.

Does that make sense? It's late, I'm upset, and I might be making no sense to anyone but myself.

[Lexingtonian]

12. No, you're right

They just don't have anything meaningful to say to us- they are about the private welfare of a relative few and psychological appeasement of a bunch of others who can't bear certain society-wide realities of the times. They've never been interested in the public welfare in any inclusive sense, and there's only an incidental relationship with reality in what they say and do.

So this kind of speech is exactly what we find when the figurehead of the movement has to deliver an explanation of what they're up to after a few years of aggressively sailing the ship of state by this tack.

[PurityOfEssence]

7. Because he's a one-trick pony; why didn't he mention Mars?

His one trick is to be bold and stick his neck out while wrapping himself in the flag and demand that anyone not falling in step is a traitor.

The fear mongering has grown old and the attempts to take his opponents' thunder (like Clinton did with welfare reform) are transparent.

Democrats applauded when he started off by saying that key elements of the Patriot Act were due to expire; his smile wavered, and you could see the surprise and hatred in his face. How dare they defy me.

He will fall like Robespierre.

[JCMach1]

9. The pandering to the right in the speech makes me think

that Rove's polling indicates there is a problem among the Republican base.

Remember last week's spin that the President would be 'above politics' in his SOTU. That spin was entirely wrong.

Something happened and I may just have to keep my finger in the air for awhile.

[stickdog]

10. Because he knows that we're sheep, and that we'll read the polls and get

scared of his "winning themes." Then we'll limit our debate and choose our candidates accordingly.

He always bluffs and we always fold. Why should it be any different this time?

[JCMach1]

11. Bad Dog!

:yourock:

[Iverson]

13. gotta have somewhere to "triangulate" to

There's no surprise about it. The radical right keeps moving rightward. If they don't, then the center won't shift to the right either. Doing so gives pragmatists some fresh hell that they can tell the left to accept in the name of capturing the majority.

It's a win-win situation.