A Plaidderian Response to the State of the Union Address

[Plaid Adder]

"Weapons of mass destruction-related program activities."

That's what we went to war over. Weapons of mass destruction-related program activities.

When I heard that part I just burst out laughing. Even *he* knew that was bullshit.

You know, if you had just crawled out from under a rock and listened to that speech, you'd probably think Bush was a good president. It only starts to seem like a steaming load of crap when you put it in context. For instance, if you didn't know anything about how No Child Left Behind actually works, you'd think Bush is really trying to help public education, instead of trying to destroy it. If you didn't know that the prescription drug bill "for seniors" is a gutted, corrupted, whoring-to-the-pharmaceuticals travesty of the one that Senator Kennedy proposed, you'd think it was way cool that Bush had gotten it through. And if you didn't realize that until we created a huge power vaccuum that sucked representatives of every America-hating terrorist organization into Baghdad for a little target practice on our own soldiers, Iraq really had nothing to do with Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, you'd be psyched that we blew several hundred billion dollars fighting a war there to stop those "weapons of mass destruction-related program activities." If you weren't aware that this administration has been trying to cut combat pay, cut benefits for returning veterans, and otherwise screw soldiers out of that to which they are entitled, you'd probably be impressed by his rhetorical fawning over our men and women in uniform. If you didn't know about this administration's record of funneling taxpayer money to their cronies while starving everything else, you'd probably think Bush at least had a shot of "cutting the deficit in half" while also "making the tax cuts permanent." And if you had totally forgotten about the Afghanistan campaign and 9/11, you wouldn't think it was weird that he never brought up Osama Bin Laden.

However, you'd probably still be scratching your head about the inclusion of a strident call for the end to steroid use in professional athletics. And by the end of the speech, I think that unless you actually *are* Ashley Pearson, age 2--sorry, 10--you're probably finding the end of that speech just a little pukeworthy.

The only entertainment value, really, was in watching the responses. Bush was up there apparently having a great time. That's because he's too much of a fool to understand what that audience reaction really means. 50 standing ovations from the Republican side; on the Democratic side, they stood up for the army, Iraqi freedom, and generalized patriotism, but the rest of the time they sat there in silence. Ted Kennedy's reaction to Bush's mention of the prescription drug bill was a bitter and ironic laugh. The two lines that got the biggest applause from the Democrats were the ones about the Patriot Act and the tax cuts being due to expire soon. Bush was talking last night to a house divided--and more than that, to a house in which the minority is united in their sense of disenfranchisement, anger, bitterness, and resentment. On the one hand, it was encouraging to see them engaging in their version of protest. On the other hand, the whole performance sends a much more chilling message: the Democrats in Congress are a captive audience, a disempowered minority imprisoned within this larger Republican structure.

The three uniformed soldiers in the audience were also interesting to watch. None of them ever cracked a smile, though I suppose that could just be military training and deportment. But they didn't ever look enthusiastic about what was happening, and I saw one of them clearly rolling his eyes in exasperation as they stood to applaud Bush's answer to Ashley Pearson. No doubt he will be in a lot of trouble later. But no doubt he also realizes that although a thank-you from a dewy-eyed ten year old is always nice, it is not really going to help him or his fellow-soldiers a whole lot.

As for the marriage protection amendment act, all the commentators talked about him showing his "support" for it. If you listen carefully, however, he's sending a very different message, because although he tried to swallow the relevant grammatical bits, that statement of support *was* a conditional: *if* the courts yada yada, then an amendment *would* be necessary. He's still trying to have it both ways because he's still afraid of pitting the conservative constitutionalists against the fundamentalists, which is what will happen if he ever definitively endorses that amendment.

I thought Pelosi's speech was good but that she delivered it pretty badly; Daschle was better than I would have expected; and that Kerry made his points pretty well even if he pissed Peter Jennings off while he was doing it. I also enjoyed Clark's appearance of Nightline; I can see why people are attracted to him personally, even if I still maintain we do not need a general in the White House.

No mention of Mars, I notice.

Weapons of mass destruction related program activities. 500 Americans and who knows how many Iraqis dead, over that.

Bleagh,

The Plaid Adder

[warrior1]

1. Well said.

.

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Too bad Pelosi and Daschle couldn't say it this way last night.

But the dems showed a little more backbone than usual during the SOTU (not standing up to applaud, booing appropriately, etc...).

[KoKo]

3. Dems a ". disempowered minority imprisoned within this larger Republican

structure."

Wonderful quote from your post Plaid!

And thanks for the report. I refused to watch it.

[ewagner]

4. Thanks for the summary Paidder

Can't watch the little ....uuummmm....person without throwing things at the TV.

[library_max]

5. Excellent summary, excellent response!

:kick:

[Malva Zebrina]

6. I have enjoyed reading that, Plaid

right on the button, especially the part of more than 500 dead on "Weapons of mass destruction related program activities.

What a sad and sorry man this Bush has turned out to be. A delusional, self congratulatory, arrogant type of a bastard that is so far out of reality that he is truly dangerous. He is a pathetic, miserable failure who thinks he is the president who has done more for human rights than any other. :eyes: :crazy:


We have an insane man at the head of our democracy who was not duly elected, who seems to think himself a great man--sad and pathethic and leading his own people into death

[Plaid Adder]

7. What I hate is how he seems to be really enjoying himself.

When if he had a brain in his head or a shred of decency, he'd be making that speech in sackcloth and ashes. Oh well.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Cleita]

8. Well, that speech had Karen Hughes stamped all over it.

This kind of propaganda or double-speak resonates with the masses who are asses. The rest of us do a double take because we can't believe that he expects us to believe lies, just because he said them, and because he's President. It seems he thinks it gives him some kind of pass to write a fictional essay about his accomplishments.

[ignatius]

9. When he said the bit about cutting the deficit in half, I

almost laughed out loud. The irony of it all. When he took office we had a 200 Billion surplu, now an estimated 500 Billion and growing.

And for him to say it will be cut in half whild making tax cuts permanent, funding education, the military, and medicare, it was a bunch of horse manure. I don't think HE even kept a straight face while he was spouting it.

I think he takes personal delight in gutting the treasury. I suspect he in benefitting from some of thos no-bid contracts on a personal level..pewrhaps some offshore account that we will never know about.

Am I bitter, hell yes. His father did the same damn thing and Americans paid no attention back then either.

Raping the U S treasury is a family tradition with the Bushies.

[TrogL]

10. The purpose of the State of the Union address

From what has been described to me, most Americans bury their head in the sand through most of the election cycle. They take it out once a year to listen to the State of the Union, then they go back to sleep. They wake up 24 hours before the polls open, check with Fox to see who they're supposed to be voting for, vote, then go back to sleep.

Without a truly balanced media (I miss Ed Murrow) their delusion of normality remains intact.

However, some people are starting to wake up like a sailor awakened in the middle of the night to help deal with a sinking ship.

Hopefully it isn't too late.

[Beetwasher]

11. Steroids This Year, Sex Slavery Last Year

What is it with these ridiculous non-sequitors that lead to nothing?

Last year it was sex slavery and we all know how in the past year since he decried it that his admin. has done SOOOO much to combat that problem. :eyes:

It's like he has some pet issue du jour that he must include. "Karl, can I say something about steroids? Can I, can I, oh pretty please?"

What a pathetic fool...