My plan for SOTU tonight

• I watched NBC: Russert and Williams were pretty decent; David
  
  Gregory
  
  read talking points: “The President will say blah blah blah”… Not
  
  exactly adding value, are we, David?

• Bush’s great political talent is that he does draw stark
  
  contrasts,
  
  forcing a listener into seemingly easy choices — even if he sets up
  
  mere strawmen. It’s not necessarily honest argument, but if we’re
  
  waiting for politicians to embody that…

• Hillary’s incredulous expression after Dubya defended the NSA
  
  wiretapping was just priceless. That is a woman who should know when
  
  she’s been lied to — only this time, there are, like, consequences.

• The Dems’ standing ovation when Bush acknowleged his Social
  
  InSecurity
  
  defeat was terrific, too. For all the Soviet-style sycophantic
  
  calisthenics that this event typifies, it was nice to see a little
  
  attitude.

• For all that the President talks about spreading democracy, he
  
  doesn’t
  
  talk much about the rights of women. Yes, he mentioned Afghan women
  
  voting; but to my mind, the rights of women around the world is *the*
  
  human rights issue today. If we feel we need to impose Western values
  
  around the world, let’s start with women’s rights.

• Michael Chertoff is a ghoul. Somebody feed that guy some pasta…
  
  and
  
  some compassion.

• The Onion should run this headline: “Bush exhorts Congress to
  
  make
  
  deficits permanent.”

• The President’s Health Savings Account push was pretty tepid.
  
  Unfortunately, so was Barack Obama’s response on NBC afterwards.

• Nice talk about oil independence. Wouldn’t it be great if you
  
  could
  
  believe a damn word this guy says?

• “Activist courts that try to redefine marriage”: What a jerk,
  
  especially to lump that in with other cultural things that parents are
  
  concerned about. I’m a parent, and I’m concerned about my gay neighbors
  
  being treated fairly. You don’t speak for this traditional family, Mr.
  
  President.

• I think I will long remember the faces of Lousiana Governor
  
  Kathleen
  
  Blanco and Sen. Mary Landrieu during this speech. Bitter, tired, sad.
  
  The feds failed and continue to fail the Gulf Coast. This wound on our
  
  country continues to fester.

• I thought Tim Kaine’s response was actually pretty decent:
  
  Although
  
  “nicer” and more gentle than I would have preferred, he did hit the
  
  major issues of corruption and incompetence with vigor and contrast.
  
  Could have been better, but could have been worse.

• Later on NBC, Obama congratulated Our Guv on getting in the
  
  health care
  
  game. I wish people from outside the state would deal with him before
  
  praising him for it. He doesn’t have a plan, and no one knows what he’s
  
  going to do with the work that he’s left up to the legislature. If he
  
  signs a good bill, I’ll praise him for it, too. But he hasn’t done that
  
  yet.

Anyway, I’m left with really very little idea what the President is

going to do over the next year. Seems like he’s really running on fumes.

Please share widely!

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