Highlights from the State of the Union

I'm not one who follows the byzantine workings of the American Political System with much intensity but I thought it might be worth commenting on President Bush's State of the Union Speech from last night.

...To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another -- and I will do my part. Tonight the state of our Union is strong -- and together we will make it stronger...

I'm pretty sure that last sentence has appeared in every state of the union speech. One of these days a president is going to stand up and say "tonight the state of our union is trifling with a strong chance of precipitation"

...Abroad, our nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal -- we seek the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it...

I don't know that I've heard anyone call it misguided idealism, I've heard "corporate imperialism", "pillaging", "Trade liberalisation at gunpoint", "crusade", "religious fanaticism", "delusional foreign policy". By the way can someone define tyranny for me? I forget exactly which is worse a domestic military regime or an occupying military regime.

...Dictatorships shelter terrorists, and feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction. Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror...

democracies seem to be legitimizing radicalism these days. there is no idea so persistent as the one that democracy will make bad people into good people. Sometimes the country screaming death to the infidels actually doesn't want many infidels around. as for as "democracies join the fight against terror" I remember a couple of names left of the "coalition of the willing". I guess Canada, France and Germany aren't democracies any more.

...When they murder children at a school in Beslan, or blow up commuters in London, or behead a bound captive, the terrorists hope these horrors will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit the Earth. But they have miscalculated: We love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it. (Applause.)...

ironic? anyone? Alanis Morisette even?

...But our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender to evil. (Applause.)...

well at least not Islamic evil. the evils of consumerism, drug culture, pop culture, apathy, the arms race, funding extremists, those aren't real evils.

...America rejects the false comfort of isolationism. We are the nation that saved liberty in Europe, and liberated death camps, and helped raise up democracies, and faced down an evil empire. Once again, we accept the call of history to deliver the oppressed and move this world toward peace...

interesting how this isn't "one of the nations who saved liberty..." I think I remember Winston Churchill having something to do with it and Charles de Gaulle but then I guess Bush doesn't realise he just put the US in the same catagory as Stalin's Russia. Sometimes I guess we need a good wartime peace to recharge the batteries.

...Second, we're continuing reconstruction efforts, and helping the Iraqi government to fight corruption and build a modern economy, so all Iraqis can experience the benefits of freedom...

Now that Paul Bremer opened all the borders and privatized all the infrastructure and gave the insurgents everything they need to justify their hatred of us and the new government, we're doing our best to let the locals deal with the aftermath. Unfortunately this also means that Naomi Klein is going write another best seller.

...The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home. As we make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels -- but those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)...

God forbid the decisions not be made by the people whose job security requires military expansion. We wouldn't want the people representing the dieing soldiers' families in on the deal, they might ruin a good thing.

...Our offensive against terror involves more than military action. Ultimately, the only way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their dark vision of hatred and fear by offering the hopeful alternative of political freedom and peaceful change. So the United States of America supports democratic reform across the broader Middle East...

oh yeah like elections in Palestine. Wait, maybe not that one. Wouldn't want to legitimise all these dark visions of hatred. Shoot! I don't know what to do now. maybe a vacation.

...The great people of Egypt have voted in a multi-party presidential election -- and now their government should open paths of peaceful opposition that will reduce the appeal of radicalism. The Palestinian people have voted in elections. And now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace. (Applause.)...

or they might not. I guess that's how governments work in democracies.

...The same is true of Iran, a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people. The regime in that country sponsors terrorists in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon -- and that must come to an end...

I hate those clerical elites. I much prefer the corporate elites and the celebrity elites. what's the wealth gap in the US again? How much did Cheney make at Halliburton? How much have they made with Bush in the White House? I hate it when people sponsor terrorists, like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Oh wait that was us.

...They also deserve the same tools they already use to fight drug trafficking and organized crime -- so I ask you to reauthorize the Patriot Act. (Applause.)...

cause the war on drugs has been such a successful effort that should be the toolkit we use to protect our borders. Onward.

...So to prevent another attack -- based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute -- I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected al Qaeda operatives and affiliates to and from America...

We've gotten some spectacular intel from our taps on George Soros, Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton. On a related note, I though congress could only impeach Democrats. Nobody told me the could do it to Republicans.

...American leaders -- from Roosevelt to Truman to Kennedy to Reagan -- rejected isolation and retreat, because they knew that America is always more secure when freedom is on the march...

So much for Thomas Paine, George Washinton, Thomas Jefferson, James Munroe. So much for "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."

...Keeping America competitive begins with keeping our economy growing. And our economy grows when Americans have more of their own money to spend, save, and invest...

So does the deficit, not sure how we're gonna work that one out. I know, we'll spend more money on the war.

...Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security -- (applause) -- yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away. (Applause.) And every year we fail to act, the situation gets worse...

They keep applauding the wrong things. I don't think they're taking me seriously. I'm gonna call dad.

...In recent years, America has become a more hopeful nation. Violent crime rates have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1970s. Welfare cases have dropped by more than half over the past decade. Drug use among youth is down 19 percent since 2001. There are fewer abortions in America than at any point in the last three decades, and the number of children born to teenage mothers has been falling for a dozen years in a row. (Applause.)...

(Applause)

...So far the federal government has committed $85 billion to the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. We're removing debris and repairing highways and rebuilding stronger levees. We're providing business loans and housing assistance. Yet as we meet these immediate needs, we must also address deeper challenges that existed before the storm arrived...

It's the least you could do since "Brownie" worked out so well in the initial aftermath.

--#--

How many more State of the Union addresses does this president have left? God help us all.