Disstate of the Union

I took pretty good notes on the SotU last night, and I was planning on taking Bush down blow by blow, but, once again, it was a fairly content-free speech.

He hit up all the usual topics: war on radical islam/iraq/iran, healthcare, culture war, energy. He just didn't sound as divisive as he usually does, probably owing to the fact that his numbers are in the gutter and his presidency is completely weakened. He couldn't say anything about WMDs, social security (besides that Democrats hate you), the deficit, or anything else, outside of hollow promises about education and at the same time saying that he was going to cut non-discretionary spending. It was so weak that he kept trying to weave national security, free trade, energy and immigration all together at the same time. There was also a whole lot about AIDS. Since when does he give a shit? Under Bush we've donated a pathetic amount of money to fighting it. It just sounded lame.

Some of my highlights:

I thought the most obnoxious moment was when Bush quoted a dead soldier's letter:

"I know what honor is. … It has been an honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to…. Never falter! Don't hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting."

This bothered me because it echoed what Bush has been pushing all along, in all of his dealings: let someone else make the sacrifice. As long as it's someone else who's taking the fall, it's a-ok. I'm not trying to say that it is dishonorable for the soldier to believe what he wrote, but it is craven for someone to rely on those people and purposefully send them out to their deaths. The fact that the soldier faced death so we won't have to is not an ends in and of itself. For Bush to admit that this isn't true would open him up to the simple question of "what are we doing in Iraq?"

The most unbelievable moment was when he profoundly stated that America is addicted to oil. Yeah, I can almost see him taking swigs of the stuff from his flask when he thought nobody was looking. Bush has been in bed with the oil industry long before he started in politics, and nothing has changed. The most recent energy bill was full of handouts to the oil and coal industries and barely paid lip service to alternative energy.

The best moment was when Bush said that the longer we wait to change (dismantle) entitlements, healthcare and Medicare/Medicaid, the worse things will get. He then accused Congress of not acting to save social security, which was greeted by a loud round of applause from the Democrats. Awesome.

I think this country has seen enough to know by now that Bush is nothing more than a liar and a failure. The State of the Union is nothing short of pathetic.