Regarding State of the Union

So...I just spent the last 90 minutes of my life watching the State of the Union and the Democrat's response via Jim Webb (D-VA). Actually, I find this sort of thing very interesting, especially this year, in light of the fact that Congress is now controlled by the Democrats for the first time in Bush's 2 terms. In addition, it was glorious hearing our President, as he said for the first time, the words "Madame Speaker." You go, Nancy Pelosi!

The tension was pretty palpable, even via television. Not only is Congress now controlled by the Democrats for the first time in Bush's presidency, but there were 10 people in the room who have officially declared that think they have a good shot at becoming the next president. All those people packed in that relatively small chamber, representing interests of their party but also personal interests...very conscious that the camera may be on them at any moment, that their facial expressions must be stoic, that they must clap at the appropriate times and sit on their hands during others. I have to think that this was the hardest for Dick Cheney and Nancy Pelosi, who were seated behind the President and therefore on-camera most of the time. I did catch Dick Cheney with what looked like a "yeah right" look and a wink to someone in the front row after Bush announced his plan to reduce gasoline usage in the U.S. by 20% in 10 years.

So what of the speech? It was rather benign. Bush did not exhibit much fire, with the exception of the last part of the Iraq portion of his speech, and the end when he recognized American heroes such as Dikembe Mutumbo (who stood a solid 2.5 feet taller than Laura Bush), the founder of Baby Einstein, an Iraqi war hero, and the guy who pulled someone from the subway tracks in NYC. The bulk of the speech covered economic reform, education, healthcare, immigration policy, energy, homeland security, and foreign policy. The biggest portion was of course, spent discussing Iraq, with a long-winded explanation of all of the "good" things that have been done, and how badly U.S. support is needed. Then of course the meat of the entire address - Bush's plan to deploy 20,000 more troops to Iraq.

This is the issue to watch. Will Democrats (and some Republicans) have the cajones to cut off future funding for the war? Will an alternative solution be proposed, or just a resolution opposing Bush's plan? We shall see. This is truly a crossroads, an interesting time in America's politics. Bush's final 2 years in office will hopefully be very different from the preceding 6. They really have to be.

All in all, I thought Bush spoke fairly well (no small feat), though like many political speeches on both sides of the party, he spoke in broad, sweeping statements that couldn't help but garner applause on both sides of the aisle. Applause came from the Democrats on his mention of immigration reform and energy/global warming, thoughts that had many Republicans sitting still, stoically staring ahead, hands in their laps. His energy ideas were promising, though I'm sure brought on by again, a Democratic Congress.

Bush was tentative, a recognition of a divided government. He spoke very carefully to avoid too many awkward moments. He smells it, he knows it. The Democrats are in da house, literally. Let's hope they do us proud and stick to their guns. The people have spoken, and we want change.