The much ballyhooed State of the Union Address was pretty much par for this president's stay-the-course. On the war: Same-o same-o. Lots of lies, mistruths, and beefed up claims designed to misinform, mislead, and manipulate public opinion at the expense of our country's security and our kids and loved ones in Iraq.
On the domestic front: A litany of fuzzy objectives adding up to way too little, way too late. Lots of political maneuvering, no substance.
On the leadership front: Zero. Not a smidgeon of vision. Not a bold idea in the bunch.
On another front: Could events have lined up any more prophetically for Bushie's speech? On the day of his address, Al Gore is nominated for an Oscar for his film, "An Inconvenient Truth." In Iraq, with the President's plan already in play, the violence is worse than at almost any time since the beginning of the war. In Washington, Scooter Libby's trial, on the opening day, reveals damaging information implicating Cheney and Rove in Plamegate. New poll numbers are being splashed across TV News screens lamenting Bush's lowest approval ratings yet -- matching Nixon's lowest numbers at the height of Watergate. Yes, Virginia, there is a God.
The Democratic rebuttal was heartfelt and ably delivered by freshman Senator Jim Webb, whose son, a third generation soldier, is presently fighting in Iraq. Webb poignantly summed things up with this statement:
"This country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years."And this:
"The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable - and predicted - disarray that has followed.Following is a smattering of early reactions to Bushie's "Lying In State of the Union" address:The war's costs to our nation have been staggering.
Financially.
The damage to our reputation around the world.
The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism.
And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve...."
- New York Times Editorial: The State of the Union:
The White House spin ahead of George W. Bush’s seventh State of the Union address was that the president would make a bipartisan call to revive his domestic agenda with “bold and innovative concepts.” The problem with that was obvious last night — in six years, Mr. Bush has shown no interest in bipartisanship, and his domestic agenda was set years ago, with huge tax cuts for wealthy Americans and crippling debt for the country.
Combined with the mounting cost of the war in Iraq, that makes boldness and innovation impossible unless Mr. Bush truly changes course. And he gave no hint of that last night. Instead, he offered up a tepid menu of ideas that would change little: a health insurance notion that would make only a tiny dent in a huge problem. More promises about cutting oil consumption with barely a word about global warming. And the same lip service about immigration reform on which he has failed to deliver.... - Democrats slam Bush war policy:
Democrats blistered President Bush's war policy Tuesday night, challenging him to redeem the nation's credibility — and his own — with an immediate shift toward a diplomatic end to the bloody conflict in Iraq....
- Bush offers little in the way of teeth to Cutback Gas Consumption
- Juan Cole: Arguing With Bush:
Must Read: Cole provides a superb analysis and rebuttal of Bush's Iraq position as articulated in the State of the Union. (Hat tip to A. Buono).
- Drum Major Institute for Public Policy on the 2007 State of the Union Address:
Executive Summary
There was little for current and aspiring middle-class Americans in tonight’s State of the Union Address. On the domestic
front, which is the concern of this report, President Bush wavered between promoting ideologically driven experiments to fix our most pressing problems and offering such detailed proposals that the larger challenges were obscured.... Check out the entire DRI issue by issue progressive rebuttal here. - Robert L. Borosage: State Of Delusion:
"In every sense, Bush remains disconnected from our reality."
- David Swanson: Demanding Truth From Power:
"Members of Congress should have been handing Bush subpoenas, not copies of his speech to autograph."
- Marilyn Clement: Bush's Health Care Conspiracy:
"Under the guise of caring for the uninsured, Bush peddles more riches for insurers."
- TomPaine.com: A Speech Bordering On Criminal:
"There ought to be a law against presidents delivering State of the Union addresses that contain the number of fallacies, inconsistencies and duplicitous statements that President Bush%u2019s address to Congress contained last night...."
- Bush focus on oil imports marks failure on climate, say greens:
"Environmentalists have fired a broadside into President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, saying he had once more failed to grasp an opportunity for tackling climate change.
"He remains delusional," was the view of Greenpeace's Steve Sawyer...." - Glen Kessler, Washington Post: President's Portrayal of 'The Enemy' Often Flawed:
"In his State of the Union address last night, President Bush presented an arguably misleading and often flawed description of 'the enemy' that the United States faces overseas, lumping together disparate groups with opposing ideologies to suggest that they have a single-minded focus in attacking the United States...."
- McClatchy Washington Bureau: More danger from terrorism on Afghan border than in Iraq
"Despite President Bush's repeated warnings that al-Qaida wants to turn Iraq into a base from which to attack the United States, administration terrorism experts believe there's a graver and more immediate threat from Pakistan's tribal areas. But the war in Iraq is constraining the president's ability to respond.
An intelligence assessment given to Congress, together with a new policy review calling for more troops and funding for civilian programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan, point to the Bush administration's growing dilemma: how to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time...." - Joshua Holland, AlterNet: Bush's SOTU: Nixon Would Have Been Proud:
"Bush's seventh State of the Union speech was loaded with proposals that will go nowhere and had little relationship with reality. So much for hoping that a 28 percent approval rating would teach him anything."
- Educators Assail No Child Left Behind
Colorado teachers, principals and administrators overwhelmingly say the federal education law No Child Left Behind is unrealistic and underfunded, according to a survey conducted by Senator Ken Salazar's office.
- AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Updated: Progressives Rip Bush's Speech [VIDEO]
"He's weak, and you sense he knows it." Louise Slaughter (D-NY) is "Flummoxed!"
- William Rivers Pitt | The Tiniest President:
William Rivers Pitt writes: "There was, to be sure, keen public interest directed at Bush's audience for the speech, mostly focused on the woman sitting behind and above him. The mere presence of Nancy Pelosi in that high place, along with the majority crowd of Democrats arrayed across the floor below, at least partially explained the lemon-pucker grimace worn by Vice President Cheney throughout the evening."
- Greg Palast: Big Oil, Big Brother Win Big in the State of the Union:
Greg Palast writes: "There was that tongue again. When the president lies, he's got this weird nervous tick: He sticks the tip of his tongue out between his lips. Like a little boy who knows he's fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. In his State of the Union tonight the president did his tongue thing 124 times - my kids kept count."
- Senate committee repudiates Bush on Iraq:
"WASHINGTON - In a calculated snub of President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee dismissed plans for a troop buildup in Iraq on Wednesday as 'not in the national interest' of the United States."
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