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January 31, 2006
SOTU 2006
Well, another State of the Union speech is in the books. The speech was, on the whole, unremarkable, with a few exceptions. Given the President's weakened political status these days, hitting a rhetorical home run that would resurrect his sagging approval numbers was probably not realistic. We suspect this speech won't change public opinion much one way or the other.
While the speech was billed as heavy on domestic initiatives, the reality was much different. Indeed, the meatiest and most forceful sections of the speech were focused on the war against terrorism and the ongoing conflict in Iraq. Mr. Bush's remarks only confirmed the GOP's midterm election strategy to press national security as the its central issue -- a strategy outlined by White House political guru Karl Rove in a speech last week to the RNC.
Mr. Bush vigorously defended his Iraq policy, and more interestingly, the domestic wiretapping that has recently come under fire. Recent polls show that the American public is, at best, split on supporting such wiretapping. The President asserted that use of these taps is justified to keep us from being hit again by Al Qaeda or other terrorists. This will be an interesting political sell for the President in the coming weeks.
The speech was surprisingly light on domestic policy, making only passing references to health care, the economy and immigration. He proposed appointing a commission to study entitlement programs -- Beltway translation: we're not doing anything about this. Even his much hyped statement about America's "addiction" to oil resulted in recycling a few old ideas (hydrogen cars, ethanol, etc) that have gone nowhere so far.
The President's delivery was relatively smooth, if uninspiring. Orations, it is clear to most Americans, are not his strength. But he certainly wasn't bad. The audience in the chamber was frigidly divided along party lines; not surprising in the current political climate.
In short, the speech was, again, unremarkable. Not what the doctor ordered for a president with the political flu.
Oh, and did anyone notice the conspicuous absence tonight of a certain Sugar Land Congressman? Particularly during Mr. Bush's two sentences devoted to ethics reform, we expected a shot of the smiling former Majority Leader. Wonder if the White House gently asked him to watch from home?
Posted by houtopia at January 31, 2006 10:14 PM