The SOTU

[Brassmask]

As usual, I will take two aspirin and watch Bush's lies fall from his mouth tonight.  His speech will be nothing more than time passing.  He will say nothing new and he will smear it with lots of rhetoric and platitudes.
My blood pressure will elevate slightly and I'll make snarky comments throughout.


What's everyone expecting tonight?

[Plane]

As usual, I will take two aspirin and watch Bush's lies fall from his mouth tonight.  His speech will be nothing more than time passing.  He will say nothing new and he will smear it with lots of rhetoric and platitudes.
My blood pressure will elevate slightly and I'll make snarky comments throughout.


What's everyone expecting tonight?

I think I will understand him better than you will.

You seem to have an attatude that would disgust you to have any agreeent with him , so why try?

[sirs]

As usual, I will take two aspirin and watch Bush's lies fall from his mouth tonight.  His speech will be nothing more than time passing.  He will say nothing new and he will smear it with lots of rhetoric and platitudes.
My blood pressure will elevate slightly and I'll make snarky comments throughout.

What's everyone expecting tonight?

Pretty much the usual above preconceived conclusions of Bush by the rabid left and those with BDS.

[Brassmask]

If he says anything that I agree with, you all will be the first I tell after anyone I'm watching it with.

But in six years, I can't remember one thing I've agreed with him on.  Anyone want to remind me of any?

[BT]

What's everyone expecting tonight?

I expect he will take the democrat platform and introduce it as his own.

Then laugh hysterically when the dems fall all over themselves killing his proposals.

He will agree that the WOT has been oversold and urge dismantling of Homeland Security and a standown on security checks at airports.

He will acknowledge that the prescription drug benefit to Medicare was a disaster and will urge folks to get their generics filled at Wal-Mart or Target.

He will announce immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and will lend Iran a couple of nukes until they can get their program up to speed.

He will raise taxes across the board, setting a flat tax rate of 25% on every dollar earned in the hopes of once and for all elimininating the deficit and whittling down the national debt.

And that's in the first five minutes.

[Plane]

If he says anything that I agree with, you all will be the first I tell after anyone I'm watching it with.

But in six years, I can't remember one thing I've agreed with him on.  Anyone want to remind me of any?

"We have an obligation to provide care for the most vulnerable members of our society -- the elderly, the disabled, and poor children and their parents. "
-George W. Bush

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070120.html

Shame on you Brassmask !!!

Shame shame shame !

Do you eally want our old ,helpless , poor ,children to die alone shivering in the dark!

Oh the deep and scarlet fullness of your shame!

[Brassmask]

"We have an obligation to provide care for the most vulnerable members of our society -- the elderly, the disabled, and poor children and their parents. "
-George W. Bush

Doesn't mean he intends to DO anything about that obligation.  Perhaps context is required...

[Plane]

Jim Jubak---
"Just remember this when you listen to tonight's State of the Union address from President Bush and the rejoinder from the leading lights of the Democratic Party. I'd be willing to bet that we won't hear an honest budget number out of anyone's mouth. And it's not as if the White House and members of Congress don't know better."

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/StateOfTheNationBroke.aspx

Jim is probly right.

[sirs]

Off the top of my head

A- on the Economy
B- on Education policy
B- on Energy policy
A- on Earmark reductions
A on Litigation reform aimed at the medical profession
D- on Immigration reform
C+ on Foreign Policy (which incl AIDS money to Africa
B on the War on Terrorism (which incl Iraq war)

[Brassmask]

We watched the SOTU last night and after Bush intro'ed Pelosi and attempted to get her to cry by mentioning her father, I knew the bullshit was on.

Bush stumbled through a number of "ideas" that were designed to foster appearances that his "administration" has no intention of following through on.

Each subject was basically him telling a lie and then proposing some new lie on top of it.  NCLB is not a success.  Student performance has declined because teachers are spending their time not teaching subjects but training students to pass the tests for NCLB.  Now Bush wants to build on this success (read failure).  Wow.

20% by 2017.  Wow.

And on and on and terrorists want to kill you and winning is Iraq is somehow tied to 9.11 and terrorists "losing".  Stop Iran.  Blah, blah, blah.

Definitely the most boring SOTU I've ever watched.

The stunner, of course, was Jim Webb's rebuttal.  I almost didn't watch but boy am I glad I did.  Smackdown city.  Webb's personal message to America and his putting Bush on notice was the most excited I've been to hear a politician speak since Dean in early '04.

And when Webb spoke, I felt that he meant every word.  This is a guy with family of military service and he says that the Iraq "war" has been mishandled from the beginning.  The story of his dad's picture which he took to bed with him every night must have echoed through the small apartments and two-bedroom homes of every soldier's family.  Pictures of servicemen and women were taken off shelves and given to children across America for them to sleep with from now on.

He indicated that Bush must lead or be shown how to lead.  And that was not so much a threat as a promise.

[Amianthus]

NCLB is not a success.  Student performance has declined because teachers are spending their time not teaching subjects but training students to pass the tests for NCLB.  Now Bush wants to build on this success (read failure).  Wow.

Guess it depends on your definition of "success":

Multiple studies and reports show that student achievement is rising across America:

    *

      The long-term Nation's Report Card (NAEP) results, released in July 2005, showed elementary school student achievement in reading and math at all-time highs and the achievement gap closing.
          o For America's nine-year-olds in reading, more progress was made in five years than in the previous 28 combined.
          o America's nine-year-olds posted the best scores in reading (since 1971) and math (since 1973) in the history of the report. America's 13-year-olds earned the highest math scores the test ever recorded.
          o Reading and math scores for African American and Hispanic nine-year-olds reached an all-time high.
          o Math scores for African American and Hispanic 13-year-olds reached an all-time high.
          o Achievement gaps in reading and math between white and African American nine-year-olds and between white and Hispanic nine-year-olds are at an all-time low.
    *

      The state-by-state Nation's Report Card results, released in October 2005, showed improved achievement in the earlier grades in which NCLB is focused. In the last two years, the number of fourth-graders who learned their fundamental math skills increased by 235,000—enough to fill 500 elementary schools!
          o Across-the-board improvements were made in mathematics and in fourth-grade reading.
          o African American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs in a number of categories.
          o Forty-three states and the District of Columbia either improved academically or held steady in all categories (fourth- and eighth-grade reading and fourth- and eighth-grade math).
    *

      The Nation's Report Card Trial Urban District Assessments for Reading and Math, released in Dec. 2005, showed students in select urban school districts improving faster than their peers over the last two years.
          o Fourth-graders in 8 of 10 urban districts made larger gains in math than the national average.
          o Fourth-graders in 7 of 10 urban districts made larger gains in reading than the national average.
          o Eighth-graders in 7 of 10 urban districts made more progress in basic math skills than the national average.
    *

      The Nation's Report Card Science 2005 Report found significant academic gains by fourth-graders.
          o Overall, fourth-graders improved four points in science achievement over 1996 and 2000 levels, with the lowest-performing students making the largest gains.
          o African American and Hispanic fourth-graders made significant gains as well, narrowing the achievement gap.
    *

      And the Nation's Report Card Trial Urban District Assessment for Science, released in Nov. 2006, showed narrower achievement gaps for low-income students than for the entire student body, between nearly all of the participating school districts and the nation.

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/importance/nclbworking.html

[BT]

America loves a fighter.
America loves to see someone who’s been beaten down and knocked around stand his ground and fight back.

I didn’t expect to see George Bush do that, not with the unapologetic confidence I saw last night. I even started out disgusted by the feel-good bipartisanship and the sugar-coating.

ADVERTISEMENT

A balanced budget and an end to earmarks. Fine. I feel good, for as long as that lasts.

The promise of health care and social security debates, with proposals that will be dead on arrival. You could see the Democrats, even when they weren’t applauding, licking their chops at the prospect.

The overdue commitment to reduce oil usage, but with those little jabs about clean coal and boosting domestic oil production…. That’s when I began to think, maybe this guy has a little fight left in him. A House-warming gift of a brief nod to climate change … hey, the world gets hot, the world gets cold, the world gets hot again, that’s what it does. Whatever.

There was only one issue that mattered last night. It wasn’t any of the ones the New York Times and the Washington Post and the Boston Globe and the Associated Press tried to tell you were the big issues for a president on the ropes and ready to give in.

But let’s let this great American orator, finally coming into his own, with quiet confidence and determination even in lonely leadership so deep into this war, tell it himself:

“For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that the terrorists can cause … We know with certainty that the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the terrorists intend for us — unless we stop them …

“Our success in this war is often measured by the things that did not happen … Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy. The evil that inspired and rejoiced in 9/11 is still at work in the world. And so long as that’s the case, America is still a nation at war.

“In the mind of the terrorist, this war began well before September the 11th, and will not end until their radical vision is fulfilled … Take almost any principle of civilization, and their goal is the opposite. They preach with threats, instruct with bullets and bombs, and promise paradise for the murder of the innocent.

“Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions … By killing and terrorizing Americans, they want to force our country to retreat from the world and abandon the cause of liberty … Listen to this warning from the late terrorist Zarqawi: ‘We will sacrifice our blood and bodies to put an end to your dreams, and what is coming is even worse.’ Osama bin Laden declared: ‘Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us.’

“These men are not given to idle words … “

Sunni Al Qaeda and Taliban, Iranian-sponsored Shiite death squads and Hezbollah. From Lebanon to Afghanistan. One election after another in 2005, met by fierce reaction and bloody terrorism in 2006.

“This war is more than a clash of arms — it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our nation is in the balance. To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred … So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates and reformers and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security, we must.”
Of the outbreak of sectarian violence that exploded in 2006,

“This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we’re in. Every one of us wishes this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. Let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.

“Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq, because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far-reaching.

“If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country — and in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.

“For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is the greatest ally — their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens, new recruits, new resources, and an even greater determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September the 11th and invite tragedy.

“Ladies and gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East, to succeed in Iraq and to spare the American people from this danger.

“Whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq, and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field, and those on their way.”


And at that moment, no matter what they said about it later, Bush had them. They all applauded, many of them against their will. They had no choice. Because he was right.

Is this the end of the debate on Iraq, or efforts to seize defeat? No way. But the case has been laid out as clearly it can be, and the president has made it clear he will not give an inch on only issue of the evening that mattered at all. The one issue without which none of the others matter a damn.

At last, at long last, we’re building the Army, 92,000 more troops in five years, and everyone applauded. Thank God. We’re building a Civilian Reserve Corps, a brilliant idea to expand our military capacity, if it survives Congress. It could be the beginning, at last, of a war footing for our nation in what Bush correctly called a “generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others.”

Is America ready to hear this call to arms? Today, we can be confident that it can happen, it is possible, despite the insistence of Congress that it not happen. Every bit of the speech and every political ploy will be picked over and picked apart today. The disparagement, the invitations to despair and calls for abandonment of Iraq will be fired up again.

But George Bush, unbowed, showed he is still the president of the United States, and showed us it is still possible to believe in the value of sacrifice and success against adversity, and gave us a glimpse of the greatness of our own nation. He introduced us several great Americans, Dikembe Mutombo, Sgt. Tom Rieman among them, and then he introduced us to Wesley Autrey. A man who left his two young daughters on the platform and jumped into the path of a train to save a stranger three weeks ago.

“He insists he’s not a hero. He says: ‘We got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We have got to show each other some love.’ There is something wonderful about a country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey.”

Something wonderful, and something worth fighting for.

http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/01/to_arms_still_the_president_of.php

[Plane]

If he says anything that I agree with, you all will be the first I tell after anyone I'm watching it with.

But in six years, I can't remember one thing I've agreed with him on.  Anyone want to remind me of any?

Tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills.
-President Bush SOTU 2007

Well?

[sirs]

Tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills.
-President Bush SOTU 2007

Well?

My guess until it's a committement to full fledged socialized government-run healthcare, any "proposal" will be deemed unsatisfactory by folks from the left, like Brass.  It's generally the "all or none" principle when assessing GOP proposals, while dem proposals can be considered "a start in the right direction" if not "a good start"

[Xavier_Onassis]

Here is what Juniorbush's main message is:

"All I am saying...is give War a chance."

He is still a sockpuppet pretending to be a simpleminded peckerwood.