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SOTU Drunkblogging - LIVE!
Posted by Stephen Green · 31 January 2006
6:52pm Maybe not actually drunk, but I am working on a nicely icy gin martini with my patented "confetti twist" of lemon. Sipping and waiting. And - oh, yeah - all times Mountain. 6:53pm Cindy Sheehan has been arrested. Expect cries of "fascism!" before her cell door is all the way closed. 7:01pm Laura Bush is wearing a lovely purple pants suit. 7:04pm Condi is wearing purple, too. How embarrassing. 7:09pm Can't remember the last time Bush was late to a speech. Maybe he's thinking, "It worked for Clinton. 7:10pm The President looks good, but with an odd purple aura you can see right on the screen. Possibly it's time to replace my $60 Orion off-off-brand Emergency Backup Office Television. Scratch those comments about Laura's and Condi's outfits. 7:11pm Is that Nancy Pelosi standing behind Bush? 7:14pm Starting out with props to Coretta Scott King is a nice touch. And as I've said before about this guy and race: I think he means it. 7:16pm "Even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone." Where is he taking this? 7:17pm OK, Bush is setting this up like he's going to make big proposals. Now, I didn't "cheat" and read the pre-released speech, but that's not what I was expecting. 7:18pm America will "continue to lead" in free trade and free elections. I wish he'd just stop right there and walk out of the room. 7:19pm All the talk about elections is fine - but will he mention Palestine? 7:20pm "No one can deny the success of freedom." Will someone please tell him just to stop while he's ahead. It'd make a fine speech right there. 7:21pm It's all fine and good for Bush to remind us of the evils of terrorists, but the All But Required PC Boilerplate gets tiresome. 7:23pm "We will never surrender to evil." Perfect applause line. But I can't shake the feeling that that sort of talk is becoming boilerplate, too. It's been four years since the last big attack, and it seems we're getting complacent. 7:24pm "Our work is Iraq is difficult, because our enemy is brutal." And also because it's tough to keep up moral with Nancy Pelosi in the room. Just sayin'. 7:25pm "The road to victory is the road our troops will take home." Nice, but the next statement was pure BS. Bush claimed the military would make the battlefield calls, but in 2004 Bush himself called off First Fallujah for political reasons - disastrously. Let's hope he's learned his lesson. 7:27pm "...Stand behind the American military in this vital mission." Somewhere in LA, Joel Stein's nose started to spontaneously bleed. 7:28pm "I know what honor is." When the President - or anybody else - reads these things, there's no need for comments. And certainly not any smartass ones. So I'll shut up for a minute. 7:31pm "Elections are vital, but they're only the beginning." Has Bush been reading InstaPundit? 7:32pm Bush just used "Iran" and "regime" and "must come to an end" in the same sentence. Hoo-boy. 7:34pm "Our nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a democratic Iran." Has Bush been reading VodkaPundit? 7:35pm Bush is using his HIV/AIDS aid programs to segue into the Laundry List Portion of the evening. Here's where things get boring, as the President tells us exactly how he and Congress have wasted out money in the last twelve months. This would be an excellent time to pour another martini. 7:36pm My bad. Bush used his last comment as a way to segue into asking Congress to reauthorize the PATRIOT ACT (speaking of government laundry lists). I think I'll make mine a double. 7:37pm "We will not sit back and wait to be hit again." That line cost the Dems at least two House races next fall. 7:39pm "Support the men and women who defend us and lead the world to freedom." Somewhere in LA, Joel Stein's other nostril started to bleed. 7:40pm Here's where we fall into the Danger Zone. Talking about our free economy, and how wonderful it is, Bush is about to propose all sorts of new government programs. Sigh. 7:41pm "Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it." Who is this "we?" 7:43pm "Make the tax cuts permanent." Fine! Please! And let's cut some spending, too, shall we? 7:44pm Bush is bragging about having made teensy cuts in the very smallest bits of Federal Budget. Shameful. 7:45pm "Earmark reform" might be the most beautiful pair of words you'll hear all night. Bush wants a line-item veto – which is of dubious value. What we really need is reform in Congress – which has dubious chances of passage. 7:46pm Yes, Bush did just bitchslap the Republican Congress for failing to act on entitlement reform. My suggestion? First thing, stop using the word "entitlement." 7:48pm "Open and secure borders." Chose one. Of course, I'm a big believer in immigration. But at least I'm honest about the problems... 7:49pm Bored now. Finally, we get to the Laundry List. 7:50pm Someone asked, "Has anyone seen Al Gore yet?' I believe he was that banner Cindy Sheehan tried to unfurl. 7:51pm The last time I heard a President get applause for saying something about nuclear power, it was Jimmy Carter. And he wasn't exactly saying nice things about it. 7:53pm Some people are getting all excited that Bush, the oil guy, is finally saying something about reducing oil imports. Of course, he's not exactly proposing Democrat-friendly ways of getting there - so why the fuss? 7:54pm Bush might just be the least science-friendly President since, uh, I dunno. So when I hear him talk about spending government money on this or that, all I can think is "Keep your damn hands off me!" 7:55pm "American Competitiveness Initiative." Feh. Keep your damn hands off, indeed. There's your competitiveness. 7:57pm "A revolution of conscience... and government has played a role." Compassionate conservatism in a nutshell. Next! 7:58pm We must be getting close to the end of the speech, because Bush is now serving up the How Great We All Are portion. I'll give him credit for this: the laundry list was commendably short this year. 7:59pm And with that, another billion or so medical research dollars left for Italy or China or somewhere. Sigh. 8:01pm Frank Martin tells me I'm being way too snarky tonight. Maybe he's right - I never did get to pour that second martini. 8:03pm Is it just me, or is the entire Congress looking more and more like Hume Cronyn? 8:03.5pm I think maybe Frank was right. I'll pour another in just a minute, I promise. 8:05pm Bush is now talking about not taking "half a victory." That makes for a nice closer. Oh, dear Whomever, I hope he's getting to the close. Comments
How can I trust a guy that besmerches the good name martini with vodka? unless your drinking wine... I've got a Betts and Scholls Granache opened. Posted by: bains at January 31, 2006 07:01 PMThat's what she gets for trying to unfold a banner in the gallery. Taste is not the strongpoint of the Left these days. Or ever. Wow...in your face dems, it looks like Alito got an isle seat for max exposure. Posted by: CharlieDontSurf at January 31, 2006 07:03 PMMore importantly, who's the babe leading in the dignitaries? Good lungs, too. Ok... Sheehan HAD to have been warned beforehand regarding decorum. How deliberate was that? I'm drinking vodka and mango juice. It's so good. You'd think that if Sheehan wanted an impact, she'd unfurl the banner with Bush in the room speaking, to distract from the speech. Medcalf: That would assume she's clever, smart, intelligent, whatever. Posted by: Yibble at January 31, 2006 07:14 PMJeff... that's giving her credit for thinking ahead. I think she's already proved that's not one of her strong points. Posted by: Rick at January 31, 2006 07:15 PMwhooo hoo.. tonite we have a FULL 1.75 liters of Bombay Sapphire. Rock on, VP. Posted by: kd at January 31, 2006 07:15 PMOdd aura? Careful, the prez. of Iran thought he had an aura about himself. Coretta Scott King & I'll be nice. Thinking behind isn't one of her strong points. I'm glad he mentioned Beslan: that deserves to not be forgotten. jeff, true. Let's just say "thinking" in general. This might be a little obtuse, but it just occured to me that, for a "State of the Union", there's a lot of foreign emphasis. Posted by: Rick at January 31, 2006 07:21 PM'for a "State of the Union", there's a lot of foreign emphasis.' True, but at this point in history, when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. Posted by: Tom at January 31, 2006 07:23 PMdecisions made by military leaders, not by politicians in washington dc. "Second guessing not a strategy" Booya! Nice little slam at defeatistcrats. Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:25 PMBITCH SLAP! I favor a return to the pre-Wilson days, when Presidents would simply send a letter over to Congress. That would require, of course, politicians with a sense of proportion. Posted by: Will Allen at January 31, 2006 07:26 PMAnybody drunk yet? And Laura is wearing Pink. Condi is in Beige. I can't listen - I just watch. Posted by: Toni Ware at January 31, 2006 07:28 PMToni, And I'm not drunk yet, just poured an Auchentoshan. Ooo, calling out Saudia Arabia (& Iran) Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:30 PMI liked the "hindsight is not wisdom" part... Posted by: Rick at January 31, 2006 07:31 PMIs he stuttering more than usual? Maybe its jsut been a while since I've heard him speak What are these "Tara networks"? Has Ireland wired its seat of kings? Boy, Hillary Clinton looks bored. I wonder if some democrats are working on word finds right now? Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:38 PMwhy are they showing hillary so much? Posted by: Rachel at January 31, 2006 07:38 PMGood, going after protectionists and socialists Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:39 PMLet's guess at the Bush agenda: tax cuts and killing the enemy. Hey, I can go with that. I hate this part about taxes and the economy. When will presidents admit that all they can do the economy is either to get out of the way or risk screwing it up. Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:41 PMUm, line item veto was passed and rejected by the S.Ct. Something about it being unconstitutional. Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:42 PModd that the first joke comes in so late Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:43 PMI love the looks he keeps throwing to the left. ugh that see you next tuesday again. God forbid she ever gets into the oval office. (and again, god I hate her) Posted by: Rachel at January 31, 2006 07:43 PMhasn't given up on social security yet... well... that's a one in a billion shot. Posted by: Rick at January 31, 2006 07:45 PMI'm watching CBS. I can't figure out where the cameria is, but it seems like Bush is almost continually looking to his right. Is it normal to talk continually to the opposition party? Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:45 PMAnbody seen Al Gore yet? Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:46 PMResponsibility to to provide health care to poor & elderly? The elderly are the richest segment of the population, and how do you define who is poor. This is a camel's nose in the door of single payer (gov't) hillarycare. Ugh. Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:48 PMNow there's a bitch slap directed to Iran! Posted by: Terri at January 31, 2006 07:50 PMWhat always strikes me about the "laundry list" parts is how little room there seems to be in the politicians' minds for ordinary people. No, it is the politicians who must do everything, via government programs; forbid all that's holy should we trust the market to deliver the energy solutions that would work best at the lowest prices. It wasn't a banner Cindy tried to unfurl. It was Algore. She was arrested for trying to sneak him in.... Posted by: Gaius Arbo at January 31, 2006 07:52 PMfrankly I thought it was just a thumb to Iran. He always promises technology solutions to oil. This time he gave dates. 20 years and we won't need the ME. He didn't really mean it.....as far as the govt fixing this. Just "we have corn" neener, neener. Posted by: terri at January 31, 2006 07:53 PMAh hell, I should refresh faster, you beat me to it..... Posted by: Gaius Arbo at January 31, 2006 07:54 PMWhat tech companies do basic research? I'm glad he's throwing money in this direction! Finding an alternatve to oil is a hellava lot more important than a presidential library or that bridge in Ketchican. Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 07:54 PMIt just struck me watching GW that if he had bigger, less shifty eyes, 50% of the limbic liberals in the U.S. would find him convincing, sympathetic, believable and charming. Think Bambi eyes George! Posted by: Royce at January 31, 2006 07:55 PMholey moley steve, step back from the tv, the snark meter is pegged to the full on ol' cranky bastard side of the scale. drink more, snark less. The SOTU is the super bowl of speeches, it means nothing but the pagent is fun.
"I thank the Senate for confirming them" Another nice little dig at a bunch of petulant childish Senators. Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 07:57 PMSo he smacks Congress for taking payola, and they all stand up and cheer while nervously thinking "not me, right?" Lovely. I've come to believe that the main reason that spending has been allowed to flow freely is that interest rates have been so low. http://cumulativemodel.blogspot.com/2006/01/deficits.html Wow, I didn't think Kanye West's comments would ever be dignified with an answer Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 08:00 PMGeez, you should have that second martini already lined up. I miss the Reagan years. Posted by: rbj at January 31, 2006 08:01 PMnt? I missed that part... Posted by: Rick at January 31, 2006 08:02 PMBarak Obama looked like he was actually taking notes...that or playing Scrabble on his Blackberry. Posted by: Denise at January 31, 2006 08:04 PMIt's best to watch these things with a cooler at hand. Beats running for another..... Posted by: Gaius Arbo at January 31, 2006 08:04 PMHume Cronyn before or after he died? Posted by: Dave Schuler at January 31, 2006 08:06 PM"GW hates black people", responded to with comments about a historaclally repressed/disadvantaged population. It might have been wholly created by my interpretation of his comments. Posted by: nt moore at January 31, 2006 08:06 PM"Before history is written in books it is written in courage." Possibly the best line of the night. Posted by: Yoshio at January 31, 2006 08:09 PM7:59pm And with that, another billion or so medical research dollars left for Italy or China or somewhere. Sigh. You know, Steve, you shouldn't be so eager to buy snake oil. The Feds are paying to do embryonic stem cell research on animals. Since we dont' have a flippen clue as to what's going on with them, that's the right thing to be doing right now. Worry about funding human embryonic stem cell research onc we have some sort of clue, nto now. Posted by: Greg D at January 31, 2006 08:41 PMI wish I was drunk. Then again I'd be doubting what I just heard. And I'm really hoping I was having an acid flashback when he mentioned Iran and then went on about nuclear weapons and supporting terrorists. Where have we heard that one before? Oh yeah, 3 years $300 billion 2400 dead soldiers ago. On the bright side, he wasn't giggling like a schoolgirl like he's been in the past few weeks. Posted by: Stevie Z at January 31, 2006 10:52 PMSouthern Louisiana is in despair this morning. Seconds mention of the largest natural disaster in US history. If I hear 85 billion allocated one more time I will scream. Less than a fouth has actully been spent and three states are rubble. News to the rest of you but Americans are still living in tents. Posted by: doctorj at February 1, 2006 06:42 AMStill living in tents after less than months, why is this so surprising? that's what happens when 1 relies on the governnment. How's FLA doing after 1-3-5 years? Posted by: Sandy P at February 1, 2006 10:31 AMNot just living in tents, but having to buy their own and get lectured at when they do. Sick of waiting for FEMA trailers for emergency housing, St. Bernard Parish went out and bought their own at half the price FEMA was paying, and sent FEMA the bill. They could barely be persuaded to pay it. I mean, how dare these people go out and save themselves without FEMA's direct authorization? Posted by: Steve Teeter at February 1, 2006 11:03 AMI didn't watch the whole thing, but two moments stick in my mind. 1. When Bush asked for the line item veto... Does anyone else find it funny that someone who has yet to veto a single bill in 6 years would ask for this? 2. When Bush made a joke about him and Bill Clinton both getting ready for Social Security. There was a lot of laughing, and the camera cut to Hillary with the most disgusted ugly look on her face. She needed to be able to laugh at that joke if she wants to be Pres. Posted by: Nick at February 1, 2006 12:04 PM8:03pm Is it just me, or is the entire Congress looking more and more like Hume Cronyn? It's not you. They do look like Hume Cronyn. Posted by: Neo at February 1, 2006 12:10 PM |
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