THE STATE OF THE UNION WAS STRONG: With the exception of the abortion talk, the faith-based talk, and the fuzzy math associated with the tax cut numbers, I was quite impressed tonight with President Bush's State of the Union Address. He both gave the necessary preparations for the war in Iraq, and came up with some surprisingly visionary domestic and foreign policy ideas.
While the president tripped over his words a time or three, his strong delivery proved once again that he's not the inarticulate buffoon that his critics make him out to be. The speech was full of effective lines and persuasive arguments; even the most ardent Bush hater would be hard-pressed to deny that he's got a brilliant speechwriting staff.
Bush's idea for aid to fight AIDS in Africa, if successful, strikes me as an Nixon-goes-to-China type of move, since if Clinton tried it you know he'd be accused of "shooting for the moon" and/or "mis-using American power." And if America is going to be using its power for good abroad, it's best that there be initiatives that have nothing at all to do with military operations. Yet Bush also laid out the case for disarming Saddam the best he could, while not turning a blind eye to the War on Terror. The 17-month "Rush to War" rolls on...
And those who would criticize the president for "warmongering," keep this in mind: there was substantially more warmongering (between Alton and Irulan) in the half-hour episode of "The Real World: Las Vegas" that immediately followed the speech than in the entire 60-minute address.