President Bush seemed at relative ease delivering his annual State of the Union speech tonight, even going into a lion's den of unwavering hostility from Democrats and wobbly support from the GOP.
He was eloquent again about Iraq and the War on Terror.
This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments you've made. We went into this largely united, in our assumptions and in our convictions. And 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.
Now we'll see if he can/will deliver results. It's still high risk and we are still far less prepared for this knife fight than we should be. The proposal for another 92,000 military is welcome, but five years late in my book.
The domestic agenda was mostly uninspiring or even counter-productive. The usefulness of an energy strategy built on ethanol seems highly dubious, a sentiment validated by the grinning glee of farm state senator Charles Grassley who knows a rich subsidy when he sees one. However, trying to double the strategic petroleum reserve was unexpected and interesting.
We enjoyed his recognition of authentic heroes like Wesley Autrey and Houston Rocket Dikembe Mutombo. Here's the entire list of guests in Laura Bush's balcony.
James Webb's rebuttal earned a quick tap of the Mute button.
Posted by Alan at January 23, 2007 09:38 PM