Turn On, Tune In, Zone Out

I must admit, I hadn't watched a state of the union address in years; the last one I actually remember accompanied a different war with Iraq. The speech was reprinted in the next day's paper, and I suddenly realized it was possible to absorb the text without sitting through all that tedious ceremony and rote applause.

But Nick said we should tune in tonight and blog our responses. So I watched it … more or less. I think I heard the president promise tax cuts to the people of Iraq, but I may have zoned out for a while.

The Democratic response was even sleepier. Maybe it's the absence of an audience or maybe the problem goes deeper, but Gary Locke sounded less like an orator than like a schoolboy at a recital. His speech was filled with the precious details of the Democrats' plan for the nation, such as the fact that his grandfather was an immigrant and his father fought against Hitler. Of course, the president's father fought against Hitler, too -- further proof that there's not a dime's worth a difference between the major parties.

Comments

[Heather Burns]

The President's grandfather, Prescott Bush is said to have made much of the family fortune by trading illegally with Hitler during WW2. He should have one-upped Gary Lock and made mention of that.

[Steve]

Nice, Heather. A little hearsay. Gotta like that.

While we're at it, why not bring up how the Kennedy fortune was supposedly made?

You don't have to like the President, but stick to the facts.

[AB]

But Nick said we should tune in tonight and blog our responses. So I watched it ...

Nick is a tyrant. I wouldn't work for some guy who told me I had to watch the State of the Union Address. Better propaganda: Aleksandr Nevskiy

[Bo Pogue]

Quite a circuitous route, that -- Pappy Bush fighting Hitler in the South Pacific (sorry Mr. Walker, just jerking your chain).

[Ranald H.]

Jesse,
"further proof that there's not a dime's worth a difference between the major parties."

That's why I've joined the Republicans and become involved locally in the party - to push against the statist agenda where possible (Lad, you're dreamin'), and to return it (Yeah, right!) to it's libertarian roots.

The Demos? There is nothing there at all for me. Zip. Nil.

My dime's worth of difference, if only a "dime's worth", might just help keep some machinery from drifting too far left. (Says he, squinting while holding in a deep breath.) I'll fight for it.