Tuesday, January 31, 2006
The State of the U
The State of the Union address is fascinating theater. The claustrophic grouping of so many famous political figures reminds me of the Oscar red carpet celebrity parade. A Madame Tussaud's wax work of power and influence. Very impressive, very incongruous somehow, to see these power brokers all together.
The speech itself revealed once again The Two Bushes. Texas good ol' boy:
Bush started out his current term claiming a mandate from a slim victory. Domestically he has been, as the health care plan shows, in the pocket of wealth and power. The health care plan was written by large corporations and it is designed to benefit the wealthy and/or the healthy. The message: if you aren't rich, just don't get sick.
Honorable and decent leader:
The math/science initiative was right on. His affirmation of the importance of Iraq was well wrought. His line asserting the value of the action in Iraq and our national trait of involvement and assertion, of a desire to help, rather than retreat: “to allow an assaulted world to fend for itself” was noble in its resonance. Bush is a man who deeply believes in freedom — it comes across.
Sticking out: the lack of a sweeping condemnation of Iran. The Iranian despotic theorcracy provides a need for clarity, a drawing of lines. The maniacal leadership of Iran is outside the realm of civilized nations — it should have been made clear that we will not tolerate Iran realizing their plans for WMD.