I felt the President gave an excellent speech - he did not engage in the typical mistake of reading a laundry list. The speech should provide something of a boost in his approval ratings.
-- Alexander K. McClureFrom the Washington Times:
“Bush calls for an optimistic America“
On the other hand, and for a contrary slate ofviewpoints, here’s the librulz media:
Associated Depressed: “Bush: U.S. Must Get Free of Mideast Oil“
A politically weakened President Bush declared Tuesday night that America must break its long dependence on Mideast oil and rebuked critics of his stay-the-course strategy for the unpopular war in Iraq.
Gee, that wasn’t subtle, was it?
BTW, imagine how “politically weakened” Prez Bush will be after he seats the *next* SCOTUS Justice.
* * *
From the Washington Post: “Lowered Expectations Reflect Political and Fiscal Realities“
Mmm, hmm.
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The Seattle P-I: “Bush skips complex realities in address“
Over to you, Paul Krugman.
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Boston Globe: “Bay State Democrats rip Bush“
Yep.
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Last but not least, and just for kicks, here’s the way in which John Dickerson of Slate projected his various mental disorders:
“Whose Addiction? Bush’s surprisingly partisan speech“
George Bush didn’t go through a recovery program when he quit drinking, but surely he knows that the first step to shucking any dependency is admitting the problem. In his big speech, he attempted to do just that when he delivered the evening’s most memorable line, ‘America is addicted to oil.’
{Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug}
On the bright side for the John Dickersons of the world, there are only, well, you know, three full years remaining in this presidency.
-- Jayson“Iran Leader Vows to Resist ‘Bully’ Nations“
Okay, fair enough.
Memo to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:
There are JDAMs in your future.
There can be only one. And it can’t be you or your ilk.
-- JaysonDemocrats Say ‘There is a Better Way’
-- JaysonCourtesy of Drudge, John ("Davos") Kerry this morning declared:
53% of America’s children do not graduate from high school.
Riiiiiight.
Yeah, sure, perhaps among those who get their news from DailyKos.
On the other hand, here are the actual numbers for the general population:
86% = High school graduates among the age 20-24 demographic.
87% = High school graduates among the age 25-30 demographic.
88% = Among 35-40 year olds.
Go figure.
Memo to John Kerry:
I’ll have what you’re smoking, Chomsky.
Hat tip: Politicalswami.
-- JaysonThe LA Times, unlikely as ever to show good discretion, invited an editorial from Khaled Meshaal, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, the brutal terrorist organization which has murdered countless thousands of innocents and which claimed victory in the Palestinan elections last week. While repugnant in its tone and completely false in its claims, the article does provide a useful look into the rationale of an unquestionably evil political party. It is very much like hearing from Hitler, or more precisely Goebbels, in a 21st Century context. And so the words from Hamas deserve attention, if only to warn of a murderer’s intentions.
Meshaal begins by stating that the Palestinians knew what they were getting:
“When they went to the polls Jan. 25, they were well aware of what was being offered, and those who voted for Hamas knew what it stood for. They chose Hamas because of its pledge never to give up the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and its promise to embark on a program of reform.
There were voices, locally and internationally, warning them not to vote for an organization branded by the U.S. and the European Union as terrorist because such a democratically exercised right would cost them the financial aid provided by foreign donors.”
So far, it must be admitted that Meshaal is correct. Hamas was freely elected, and there is no reason to think they did not know what they were getting. To my mind, this speaks to the problem of the Palestinian mind, that they believe their best hopes for the future lie in the decisions of what amounts to an international Jihadist version of the Crips, or a chilling renewal of the sort of desperation that led to Germany thinking the Nazis might have the right idea, but they were elected. And yes, the world at large saw this for the poor and reckless decision it is, essentially forfeiting the near future in an insane belief that pathological murderers can be relied upon to provide responsive government and judicious policies.
Meshaal, in keeping with so many other Hamas communiqués, cannot help but taunt the West: ”Rather than recognize the legitimacy of Hamas as a freely elected representative of the Palestinian people, seize the opportunity created by the result to support the development of good governance in Palestine and search for a means of ending the bloodshed, the U.S. and the EU threatened the Palestinian people with collective punishment.”
That is simply a lie, a perversion of Hamas’ stated intent and America’s clear warning not to cross that line. Hamas has a bloody history and a policy of pure hate towards Israel and America. If Hamas withdraws its old threats well and good, but they cannot expect to pursue their violent goals without a deadly response.
”We are being punished simply for resisting oppression and striving for justice.”
No, you are simply being warned that your history of kidnapping and murdering innocent people must stop. Hamas knows justice like Mike Moore knows bulimia.
” the Zionist occupiers of our land.”
Get used to hearing that phrase, folks. It’s the modern reference to the “Final Solution”. It also demonstrates the arrogance of Hamas. Israel belongs to the people who live there and no one else, not another nation and certainly not Hamas, which has paid nothing but claims what they never owned.
”Our people who gave thousands of martyrs, the millions of refugees who have waited for nearly 60 years to return home and our 9,000 prisoners in Israeli jails have not made those sacrifices in order to settle for close to nothing. Hamas has been elected mainly because of its immovable faith in the inevitability of victory”
History shows that Arab groups made deals with the Nazis during World War 2, in hopes of seizing the territory after the war. They also apparently learned the same propaganda tactics: People who murder innocent women and children are called “martyrs”, millions whonever set foot in Israel are called “refugees”, and as for the ‘inevitability of victory’, Hitler and Saddam said a lot of the same things, didn’t they? Got bunker, Meshaal? Or just a hole in the ground?
”Hamas is immune to bribery, intimidation and blackmail.”
The chutzpah of such a statement from a group so steeped in the bloody use of just such methods for so long is stunning.
The message is interesting, when we see how Meshall addresses the rest of the Arab and Muslim world:
”Our message to the Muslim and Arab nations is this: You have a responsibility to stand by your Palestinian brothers and sisters whose sacrifices are made on behalf of all of you.”
In other words, Meshaal is publicly admitting Hamas does not speak for the Muslim world in these matters, nor for the Arabs. Apparently, the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, and many other nations in the Middle East are no more keen to have leaders on the order of Charles Manson in charge, than is the West. Therein lies hope.
”we demand you lift all restrictions on civil society institutions that wish to fundraise for our cause.”
Insh’Allah, of course. Seriously, what an opening. ‘Hi, we just got elected, so fork over the cash and maybe nobody gets hurt. Atleast not right now.’ Classy, huh?
”Having won the parliamentary elections, our medium-term objective is to reform the Palestine Liberation Organization in order to revive it as a true representative of all the Palestinian people, without exception or discrimination.”
In which case no member of Hamas could represent the PLO.
”Our message to the Israelis is this: We do not fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture…Our conflict with you is not religious but political. We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us”
‘Just ignore the thousands we have killed with bombs and shootings all these years. Those kids we blew to pieces in 2003, they had it coming, trust us. That 7-year old little girl we shot with a rifle during an agreed cease-fire, don’t you know she represented a threat to us?’
”Hamas is extending a hand of peace to those who are truly interested in a peace based on justice.”
Hamas knows nothing of justice nor peace, and deserves only its destruction and consignment to hell forthwith. Make no mistake. These are evil men who lead Hamas, and in the end we shall have to deal with them as we did Hitler and other madmen and bloody tyrants.
-- DJ DrummondCheck this out:
“Bush nominee says [safety] laws ‘adequate’ at mines“
President Bush’s choice to oversee coal mines said Tuesday that safety laws are ‘adequate’ and that problems result from mine operators that ignore safety regulations.
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[Richard] Stickler’s comments drew criticism from Democrats and the United Mine Workers, which has long opposed his nomination.
Well, if Democrats and that old-line union oppose him that must mean he’s the right man for the job.
BTW, it’s good to know the Prez is nominating various people – e.g., John Roberts, Alito, Stickler, Chris Cox, Janice Rogers Brown, etc., etc., – who believe in not expanding unnecessarily the reach of federal laws.
Don’t you agree, Sullivan-Drezner?
-- JaysonTNR’s liberal Ryan Lizza sums up the depressing SOTU:
Every White House loves the annual State of the Union speech because it supposedly showcases the president for a full primetime hour in all his imperial glory. But this is the first State of the Union I can remember where the president ended the evening diminished in stature rather than enhanced.Such a waste. Why, oh why does Bush insist on poking conservatives in the eye on the one issue that can help crush the Democrats in 2006? Sigh. -- PoliPunditFirst, we witnessed the death of the great-man theory of Bush. The Bush presidency, in the minds of its most fervent supporters, has been built on the idea that Bush is a visionary with bold ideas that he forcefully pushes even when they sacrifice his own popularity. But the bold agenda is gone. His “addicted to oil” line will garner lots of headlines, but his actual oil-independence plan is so modest–tens of millions of dollars in a two trillion dollar annual budget–that it is barely worth mentioning. Instead of re-arguing the case for his Social Security plan, he called for another Social Security commission. The much-hyped health care proposals were mentioned in passing. His fancy American Competitiveness Initiative–a research and development tax credit and more money for math and science–seems reasonable but forgettable.
Second, there was very little in the speech for conservatives to rally around. No bold new tax cuts. No line-in-the-sand warning to Iran. No culture war rhetoric. Combined with the Dick Morris-style domestic initiatives and the incessant appeals for bipartisanship, Bush came before Congress a seemingly humbled, even emasculated, president.
And, in the surprise of the night, conservatives became Bush’s target. “In a complex and challenging time,” Bush said, “the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting–yet it ends in danger and decline.”
…
Bush’s isolationist-bashing was really aimed at the growing ranks of Buchananite Republicans. In fact, later in the speech he took a second swipe at them on immigration: “We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy–even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction–toward a stagnant and second-rate economy.”
No, not the average high school dropout rate in big liberal cities controlled for decades by liberal Democrats.
I’m talking about GOP gubernatorial hopeful Lynn Swann:
“Swann Close to GOP Endorsement for Gov.“
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FWIW, I never get involved in primary contests in states not my own.
But if Swann gets the nod, I’ll devote time and money to his general election campaign.
Dittos for Michael Steele in MD, Ken Blackwell in OH, and, if he gets the primary nod, Rev. Keith Butler in MI.
How about you, Buchanan?
Oh, right, never mind.
* * *
On a different but related topic, the country is changing, folks. It’s called: Demographic trends.
You can ignore them. But you do so at your own peril.
Ignoring long-term poli-demographic trends is sort of like ignoring those unexplained checks made payable to “Divorce Your Husband and Take All His Money” that you suddenly notice when reviewing your monthly bank statements.
If you catch my drift.
Or let me put is this way:
Do you actually believe it’s a “coincidence” or a “fluke” the Democrat Party has lost nearly 100 net U.S. House seats and nearly 25 net U.S. Senate seats in only 30 years; despite non-voting and anti-GOP conservatives and despite the media, academia, the FDR blocs, and the corpse blocs???
It’s neither a coincidence nor a fluke.
Ignoring reality doesn’t change it, much less make it go away.
-- JaysonInteresting points:
“In the pre-speech interview, 52% of people who intended to watch the speech said Bush’s policies would move the country in the right direction, compared with 68% who said that after the speech
Bush’s comments about the economy and Iraq apparently persuaded many speech watchers that things are better than they thought.
When asked to evaluate how effective Bush’s proposals for healthcare and energy consumption would be, speech watchers were mostly optimistic.”
He shoots, he scores, they cry.
-- DJ Drummond