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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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 Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:01 pm President's State of the Union Address |
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I have to watch this and answer questions on it for AP Gov. Here's an article on it. I'll probably add a poll to it later.
| Quote: | Bush State of the Union Speech: 'America Must Not Fail in Iraq'
WASHINGTON � President Bush will warn Americans Tuesday night that the United States "must not fail in Iraq" because "the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,246103,00.html |
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:08 pm |
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Leaving Iraq doesn't mean failure, it means saving lives and cutting our losses from a terrible mistake that should have never taken place.
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La Forge
Bajoran Colonel
Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 2125
Location: Babylon 5
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| Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:14 pm |
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I agree, Defiant.
Now, on to the speech. I just watched it, and, as a Democratic liberal, I'm going to say the State of the Union speech was...good. Yes. I said good.
I believe Bush made a smart move by keeping his usual cockiness out of his speech, with a more somber speech. I actually agreed with a few policies (however, I dislike everything about Iraq). Now, as a Michiganian, I find it hard to believe the economy is on the rise. Anyways, I must say, at times, it felt as if Bush was "sucking up" to the Democrats, by stating policies which sound un-Bush-like, as in his immigration policy and global warming (not that I'm complaining, mind you). That wasn't Bush speaking there.
All in all, a decent speech by Bush.  I know. The world must be ending.
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You'll never hear me say this again in my life, but...
Go Red Sox!
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TrekkieMage
Office Junkie
Joined: 17 Oct 2004
Posts: 5335
Location: Hiding
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| Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:49 pm |
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I found the speech generally predictable. It pretty much matched up with what I read earlier. Although I will have to read a transcript before I really make up my mind. In terms of quality, I thought it was an average speech, but it didn't really address any of our *problems*.
The body language is what I found the most interesting. Who stood up, who clapped politely, who sat stone faced. Cheney and Pelosi were particularly interesting to watch.
I also saw Webb's rebuttal. I can honestly say that I am incredible proud to have helped vote that man into office. He didn't bash the president, he mearly stated what he expected. He gave historical and personal prospectives, and made very reasonable claims. He pointed out that the economy isn't doing as well as Bush claimed, and pointed out the areas in which it is suffering. He was eloquent, respectful, and to the point. I thought it was an outstanding speech on his part.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:04 am |
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| La Forge wrote: | | I must say, at times, it felt as if Bush was "sucking up" to the Democrats, by stating policies which sound un-Bush-like, as in his immigration policy and global warming (not that I'm complaining, mind you). That wasn't Bush speaking there. |
I agree that he was playing to the Democrats a bit, but on immigration?  Have you not been paying attention to his policy all along?  lol, I am and always have been disgusted by it.
I paid very close attention to the speech and made a bunch of notes. I thought it was really very good, one of his better speeches, to say the least, but I'll start with the negatives.
1. Balancing the budget. I laughed at that. Bush - balance the budget? And with a Democratic Congress? What a funny thought. Not gonna happen.
2. Reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act. What the heck was he thinking, saying that it maintained local control? It expanded the scope of federal government to a huge extent and, though it's proven its benefits and good intentions, it was a poor policy. I hope that the Democrats do as I expect and don't reauthorize it. I just don't want to see what their alternative is. I do like his expansion of school choice ideas, however.
3. Immigration. "No amnesty?" What he is and has been proposing is amnesty. On immigration, as with spending, he is an abject failure. When Fox showed Tom Tancredo shaking his head during that portion of the speech, I couldn't help but smile in agreement. I can't stand his policy. A guest worker program is a good idea, but this "comprehensive reform" mantra is stupid and getting tiresome. Such a program should happen after the border is secured.
4. I agree with most of his energy proposal, but the idea of setting mandatory fuel standards doesn't strike as very conservative to me. I don't like that idea.
Anyways, those are my main complaints. Now, onto the good points and whatnot.
1. I was glad that he touted the improving economy. Good to do.
2. The stuff about cutting back on earmarks was wise. Congress has spent billions upon billions of wasted tax dollars because of pork barrel projects, and it has to stop.
3. Taking on entitlement programs, particularly social security. A necessary step, to say the least, especially considering how much of the budget they consume. I do hope he's successful there. It's a general good proposal.
4. The idea of localizing education - not something the fiscal socialist would do - and the talk of opening up to more school choice.
5. His health insurance initiatives sound pretty good, the idea of expanding health savings accounts and so forth through changing the tax code to make health insurance cheaper and easier to maintain. I'm not favorable of his idea of giving federal funds to states providing health insurance, however, but the tax code changes sound good to me.
6. Medical liability reform sounds good to me. It's definitely needed.
7. Decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, increasing technology, diversifying energy, expanding vehicles, working towards more ethanol, and stepping up domestic oil production are some ideas I'm generally favorable of. I just hope he makes good on this, for he has addressed it in his past addresses already. Especially considering this Chavez crap and the Iran situation, it's really necessary. I also like the idea of reduscing gas consumption by 20% by 2017.
8. Giving fair hearings to judicial nominees. The Republicans stood and clapped here; the Democrats stayed silent. Needless to say, Bush is right, the Dems are wrong.
9. Fighting terrorism. A he pointed out, we have thwarted terrorism across the world (and he gave 5 non-Iraq examples), we need to take the fight to the enemy, and the terrorists are evil with intentions to bring great harm to the American people.
10. Other terrorist issues. He was right in saying that it is necessary to win the War on Terror, to help out the moderate voices in the region, and to continue to keep the fight there. Also, I thought it was wise for him to point out that Iran was working against us and supporting terrorism, but that we're working with the international community to stop the Iran threat.
11. Iraq. I agree wholeheartedly with him on this issue. Democracy in Iraq was a wonderful thing, and we can't abandon the nation to the mercy of the insurgents and the terrorists. We must find the resolve to see the fight through. He acknowledged the increase of violence in the region last year, including that of Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, which I think was a good thing to do. He also pressed that the Iraqi government must act, for our commitment is not open-ended, and that the primary goal in his new strategy at this time was to secure Baghdad, which we need to do to succeed in that country. Though I would have done it more, he pleaded with the American people to give his plan a chance to work, which is what I think he needed to do, for the consequences of failure in that region are too great. I think he did a good job explaining his Iraq policy, and I agreed with him on it overall.
12. Helping Darfur, fighting AIDS, and helping 15 African nations with malaria are some good ideas.
It was interesting all the times the Republicans clapped and stood and the Democrats either just clapped or did nothing at all, such as when the president discussed balancing the budget (HAH!) without new taxes, addressed giving local control and more choice regarding education, discussed medical liability reform, spoke about the confirmation of judicial nominees, and staying in Iraq. And when Bush congratulated the Democratic majority, they all stood, clapping excitedly. Ah, partisanship, lol. It was exciting - albeit distasteful given the individual - with the female speaker stuff, I must admit.
I think the best part of the speech and the best part of his presentation was during the foreign policy portion. I thought he delivered it very well and stated what he needed to say rightly and well.
I thought Senator Webb's rebuttal was well-written and well-given, overall, but I disagreed with everything. A few notes.
1. His discussion of the economy, IMO, was way off-base, but the historical quotation of Andrew Jackson, I think, gives a certain credibility to his argument. It was eloquently done.
2. He basically said we need partnership, not partisanship. The chances of that happening, however? Small.
3. he talked about Iraq being a "reckless war" from the beginning and how we need a new direction in Iraq, but when he talked about not enacting a "precipitous withdrawal," he said we needed to bring it to its "proper conclusion" shortly and redeploy our troops. That's not a precipitous withdrawal? It most certainly is.
4. He did not give any factual basis for saying that the "majority of our military" does not support the effort, and that's contrary to what I've heard time and time again, including from members of the military and individuals in Iraq themselves. For him to make such a rash judgment, I think, was wrong. I would have just acknowledged that the majority of the American public no longer supports it and left it at that. He made a mistake, IMO, by making that judgment about our troops.
So I didn't like, surprise surprise, anything he had to say, lol, but I do give him credit for giving a good address and delivering it quite well. I'll give credit when credit is due.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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La Forge
Bajoran Colonel
Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 2125
Location: Babylon 5
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| Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:33 am |
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Wow. Lot to say there, eh, RM?
I saw a bit of Webb's rebuttal. I agree whole-heartedly with him. I personally think the economy isn't in that great of shape. Now, it may be elsewhere, but, I live in Michigan. We have the worst economy in the country and it is continuing to worsen, everyday.
Pelosi and Cheney were definitely interesting to watch. Cheney seemed to be bored and Pelosi seemed obviously happy with where she was. She should be. She's the most powerful woman in America. I don't know...there's Oprah.
Also, RM? The majority of Bush's "ideas"? Yeah. Most of them sounded like things the Democrats have suggested long ago and Bush, apparently having been hit upon the head, just realized "Wow. Those are good ideas." and now is marking them off as his own.
I still think the speech was decent (better than his other State of the Union addresses, by far). I still completely DISAGREE with his entire Iraq policy.
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You'll never hear me say this again in my life, but...
Go Red Sox!
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:43 am |
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| La Forge wrote: | | Also, RM? The majority of Bush's "ideas"? Yeah. Most of them sounded like things the Democrats have suggested long ago and Bush, apparently having been hit upon the head, just realized "Wow. Those are good ideas." and now is marking them off as his own. |
Evidence, please? I realize some of them were spurred off from Dem ideas, but the majority? Not that I know of.
Last edited by Republican_Man on Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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La Forge
Bajoran Colonel
Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 2125
Location: Babylon 5
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| Wed Jan 24, 2007 12:37 pm |
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Sorry. I didn't mean exact rip-offs. Just a few of the plans of which I agreed with were "spurred off" the Democrats, as you said.
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You'll never hear me say this again in my life, but...
Go Red Sox!
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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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| Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:46 pm |
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I think Nancy did a good job of directing the Democrats on when to stand and applaud. Apparently she was also clocked at blinking up to 85 blinks per minute at points during the speech. I believe during the part where Bush was talking about a 20% decrease in gasoline usage, Dick Cheney chuckled, which in turn made me laugh. I thought it was pretty good overall, but not good enough that they needed to cut into Boston Legal's time slot.
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