Curious what everybody thought about the SOTU last night..
Old Chimpy got up there and kissed Pelosi's butt, and then launched into his speech.
All in all, it was not as bad as previous years, but the bar has been set so low...
Major themes:
- 20% reduction in oil usage
OK, on the surface, I am for this...but he never specifically mentions CAFE standards, or LEGISLATION to mandate major improvements..he sites more Ethanol (Tom Harken and Iowa) which If I am not mistaken may help our Oil consumption, but if the goal is lowering greenhouse gases, I think it is a neutral proposition as it takes a lot of energy to make ethanol...surprised he didn't try to go to the ANWR platform again
So I call this one HOT AIR - nothing substantial will happen.
- Health Care reform - HA! he doesn't propose anything to address the problem of run away costs, only a (Drum roll please) plan to create a tax program that allows people to buy insurance...sounds so-so on the surface (even supporters have to be skeptical of anything this guy says), what this basically means is that small businesses will no longer offer health care, and the burden will be shifted to individuals...might work ok in the short term, but in the end, the costs will continue to rise, and these "affordable" plans will become overpriced like they were before, and the business lobby will have succeeded in shifting a cost back onto the employees. Oh, and he went to the HSA route...there is the solution for the working poor...save more money in tax sheltered HSA's - ummm...these people live pay check to pay check..putting away money in a rainy day health care account at the expense of gas to get to work, and heat for the house in the winter or clothes for the kids...come on! Lip service...never will happen, but at least he recognizes this is a problem [roll eyes]
War on Terra - same old bull shit --
Iraq - come on!! one more chance...I love you baby, I promise I won't hit you again..I am a changed man...no more drinkin', I won't get angry...WHAT! you can't find the remote...WHAP!
I am sure there was more, but Ellen had to leave the room because I started yelling at the TV :) - at least I didn't film myself doing it
4 comments:
He didn't mention that the health care tax break is apparently going to be revenue neutral, so to offset the tax savings for those who pay for their own health care, they plan to levy a new tax on those who have company health benefits that exceed some threshhold. that's the spirit! tax the people who do have decent health care!
a couple of articles have pointed out that after praising pelosi, bush also praised the new "Democrat majority". his trimming of
"Democratic" is a childish tweak that republican spinners came up with a few years ago, thinking it sounded less austere and emphasized the "rat". his prepared remarks said "democratic". what a turd.
I liked watching the Democratic response. It seems like the Dems always picked a respondant with the least charisma possible -- George Mitchell, Nancy Pelosi -- but this time finally got it right. Webb was great.
I liked seeing Dikembe in the crowd. He was literally twice as tall as Laura Bush. It would suck to be the guy who gets to go to the SotU -- and have to sit behind a 7-footer.
The Times has put up this tool that lets you check the frequency of words used in all of Bush's SOTU speaches:
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/washington/20070123_STATEOFUNION.html
Couple things: Last night was the first time he ever used the word climate in a SOTU. And he only used it once.
Also, in 2002 he use the word terror 34 times. Last night he used versions of the word iraq 34 times. Coincidence? I think not.
it would be funny if the NYT tool gained traction and the Bush folks tried to game it.. "My fellow amuhricans.. I know that there is a climate of terror these days, and it's warming steadily. The climate may not seem so bad when you look outside, but the global climate of terror is definitely warmer than it should be. You know, when you are confronted with a daunting mountain, you gotta climb'it.."
chris, this is interesting -- you said that Bush didn't mention CAFE standards in his address, while Tuesday Morning Quarterback columnist Gregg Easterbrook writes that Bush did indeed discuss CAFE, and that he got zero credit for an awesome idea.
Problem is, Easterbrook's got it all wrong. The goals for which he gives Bush credit are just typical Bushspeak -- optional requirements that have no weight at all. Bush's plan -- details are Here -- calls for moving control of CAFE from congress to political appointees, says that fuel economy targets should be flexible, and seeks to give companies the "opportunity to buy and sell CAFE credits." the plan says in big bold type that Bush's "CAFE plan will reduce gasoline consumption by up to 8.5 billion gallons per year in 2017" -- but follows that up with the disclaimer that the amount is "based on an assumption that on average, fuel efficiency standards... are increased 4 percent per year." In other words, when the Secretary of Transportation declines to raise the minimum MPG -- and Bush gives him that responsibility -- it won't be our fault. As Dick Cheney would say: Hogwash! No wonder the president didn't mention CAFE standards in his SotU address -- it would have begged a closer look at his plan.
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