Nice pair

There's a pair of editorials in the NY Times worth checking out this morning. The first looks at the domestic part of the SOTU:

When the president delivers his State of the Union address, we like to listen respectfully and respond politely. It is always easy to find things worth applauding. Last night, for instance, President Bush mentioned job retraining, immigration law reform and programs to help newly released prisoners re-enter society. The impulse is always to split the difference � to decry the ideas we disagree with and then note the ones we like. This time, such evenhandedness seems impossible. The president's domestic policy comes down to one disastrous fact: his insistence on huge tax cuts for the wealthy has robbed the country of the money it needs to address its problems and has threatened its long-term economic security. Everything else is beside the point.

The second looks at the foreign policy part of the SOTU:

Last night President Bush surveyed the state of his foreign policy over the past year and, unsurprisingly, gave himself high marks. In truth, while there have been achievements, the last year of war in Iraq and stubborn unilateralism on issues ranging from the use of military force to environmental policy and trade have dominated and strained America's relationships with most of the rest of the world.

As for my thoughts, well...

• No sign of Dubya's "tell," although this may be in part because most of the speech seemed to be filler and platitudes.
• Dubya seemed to have some hydration issues, up to and including dumping Dick's water all over the floor at the end. (and then walking away...hmm...a metaphor for his presidency?)
• Uh...steroid abuse?
• Zell sure looked lonely standing up over there all by his lonesome.
• I appreciated the applause when he announced that the Patriot Act was due to expire. I would have liked to have seen more such rambunctiousness.

Anyway, with any luck that was the last SOTU Dubya will ever give...

Posted by Jason at January 21, 2004 08:21 AM