State of the Union

President Bush gave a sober, yet strong state of the union address tonight and I hope that Congress and the American people can put aside their partisian angles to come together on the most important issues he discussed.

Some highlights:


This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.


For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq, would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens... new recruits ... new resources ... and an even greater determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September 11th and invite tragedy. And ladies and gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East ... to succeed in Iraq ... and to spare the American people from this danger.

This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments you have made. We went into this largely united – in our assumptions, and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq – and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field – and those on their way.


Of course, hoping that Democrats want us to achieve victory in Iraq enough to put aside their hatred, bitterness, and desire to see America as the next France is naive of me. Their response had the ususal talk of "redeployment" (aka - turn and run with your tale between your legs and bring on Black Hawk Down x a million). Oh, and much of the president's ideas (like his health care plan) were declared "dead on the table" before he even stepped up to the podium tonight. (Shows their genuine desire to cooporate and be "bi-partisian," as they've been claiming for the last 6 years.) Clearly their ideas of socializing health care are all they're interested in debating (so that Americans, like Canadians, can get on five year waiting lists for an MRI, etc. - unfortunately, unlike Canadians, we won't have a border to cross if we really need medical services not available to us under our socialized system...) And you weren't exactly going to hear them heartily cheer the notion of balancing the budget without increasing taxes... But it's getting late, I can always enjoy my dreams for at least one evening...


UPDATE: Pelosi broke record for how many times she could blink her eyes per minute...