Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

January 31, 2006

Liveblogging the State of the Union Address

8:59--Laura Bush takes her seat, classy as always. Seated with her is a woman in Muslim garb.

9:00--The Supreme Court is announced, and they are joined by newly minted Justice Samuel Alito. Heh. They are followed by the President's cabinet. Yay Condi!

Just saw Joe Lieberman; he has quite the smile on his face.

According to FOX News, Cindy Sheehan, who cadged a pass, was taken out of the gallery a few minutes ago because she tried to unfurl a banner. Rumor has it she was the guest of Lynn Woolsey. She is in cuffs outside and being detained, but has not yet been arrested.

9:08--President Bush is announced and is running the gamut on his way to the podium. He's hugging and shaking hands with people on the aisle. He just shook hands with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

9:11--He is officially announced by the speaker. John Kerry must be eating his heart out. Bush's first remarks were dedicated to Coretta Scott King who died today.

9:14--"We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom...The only way to protect our people...is by our leadership so the United States of America will continue to lead."

9:15--"We seek the end of tyranny of our world...In reality, the future of America's security depends on it...Dictatorships shelter terrorists and...seek weapons of mass destruction...Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer..."

Good. He brought up women voting in Afghanistan and Iraqis getting the vote, as well as Lebanon throwing off Syria's yoke.

9:17--"No one can deny the success of freedom...Terrorists like bin Ladin are serious about...mass murder...They seek to impose...totalitarianism...Their aim is to seize power in Iraq and use it...the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear..."

He mentions the atrocities visited upon innocent people by terrorists. "There is no peace in retreat, and there is no honor in retreat." Standing ovation when he said we will "never surrender to evil."

Excellent. He's mentioning everything going on in Iraq, training forces, helping to create a government and an infrastructure. Focus on the positive. "In less than three years their nation has gone from dictatorship...to national elections." "We are winning," another standing ovation.

Ooh...decisions about when to bring our soldiers home will be made by our military commanders, "not by politicians in Washington DC." Zing! "Hindsight alone is not wisdom, and second guessing is not a strategy." Another zing! John Kerry is looking down. "Members of Congress...our nation has only one option...we must...stand behind our military in this vital mission." Quoting a letter from Marine Sgt. Daniel Clay, who was killed in action, and mentioning his family in the gallery. Nice.

"Leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel...and recognize lasting peace." Boy, does Hillary look sour. Didn't anyone tell her she shouldn't eat lemons before being on TV?

Iran: "The regime...sponsors terrorists...that must come to an end...The nations of the world must not let the Iranian regime gain nuclear weapons...America respects you...our nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran."

He stumbled on a few words...I'll bet the Kos kiddies will be jumping all over that.

"Our country must also remain on the defensive...here at home...They (law enforcement) also deserve the same tools they use to fight drug trafficking and organized crime, so I also ask you to renew the Patriot Act."

Bringing up the surveillance program by NSA and how previous presidents have used the authority he is using to prevent terrorist attacks here at home. "If people in our country are talking to al Qaeda we want to know about it, because we will not sit back and be hit again." Another direct hit.

"Together let us protect our country...and lead this world toward freedom." Another lemon puss from Hillary.

Mentions that our economy has created 4.6 million new jobs, more than Japan and the EU combined. "Our economy is preeminent, but we cannot afford to be complacent." Saying some say immigrants are bad for the economy. Uh, no, sorry...the first lame thing I've heard tonight...it's not immigrants, but ILLEGAL immigrants that we have problems with.

$880 billion is in the hands of workers, investors and families due to tax cuts and that has spurred economic growth. "I urge the Congress to act responsibly and make the tax cuts permanent." Hear that Teddy? I haven't seen his bloated form yet.

Says he will cut programs that are not perfoming well and plans to save $14 billion by doing so. "I'm pleased that Congress is working on earmark reform." "Pass the line item veto." Heh.

Baby boom retiring will put an enormous strain on the government budget. Tax or cut? Congress didn't act on his Social Security reform last year. Hillary laughed. "The cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away. Every year we fail to ask the situation gets worse." Asks for work on SS, Medicare and Medicaid. "Put aside partisan politics...and...get this problems solved."

Discussing immigration and "orderly and secure borders." Duh! "Stronger immigration enforcement and border protection." Brings up a guest worker program. Border protection? He'd better follow through on that one.

Tort reform! John Edwards, are you listening? "I am asking Congress to pass medical liability reform this year."

Says we must concentrate more on technology that can reduce or eliminate our dependence on oil, particularly foreign oil. Coal, sun and wind, and nuclear energy whould be concentrated on. Hydrogen-powered cars, as well as ethanol, perhaps competitive within six years. A pipe dream? Time will tell.

"We must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity...give our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science." No kidding. "Bring 30,000 math and science professionals to teach in the classrooms."

"A life of personal responsibility is a life of fulfillment." Said regarding the lowering of crime rates, abortion rates, drug use among kids. Brought up activist courts and corruption in government. "We must never give in to the belief that America is in decline...Supreme Court now has new has two new superb members on its bench..." more applause and a standing ovation. "I thank the Senate for confirming both of them..." Gives a salute to retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Against cloning humans for scientific research. "Human life is a gift from our Creator, and that gift should never be discarded...or put up for sale." Uh oh, the lefties are going to have a fit.

Ethical standards of Washington being discussed. Hey, why haven't I seen Harry Reid yet either?

He wants to spend more money on AIDS treatment, but doesn't mention abstinence as a solution to stopping the spread of this insidious disease. Again, John Kerry looks as though someone gave him spinach for dessert instead of a souffle.

Ends on a high note, saying, "May G-d bless America."

Final thoughts: Good speech 51 minutes not counting applause interruptions. I liked his discussion of Iraq, the monitoring of calls to and from Al Qaeda by the NSA in the US, and national security in general. There was wishy washiness regarding immigration (still afraid to offend) and no real answers about securing our borders. His discussion about energy alternatives was probably surprising to many, and I'll bet the left doesn't like that, as it's something they love to bash him on. I don't mind any of that, and as long as he doesn't propose signing the Kyoto treaty I won't complain. I loved the comments about "non-activist courts" that are servants of the law. Some conservatives may not be happy with the speech, and I'm sure plenty of leftists won't, but he made some very good points, and overall I give it a positive rating.