Prelude to the State of the Union

Tonight is the State of the Union address. President Bush will set down some plans for the US and its place in the world. Naturally, the rest of the world will criticize and heap scorn on both Bush and his agenda. Then the rest of the world will go back to whatever it was doing, large parts of it, watching television.

For those who don't intend to watch it, I will summarize it briefly:

Bush will outline an agenda involving peace and security making note of the historic vote in Iraq. Both sides will stand up and cheer. On the domestic side his speech will mention and focus on the reformation of Social Security for the "security" of future generations. The Republicans will give a standing ovation and the Democrats will sit and make grumpy faces. On cue, Hillary Clinton will pass out when Bush says "private investments." The speech, especially towards the end, will be laced with references to God and freedom. A camera-shot of a ticked off/embarrassed John Kerry will be included by most of the major networks.

Such is the nature of politics. Our EU allies will be full of consternation that Bush is going to be at the helm for the next four years and the Bush is likely to see some of them replaced/voted out before he leaves the white house. Terrorists will make new photos of GI JOE being captured and Al Jazeerah will only too gladly promote the terrorists PR agenda. The mainstream media will follow suit.



More insightful stuff later. Right now, I have formal wear to get garbed up in.