"Doctors have upgraded Viktor Yuschenko's condition from Edward James Olmos to Willem Dafoe..."
POLITICS
The State of the Union speech has come in recent years to be a laundry list of everything the president would do if he had the power to do everything. Bill Clinton was a particular fan of that approach, and polls have always shown that Americans like it. Last night, George W. Bush delivered a modified version, with a raft of initiatives that included some things new but a great deal that was very familiar. We were pleased to hear the call for better defense in death-penalty cases and more community health centers in poor areas, and the mention of $350 million in aid for Palestinians to promote the peace process with Israel. But we were disheartened by the renewed call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and the failure to mention development aid to Africa or virtually any other country that is not identified as a prime source of terrorism.
Mr. Bush is going to be judged on the way he delivers on his biggest thoughts, and the first State of the Union speech of his second term is almost certainly going to be remembered for his call to stay the course in Iraq and change the course of Social Security.
On both counts, Mr. Bush fudged the most critical points. When it comes to the invasion of Iraq, everyone has already agreed that the turnout for last weekend's election was very encouraging - though we can't really fault the president for wanting to go over it one more time. The voting, however, was only a first step. It made the journey to establishing a stable and reasonably democratic government appear possible, but not necessarily likely. The election did not bridge over the fact that a vast majority of Iraq's people think of themselves as Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds or members of smaller ethnic groups rather than as part of an Iraqi nation.
While Mr. Bush rightly pointed to the training of "more capable Iraqi security forces" as crucial for an American military withdrawal, it is absolutely not enough. All the indigenous police and soldiers Iraq can muster will be useless unless members of the new government are prepared to work - and risk their own political capital - to create a state that recognizes the rights and needs of all its citizens. Mr. Bush's argument that this is a bad time to set a timetable for withdrawal obscures the very immediate need to set goals, and to make it clear to the Iraqis that the continued presence of American forces depends on their meeting those goals. His speech was yet another feel-good paean to freedom and democracy that did little to show the American people an exit strategy for United States troops, or to show the Iraqis what we expect from them next.
On the domestic front, Mr. Bush talked a lot last night about Social Security without ever saying much beyond the fact that he wants to see it privatized - a word the president no longer uses because polls showed that the American people reacted badly to the concept. Mr. Bush now likes the term "wise and effective reform." Like his rhetoric, his proposals for Social Security continue to stress the vague and glossy.
The "reform" described by the president last night addressed the major criticisms that have been showered on the privatization plan by promising that none of the bad things would happen: no big fees, no risk from market swings, no risk that retirees would outlive their money and no fiscally irresponsible borrowing. He offered little explanation, however, of how he would accomplish all these fixes, and the new information that he did provide was unconvincing. The hostile - and unusually vocal - reaction from parts of his audience suggested the problems he will have when the program comes to Congress.
Before and After Tsunami Pictures
POLITICS
The State of the Union speech has come in recent years to be a laundry list of everything the president would do if he had the power to do everything. Bill Clinton was a particular fan of that approach, and polls have always shown that Americans like it. Last night, George W. Bush delivered a modified version, with a raft of initiatives that included some things new but a great deal that was very familiar. We were pleased to hear the call for better defense in death-penalty cases and more community health centers in poor areas, and the mention of $350 million in aid for Palestinians to promote the peace process with Israel. But we were disheartened by the renewed call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and the failure to mention development aid to Africa or virtually any other country that is not identified as a prime source of terrorism.
Mr. Bush is going to be judged on the way he delivers on his biggest thoughts, and the first State of the Union speech of his second term is almost certainly going to be remembered for his call to stay the course in Iraq and change the course of Social Security.
On both counts, Mr. Bush fudged the most critical points. When it comes to the invasion of Iraq, everyone has already agreed that the turnout for last weekend's election was very encouraging - though we can't really fault the president for wanting to go over it one more time. The voting, however, was only a first step. It made the journey to establishing a stable and reasonably democratic government appear possible, but not necessarily likely. The election did not bridge over the fact that a vast majority of Iraq's people think of themselves as Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds or members of smaller ethnic groups rather than as part of an Iraqi nation.
While Mr. Bush rightly pointed to the training of "more capable Iraqi security forces" as crucial for an American military withdrawal, it is absolutely not enough. All the indigenous police and soldiers Iraq can muster will be useless unless members of the new government are prepared to work - and risk their own political capital - to create a state that recognizes the rights and needs of all its citizens. Mr. Bush's argument that this is a bad time to set a timetable for withdrawal obscures the very immediate need to set goals, and to make it clear to the Iraqis that the continued presence of American forces depends on their meeting those goals. His speech was yet another feel-good paean to freedom and democracy that did little to show the American people an exit strategy for United States troops, or to show the Iraqis what we expect from them next.
On the domestic front, Mr. Bush talked a lot last night about Social Security without ever saying much beyond the fact that he wants to see it privatized - a word the president no longer uses because polls showed that the American people reacted badly to the concept. Mr. Bush now likes the term "wise and effective reform." Like his rhetoric, his proposals for Social Security continue to stress the vague and glossy.
The "reform" described by the president last night addressed the major criticisms that have been showered on the privatization plan by promising that none of the bad things would happen: no big fees, no risk from market swings, no risk that retirees would outlive their money and no fiscally irresponsible borrowing. He offered little explanation, however, of how he would accomplish all these fixes, and the new information that he did provide was unconvincing. The hostile - and unusually vocal - reaction from parts of his audience suggested the problems he will have when the program comes to Congress.
Before and After Tsunami Pictures
posted by D @ 11:22 AM
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