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02/02/2005 Entry: "SOTU"

STATE OF THE UNION: It was nice that George W. Bush began his State of the Union speech mentioning Iraq...that must have galled a few Democrats.

Was it me or were you shocked as well that Bush actually plans a budget that will rise less than the inflation rate and will actually (theoretically) see the deficit cut in half in a few years? 150 programs cut? A big improvement over previous SOTUs which saw nothing but planned spending announcements. Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't want to spend as he did announce some new programs.

Also nice to see was a commitment to tort reform.

For many the centerpiece of the speech is Bush's call for Social Security reform and I have to say that he did a decent job laying out the basic argument of why it's needed. Frankly I wish more than an eventual 4 per cent of contributions was earmarked for personal retirement savings accounts but the fact that this debate will finally occur should satisfy those of us who have been agitating for this for over a decade. There is going to be a massive battle over this and I hope Bush sticks to his guns. For the Democrats Social Security is more godly than God and they won't roll over at what is essentially a minor change to the system.

I rather enjoyed the little cut he threw at judges who "legislate from the bench." On NBC they showed one of the liberal justices who seemed to be smiling in response. Nice that he threw down the guantlet to Democrats in the Senate to confirm his judicial nominees.

I wish, however, he'd drop this fascination with alternative energy. For a cat who wants to restrain spending, wasting it on pie in the sky technology is just that, a waste.

I thought that he really hit his stride with Iraq -- not surprising since the president has historically done better speaking about foreign affairs then domestic ones. It was nice to see an Iraqi voter in attendence and the ovation for her was gratifying. Interesting note: many Republicans died a finger purple in a show of solidarity with the people of Iraq but most Democrats refused. Typical.

I was also happy to hear that action on Syria and Iran will be undertaken. For a while I was worried that America's attention was solely focused on Iraq. There are still two members of the Axis of Evil that need to be addressed.

Nice bipartisan standing ovation for the family of Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood. The longest such ovation I can remember.

At any rate, I thought it was a good speech. Stronger than his inaugural certainly and it laid out a pretty ambitious agenda. I'll give it an B+.

Read the speech here. Visit the White House's 2005 SOTU site here.