Fear Itself

A few observations on the State of the Union Address:

"We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq, because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out." - GWB

Whoever cooked up that bit of the speech is a Machiavellian genius. It's as simple as that. The magnificent duplicity of that statement is that now no one can demand that B*sh set a target date for troop withdrawal because, well, you know, that's what the terrorists want us to do. You're not on the side of terror are you?
So now he can keep brushing off the questions indefinitely with vague promises about the not-too-distant future. Does anyone else suspect that B*sh is under the impression that there are a finite number of insurgents, and they'll eventually all blow themselves up? Is he so obtuse that he responds to every suicide-bombing report with "well, at least we got one of theirs..."

And did anyone see Tim Russert wet himself just because a dozen democrats yelled "no" during B*sh's comments about social security? "No?" What is that? They made B*sh stutter, once, while Cheney smiled in his oily, smarmy megalomaniacal manner over his shoulder, but one "no" isn't much of a statement. I would have liked to see a simultaneous back-turn or better yet, a 'spontaneous' presentation of blue-ink-stained middle fingers. Now THAT would have justified preempting Law & Order.

And where was the "strong language" the wags promised us from the Democratic Response? "Strong" my ass. They didn't even curse. Not once. I certainly did. By the end of the speech every small object within reach of my chair was strewn around my television from having been angrily thrown in that direction.

And where exactly does that man get the balls to quote FDR not ten minutes after he proposes the mutilation of Social Security? How's your irony detector? I look forward to next year's speech: "'Speak softly, carry a big stick' and privatize the national park system."