Thoughts on the State of the Union

Even thought I wasn't feeling all that well, I stayed up to watch a whole bunch of Washington insiders who on any other day would not be caught dead next to this President were instead flocking to him for his autograph.

President Bush's final State of the Union address was accompanied by all the usual trappings and fanfare, but the speech itself was pretty flat. He ran down the usual laundry list of items that he wants Congress to tackle which they never will and he ran off the lists of accomplishment in Iraq and elsewhere.

The few new things in the speech will never see the light of day, but were interesting. Among them was this:

Oh, yeah, there wasn't anything new and interesting in this speech... My bad...

This bit on immgration is likely to both encourage and infuriate at the same time:

The other pressing challenge is immigration. America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. (Applause.) This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals. (Applause.)

You don't get the issue if you don't say that border security must come first.

On a lighter note was this bit from early in the speech:

We have other work to do on taxes. Unless Congress acts, most of the tax relief we've delivered over the past seven years will be taken away. Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I'm pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders. (Laughter and applause.)

Care to place bets on who actually does that?

The ending was nice...and fairly well delivered too:

The strength -- the secret of our strength, the miracle of America, is that our greatness lies not in our government, but in the spirit and determination of our people. (Applause.) When the Federal Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787, our nation was bound by the Articles of Confederation, which began with the words, "We the undersigned delegates." When Governor Morris was asked to draft a preamble to our new Constitution, he offered an important revision and opened with words that changed the course of our nation and the history of the world: "We the people."

By trusting the people, our Founders wagered that a great and noble nation could be built on the liberty that resides in the hearts of all men and women. By trusting the people, succeeding generations transformed our fragile young democracy into the most powerful nation on Earth and a beacon of hope for millions. And so long as we continue to trust the people, our nation will prosper, our liberty will be secure, and the state of our Union will remain strong. (Applause.)

So tonight, with confidence in freedom's power, and trust in the people, let us set forth to do their business. God bless America. (Applause.)

Overall, a forgettable speech by a President who's legacy was determined very early in his first term.

The transcript is available here.