President Bush's State of the Union Address was pretty much what I thought it would be: weak and altruistic on the domestic front and only slightly more rational on the foreign policy front.
I do like his call for health savings accounts and for medical liability reform. But his statement that the government has the responsibility to provide affordable health insurance was awfull. His usual pleas to be compassionate were to be expected I suppose.
I did like his insistence that the way to break our dependency on foreign oil is through technology but I didn't like the idea that the federal government will be spending more billions to do it.
His call for a bipartisan commission to study social security reform I think will be a big waste of time and money. I could be wrong on this but government studies do have this proclivity to turn out that way.
On the foreign policy part, I was disappointed he wasn't stronger on Hamas. He said Hamas must recognize Isreal and disarm but he didn't come right out and say we wouldn't deal with Hamas if they didn't.
I did like what he said about the Iranian leadership and the fact that the western nations cannot allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. I also liked one of his early statements when he said "We will act boldly in freedom's cause." The key word here is "boldly." I sure hope so.
I did like the way he repeatedly hammered on the theme that isolationism is the wrong way to go and to cut and run in Iraq was out of the question.
As is his habit, Bush says some things that are encouraging and then says other things that are downright depressing. But I guess I'll just have to hope that someone a little more rational will bid for the Repub. nomination in 08. The Democrats look like they're going to rerun a slate of the usual suspects which means there is no hope for rationality from them.
1 comment:
I am glad GW didn't start by going toe to toe with Hamas- he needs to do business with them- he has already said it and they heard it - when he softens his rhetoric he allows them to be leaders which is what their people have asked for - Allow them the opportunity for magnaminity and perhaps they will take it. we can always nukem later. as I stated up above - make sure what comes out of your mouth gets you closer to what you want. there is time for tough talk and perhaps by giving some slack now we won't have to go it alone later.
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