US President George W. Bush is not exactly the most popular guy in the world right now. With approval ratings already skimming the low 30's mainly because of his continued push for the war in Iraq and the recent order to send an additional 21,500 troops. Many analysts and bloggers like TIME Magazine's Jay Carney predicted that Bush would focus on domestic issues that mattered more to the people (and ultimately the voters) in a move similar to how former Presidet Bill Clinton managed to save his presidency in 1995.
It does appear he did precisely that by talking about a number of topics ranging from taxs cuts for health insurance, the No Child Gets Left Behind act and of course a lot of "green" discussions about renewable energy.
After going over the speech in detail, I have to admit that I'm not very impressed with what he had to say. It was a lot of fluff and half thought-out ideas - let's face it, he's still harping on Social Security reform for crying out loud. Despite how much time he devoted to energy policy reform and new targets for certain things, he didn't really have much to offer in terms of solid action plans and what exactly he wanted people to do. He took no risks and didn't even consider mentioning Kyoto.
How can one possibly find confidence in hollow pronouncements like that?
Of course he ended with Iraq and a reiteration of failures in order to appear realistic. This is all well and good - I'm all for the White House finally saying they screwed up, but of course turning around and insisting their current "new" plan for Iraq is a solid one remains a bit too much to swallow for me. Let's face it - he's still infusing Iraq with more American cannon fodder and is simply fanning the flames of secular violence in the region.
What was rather refreshing was how the Democrats tried to make their displeasure known throughout Bush's speech, visibly remaining silent during certain parts where you know you're expected to cheer or something and not applauding for everything he had to say. There were several parts when only his Republican party-mates were the ones applauding.
Oh yes, welcome to 2007, President Bush. Have fun with the Democrats - but do remember to plan nice.
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