It’s only been about 15 hours since President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address, and already it’s old news. Still, bloggers had a lot to say about the speech and the president’s audience. As Fred Barnes noted on Fox News after the speech, Bush’s line of the night was really funny and “something never heard before in a State of the Union”:
The economy and earmarks were the focus of the first half of the speech, and Republicans are clearly split over Bush’s call for fiscal responsibility and his stimulus plan. John Bresnahan reported that “Republican appropriators didn’t join into the overwhelming happiness over earmark reform.” Andrew Roth at the Club For Growth’s blog picked up on a might-have-missed-it joke: “Tonight after the State of the Union address, as President Bush was leaving the chamber, Republican Rep. Louis Gohmert (TX-01) told a joke to his fellow Texan. Gohmert said to Bush, ‘How do you give a rebate to people who didn’t put in bate in?'” The second half of the speech focused on foreign affairs, particularly Iraq. Jimbo at Blackfive says that this was the line of the night: “Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among the terrorists there is no doubt. Al Qaida is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated.” In his analysis of the speech, Power Line’s Scott Johnson says, “President Bush took justifiable pride in the surge/counterinsurgency strategy that has produced incredible progress on the battlefield in the course of a year. In an act of magnanimity that his opponents will never reciprocate, he confined his derogation of the defeatists in the chamber with him to a single sentence: ‘When we met last year, many said containing the violence was impossible.'”
Bloggers also discussed the predictable audience reactions. Michelle Malkin has a sharp eye: “Teddy Kennedy is now welded to Barack Obama’s hip. Hillary Clinton is making a beeline to every black House member. Dick Cheney looks bored.” I was most distracted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seated directly behind President Bush. Did she forget that she was on, like, every TV station in the world? I felt the same as Jane at Jawa Report:
John Bresnahan noted, “When Republicans like a Bush applause line such as vetoing tax increases, they stand up and applaud. When Democrats want to poke some fun at a Bush line, like being for fiscal responsibility, they sarcastically stand up.” Kathryn Jean Lopez reported, “Half the room hesitated on standing and applauding when the president talked about defeating al-Qaeda…Eventually, most sitting members were shamed into standing.” Thank God. Left-wing responses are also predictable, so I won’t bore you with quotes. For better reactions, check out the sharp analysis at Pajamas Media–and a striking final thought from Instapundit.
