SOTU Roundup
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who just dropped out of the presidential race, was one of the only Democrats we didn’t see applaud at all during President Bush’s speech on Monday. He stood occasionally, but the Ohio Democrat didn’t put his hands together.
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Afterward, reporters asked Kucinich for his impressions. “You wanna see it?” he replied. Whereupon he opened his pamphlet copy of the speech, to reveal how he had occupied himself throughout the address. The entire speech was riddled with underlines, boxes, stars and margin notes, courtesy of a blue felt-tip pen.
Other quick bites from the State of the Union:
• Ambassador Nancy Brinker, the Chief of Protocol of the United States, was the loneliest Republican on Monday night. Brinker was seated with the foreign diplomats, directly behind the Democratic Caucus. Clad in a bright magenta suit, Brinker could often be seen applauding alone on her side of the room, while the Republican side hooted and hollered for one of Bush’s big lines.
• Apart from the first family, the only VIPs in the first lady’s box were former Senator Bob Dole and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was on an early list of guests, but was scratched in a later version. Her boss, Mayor Adrian Fenty, was seated across the room next to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. Other VIPs in attendance: Martin Luther King III, singer Tony Orlando and actor John Ratzenberger, who played “Cliff Clavin” on “Cheers.”
• We don’t read lips very well, but early in the speech, the lips of Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, were unmistakable. In the opening minute of his speech, Bush said that the tough issues “call for vigorous debate, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve answered the call.”
“Fair to say? Fair to say?” said Brown incredulously, as he shook his head.
• Does Jenna love Daddy more than Barbara? As President Bush enjoyed a long round of applause when he entered the chamber, it was daughter Jenna who threw her arms down first, giving up on the extended clapping.
• Unfair boys: Two of the House’s studliest members — Rep. Heath Shuler and Brad Ellsworth — sat next to each other, violating one unwritten rule that, whenever there’s a dearth of pretty people, the hunks should spread out and share the love.
