As you know, last night was the State of the Union Address. This is when the President is summoned to address the Congress and the Nation with the vision for his term. The historical precedence for this speech is Constitutional -

Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states, "The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

I thought that the Mr. Bush looked Presidential last night. His delivery was confident, proficient and enthusiastic. The speech, although formulaic, was well written but lacked any significant diction that will be remembered historically, i.e. “A thousand points of light” (George Bush Senior January 29, 1991)

I take issue with two themes of last nights Address. It seems that if you disagree with White Housepolicy then you deserve a negative label:
If you are against President Bush’s trade policy then you are a protectionist
If you are against President Bush’s Iraq war policy then you are an Isolationist
If you are against President Bush’s Social Security Reform, well then you are an obstructionist. I find that this type of discourse only confines meaningful dialog.
Also, the president mentioned that our economy grew over four million jobs in the past few years; however, he never mentions the quality of these jobs. Our nation is growing jobs, mostly in low paying service sectors areas, but we are losing well paying professional jobs at an enormous rate (outsourcing, in-sourcing and downsizing). Additionally, growth in many high paying professional occupations is stagnant.
For once, I would like to hear President Bush acknowledge and address this fact.


The President seemed to offer an olive branch to the Democrats then pull it back several times by using obstructionist language.
I had hoped to hear the President offer more words about opening a dialog with his opponents to finding solutions to many of the domestic problems that face our people such as a lack of good paying jobs, lack of health care for millions and insufficient access to higher education. Unfortunately this did not come through with any strength. Instead we heard much of the same rhetoric that we've been hearing from the White House all year long. The difference is that last nights conveyance was slightly more calculating and articulate. The State of the Union Address for January 31, 2006, though an eloquent and well delivered speech, offered very little for we the lowly Rabble.