Apparently Not All Writers are on Strike!

Tonight marked the 218th State of the Union Speech as guaranteed by article two, section 3, clause of the United States Constitution.  The president eloquently spoke for 53 minutes about our current State of the Union.  In case you missed it, here's a Reader's Digest version [which I wouldn't read unless you didn't see it]:

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1. Economy: It's shaky right now and we need to pass legislation that reduces taxes so that by 2012 we will have an economic surplus.  

2. Education: "No one can deny it's results".  UNDENIABLY [hah hah], there have been remarkable results of No Child Left Behind.  African and Hispanics are at an all time high of success in school and yet we still need to allocate $ 300 million in Pell grants to "liberate poor children in trapped public schools". 

3. Trade: We need to open up new markets overseas, especially in Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.

4.Energy: There is strong support for clean energy technology such as coal power and renewable fuel.

5. Research: While enormous bounds have been reached in biotechnology ( because we can now create embryos from skin cells), we still need to adhere to moral boundaries because all life has dignity.

6. Immigration: It is of extreme importance to stop illegal crossings by doubling the number of patrols and a lawful way for workers to support our economy is needed.

7. Foreign Affairs: We have made enormous and uncharted strides towards establishing liberty in many nations.  We have fought terrorists and extremists with great success, especially in Iraq.

8. Etc: We need to re-approve his wire-tapping and save companies' liabilities who conspired with him in the wiretapping. We will fully defend the Persian gulf, 20,000 troops are coming home, and, we will help our own wounded soldiers upon their home-coming.  We also hope to aid African countries in regards to disease such as Malaria and AIDS. 

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As to my own conclusions, I strongly believe that President Bush delivered a very well written speech compared to his own standards of "ums" and "uhhs".  I was enveloped in pride as he claimed we were a "beacon of hope", a "most beautiful nation", and "the most dynamic nation".  

Although the speech itself was captivating, the room represented the changing times themselves.   First of all, it is only Nancy Pelosi's (right side behind the president) 2nd year as Speaker of the House.  The new Democratic majority sat on the right (from the President's view) and the Republicans on the left.  

In the 53 minute speech, I counted clapping 66 times.  That's right, I counted.  Apparently, Bush's policies, proposals, and evaluations of the country sat quite well with congress.  But I'm not generalizing - the Democratic side didn't stand or clap nearly as much.  On multiple occasions, Democratic Presidential Candidate Obama was seen not standing and not clapping, but rather frowning.  

But is this speech just a curtain to cover up all of the president's woes?  According to the American Research Group, Bush's Januaary 2008 poll ratings are at 59% disapproval, meaning that (obviously without complete accuracy), three out of every five Americans probably aren't clapping too hard either. 

Either way, I enjoyed watching the speech.  I saw Tatu Msangi, a nurse and single mother from Tanzania, who would most definitely benefit from Bush's proposed $ 30 billion proposed aid to AIDS relief in Africa over the next 5 years, Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton, and an optimistic outlook on the state of America.   I agreed with his proposal to allow soldiers to transfer unused education credits to spouses and children, his commendation of men and women today fighting for our country, and most of all, his vow to stop famine by leading the fight on disease in African Nations.