On the SotU… I give it a B+. Not quite A-level material, but damned good, none the less. Much, much better than his “new
I’m not the only one to note that Madame Speaker makes for a much more pleasing backdrop to the President during the SotU, as opposed to Cheney/Hastert, who most often appeared to be contemplating evil of some sort. Or maybe they were just bored. I found myself watching Madame Speaker at least as often as I was focused on Dubya, primarily for visual cues about her reactions to the President’s message. I will admit: she’s a damned good actress. And she applauded at the appropriate times for the most part. Would that her cooperation, support, and bipartisanship extended beyond making appropriate social gestures during a speech. But that would be asking a bit much, nu?
Captain Ed live-blogged the speech and it makes for interesting after-the-fact reading.
Speaking of Captain Ed… He wrote a good op-ed on Bill Richardson’s presidential candidacy in yesterday’s Examiner. The Good Captain’s salient point:
Lou has posted some first-hand Good News from her cousin, Captain Jim Lively, a Marine serving in
Today’s Pic: Yesterday I posted a rather bleak and very snowy pic of the Ol’ Perinton Homestead. Well, my stay there wasn’t all frigid and bundled up, there were balmy moments.
I liked the SOTU as well. Struck just the right tone. I did what you did as well - watched Madame Speaker almost as much as the President for her reactions and I agree - for the most part she deserves an award for her performance.
ReplyDeleteNow, if only it could extend into the political process...
Sotu;
ReplyDeleteSpousal Unit asked if I wanted to watch the Address. My answer? No. I support the President in just about every way. I'm sure he won't mind if I slip off to the hottub, and enjoy some "bubblin'" with the Spouse! Plus, I dislike the close-ups of the Loyal opposition. Always disrespectful.
The water was a toasty 102 degrees, and I had a much better time. Hope the Hockey game was as exciting!
Stay warm!
"Richardson’s résumé is so far above and beyond the rest of the Democrat field as to make Barack and Hillary (just to name two) green with envy."
ReplyDeleteWell, I finally have a small claim to fame to tell about. Maybe not as interesting as Lou's stories but here it is.... I shook Bill Richardson's hand. He visited my workplace when he was Sec. of Energy. They gathered us all in the lobby and he gave a little speech and when it was time to greet the masses, he made a beeline to me and another admin person. LOL!
"Richardson lacks that je ne sais quois we call “charisma.”"
Au contrare, he has a very nice wardrobe. How many other men can pull off the pink shirt or tie? IF I were to ever vote for a Democrat, I would vote for him over the other two any day.
IF I were to ever vote for a Democrat, I would vote for him over the other two any day.
ReplyDeleteSame here! And that goes back to my lefty days, too. He seems wiser and more sensible than many of the dems.
He also seems like he'd be a warm, personable man, Laurie. Did you think so?
Did you hear the big brouhaha from Paul Begala and others about Bush referring to the Democrats as "the democrat congress" on purpose?? Just like *gasp* Rush Limbaugh does? And after such a nice introduction to Pelosi, too.
(Sheesh) :)
I agreed with your assessment, Buck.
dc sez: The water was a toasty 102 degrees, and I had a much better time. Hope the Hockey game was as exciting!
ReplyDeleteWell, the game was OK, dc, but I strongly suspect you had the better time. ;-) I agree about the Loyal Opposition. The few times I saw Hillary she looked like she was sucking on a lemon. Wait...she almost always looks like that...
Laurie sez: How many other men can pull off the pink shirt or tie? IF I were to ever vote for a Democrat, I would vote for him over the other two any day.
The intestinal fortitude (or whatever it is) required to wear a pink shirt is by no means "charisma." :-)
I agree with you and Bec, tho. If, under pain of death, I had to select and vote for a Democrat, it would be Bill. Or Lieberman. But he's not running for anything I know of.
Bec sez: Did you hear the big brouhaha from Paul Begala and others about Bush referring to the Democrats as "the democrat congress" on purpose??
No, but that doesn't surprise me. Was it on CNN? Isn't Begala a regular there? Dubya can't win for losing, no matter what he does. But I like this harmless sort of button-pushing!
Bec asked: He also seems like he'd be a warm, personable man, Laurie. Did you think so?
ReplyDeleteWell, yes, the few seconds I was in his direct presence. LOL! It was a huge dog and pony show, we had to prepare these perfect displays and then half the tours that were planned did not take place. Media was there, security was there. During the speech I was actually off to one side trying to be unobtrusive. I just thought it was so odd that he would head first to the two people who were obviously not scientists or engineers first. Or maybe it was practical, he would work the room from his left to right.
Buck said: The intestinal fortitude (or whatever it is) required to wear a pink shirt is by no means "charisma." :-)
Well, no, but it does take a lot of confidence. And I think real confidence in who you are, not a false bravado.
I tried to get a close up of those chubby cheeks on SN3, but my computer did not let me do it. He is just pretty cute.
ReplyDeleteI have met Gov. Richardson - back when he was the congressman for Northern NM. He came to Questa a few times. He spoke at graduation where I taught. Personally, I think he is a pompous ass, a Clinton puppet, and a bit too arrogant, but that is just my opinion. He is a polititian deluxe - movin and groovin to whatever furthers his career - maybe that makes him right for the Presidency, but he won't get my vote. I was just a Questa school teacher (and a Democrat at the time) when he shook my hand; I don't think he thought that he needed to impress the little folks - and he didn't. I thought he sucked as Energy Sec - take a look at what Wikipedia says of that blotch on his career.
Hmm, do you think I should get off of the fence and tell you what I really think of Richardson:)
I kind of got off on my own rant there - I hope I did not offend anyone. And I forgot to say thanks for the link, Buck.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, thanks for the kind of words on my stories. I can imagine Richardson being quite charming when he wants.
Lou said: I kind of got off on my own rant there - I hope I did not offend anyone.
ReplyDeleteNot to worry! I think your opinion on Good Gov Bill is worth more than most, because you lived under him or with him longer than most of us. This was the bit I found interesting in the article:
Will he start telling stories out of school about first lady Hillary Clinton and her actions during those years? Richardson isn’t known as a hardball politician despite his prowess on the baseball field in his youth, but he has to know that running against Hillary Clinton will require such a mindset.
Hillary, for all her current sweetness and light, does play hardball. Maybe, with Gov Bill in the race, she'll hold it down. Coz I'm absolutely sure Bill has some great Hillary stories. OTOH, maybe she'll just go for his throat immediately.
Lou, thanks for the reminder. I do recall his Sec of Energy days and I do remember being less than impressed with him at the time. (The Wen Ho Lee leak, right?) He does have a less attractive side as well and was a Clinton crony. If he runs against Hillary, that could prove very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lou, you're right about the chubby cheeks. I neglected to mention my pleasure at seeing that delightful photo.
And Buck, what a classic shot that is of "the friendly neighbors over the fence." Beautiful!
Oh, just noticed your comment, Buck.
Lou said: I kind of got off on my own rant there - I hope I did not offend anyone.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Not at all. As Buck points out, you have seen more of him than we have from living there.