January 24, 2007
The State of the Union Posted by John Steele Gordon at 12:00 PM EST I thought the President gave a good speech last night, especially given the fact that State of the union speeches are rarely memorable. I was, perhaps predictably, less impressed with the Democratic response.
The President called for victory in Iraq: “On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. Let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.” Senator Webb called only for “a proper conclusion,” which seems to me to be just a euphemism for cutting and running. It certainly isn’t victory. Franklin Roosevelt, on December 8, 1941, called for gaining the inevitable triumph, not reaching the proper conclusion.
To be sure, Senator Webb did reject the idea of “a precipitous withdrawal,” which many on the left would like to see. Instead he called for a “shift toward . . . a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.” Not having had a Jesuit education, I am not able to conjure up a whole lot of substantive difference between “precipitous withdrawal” and “leaving in short order.” The only difference, perhaps, is that the latter formulation allows time to come up with a fig leaf to cover, however briefly, defeat, a defeat that would, as the least of its ghastly consequences, prove Osama Bin Laden correct in his idea that when the going gets tough, Americans go home.
Having watched more State of the Union speeches than I might wish (I remember watching President Eisenhower in 1958), there is one aspect of these speeches that has annoyed me for nearly 50 years, and I wonder if I’m the only one who is annoyed by it.
When the President arrives, the sergeant at arms walks down the aisle, stops, and says, “Mr. [or last night, Madame] Speaker! The President of the United States!” The President then enters the House Chamber, and everyone rises to their feet and greets him with tumultuous applause as he makes his way to the rostrum.
When he gets there, he hands copies of the speech to the speaker and the Vice President, and the speaker, having waited for the tumultuous applause to finally wind down, then rises and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have the high honor and distinct personal privilege to present the President of the United States!”
Whereupon everyone—apparently stunned to find themselves unexpectedly in the same room with so august a personage, despite having cheered him to the rafters 30 seconds earlier—leaps to their feet and greets him with tumultuous applause.
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