I raised an eyebrow when I heard the litany of foiled alleged Al Qaeda plots. In the past, this has been the pants-on-fire section.
Regarding Webb -- who now looks like a strong presidential candidate in 2012 (should McCain prevail) -- I especially liked this part:
Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.I'm an unapologetic admirer of TR -- a man who read widely, wrote well and showed great courage in battle. (And, yes, I'm also a fan of neocon icon Winston Churchill.) Mind you, I don't like everything Teddy did or said. Karl Rove claims to be a huge TR buff, but he seems enraptured by the man's worst qualities -- his recklessness and his love of empire. Webb reminds us of the good things Theodore Roosevelt stood for: Busting trusts, protecting the environment, exposing corruption and negotiating for peace. Bully for him!
Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves “as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other.” And he did something about it.
PS: For the best imaginable response to the SOTU address, go here. It's a video. Trust me, this one you want to see.
PPS. Cheney wore a lavender tie, Bush wore an honest-to-Tyler-Durden cornflower blue tie and Nancy Pelosi wore minty green. I couldn't tell if I was watching CNN or the Bravo channel.
9 comments:
Webb's speech was so refreshing because he speaks the truth about there being two different Americas. He is the first politician with the guts to vocalize how the economic disparity between the haves and the havenots has widened. To actually say that the average CEO now makes 400 times that of the lowest salaried worker.
though he stopped short of saying we are losing are middle class and thus our democracy.
I wish Webb would run for president in '08, I would vote for him over Hilary and Obama.
The media is so tightly controlled they keep a tight leash on what gets covered and puts out hyped up stories that the average American is doing well under Bush. For folks without health coverage, making $6/hr an at Walmart, this must be cruel because they can't afford to live on $6/hr working the 30 hours (this way Walmart doesn't have to pay them any benefits by having them work part-time).
Its a similar story. Webb actually stated that our manufacturing plants and the jobs that go with them are being dismantled and shipped overseas.
Fed Reserve Bernanke warned that our social entitlement program spending is out of control as the boomers retire late this year.
cute youtube SOTU response link you posted above, very cute!
Keep up the good work Joseph
Last few lines:
"Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves “as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other.” And he did something about it.
As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. “When comes the end?” asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.
These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world.
Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.
Thank you for listening. And God bless America.
Whoo hooo! And he said it in a rather threatening manner.I liked that.
Some talking head mentioned Webb tore up the party supplied speech and wrote his own. Go Webb!
Neither Bush nor Webb mentioned the gov't rountinely violating our Constitutional rights.
They violate the 1st Amendment by opening mail, caging demonstrators and banning books like "America Deceived" from Amazon.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns during Katrina.
They violate the 4th Amendment by conducting warrant-less wiretaps.
They violate the 5th and 6th Amendment by suspending habeas corpus.
They violate the 8th Amendment by torturing.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting 2 illegal wars based on lies and on behalf of a foriegn gov't.
Last link (unless Google Books caves to the gov't and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)
George Bush lied through his teeth last night. Mr. Webb however, has his finger right there on the pulse of America. George says I should be allowed to have a dole out of healthcare last night. I am going to tell that to my medicare drug company who just stopped a pricey drug I've been on since before I joined their little plan.
Listen a minute people... there is a TREMENDOUS difference between having health insurance... and actually getting health care. Once you get insurance, the company decides your care not you and your doctor like Mr. Bush said last night. The insurance company always tell the doctor NOPE>
Wages,,, hooray Mr. Webb! Sorry the President can't look after the American people he is charged to protect and be concerned for.
Jim Webb is my newest American hero... he and Russ Feingold for Pres and VP
I am especially worried about running of the list of foiled terror plots. Wouldn't that put lives of the intel people on the line??
Anonymous @ 3:02 is right. Nothing else matters.
sofla said...
TR was not all that. He talked a good trust-busting line, but limited his actions away from the big game in town-- JP Morgan and Co. And in that, he was an honest politician, remaining loyal to the group that paid him in cold hard cash to look the other way.
The Woodrow Wilson team had much to say about TR's phony anti-trust credentials, so much that TR spent the first chapter of his memoir trying to refute that thesis.
Joseph,
I didn't watch most of the SOTU (because I don't have the stomach for what Bush is serving up) but loved Webb's courageous rebuttal for which he deserves some sort of medal.
Bush apparently didn't say a word about Iran, about the US going to war with Iran, he kept talking about his program for Iraq.
What is your opinion on this omission?
I still believe this country will be setup/soldout by the neocons to wage war on Iran using nuclear weapons before April.
All this talk of "troop surge" is to keep folks' attention away from Iran and to keep the Saudi's happy so they don't have to do any fighting themselves in Iraq and of course so that the US can sell out the rights to Iraqs oil leases to the highest bidder.
What is your opinion on the Iran situation?
I don't think this administration will just give up power to whoever gets elected in 2008.
whaddya think?
Hey anon @ 10:44 - I agree that Webb's speech was gutsy, maybe better than I had even anticipated. However, he's not the first to talk about 2 America's during the Bush regime -
John Edwards made that a theme in the "04 campaign and announced his own presidential campaign recently in New Orleans.
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