State of the Union Recap

In case you missed it, I've put together a handy recap of last night's State of the Union address:

1. President Bush re-packaged a bunch of failed initiatives, e.g. Social Security and Healthcare reform.
   
2. Republicans cheered, Democrats booed.
   
3. President Bush admitted failure to his privatized Social Security plan.
   
4. Democrats cheered (mockingly), President Bush chided.
   
5. President Bush spewed more public relations drivel, punctuated by sporadic, partyline-driven applause.
   

After the speech, all networks spent the next 30 minutes with their own version of "exclusive" coverage that went something like this:

1. Network interviews Democratic representative, who bashes the Bush speech and agenda.
   
2. Network interviews Republican representative, who lauds the Bush speech and agenda.
   

Only two things in the entire 2 hours of coverage were worth watching:

1. President Bush read a letter from Staff Sgt. Daniel Clay, killed in the war in Iraq, to the audience that contained the quote, "I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. Never falter."
   
2. President Bush's quote, "Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy."
   

I think that second quote pretty much sums up politics in general - politicians always ripping one another for past mistakes that are now glaringly obvious but at the time were not so black and white (or were even supported by said ripping politician, although they'll never admit that now), while they themselves offer nothing constructive.

All-in-all, it was 2 hours I'm never getting back. But President Bush in HD? Well, actually, kinda scary...