Blob and Blobbier

The State of the Union address is by nature an incredible propaganda opportunity for a president, as protocol requires roughly 40 standing ovations, and the only real sport is watching the reluctance and surliness and mopiness of the opposition party. You have to love the moments when the Democrats can't decide whether to sit or stand. Immigration reform: What's the political calculus? Immigrants vs. unions. Fractures in the base. Sit. No, no...stand!

Bush gave a very good speech, I thought, and seemed poised and confident without as much of the smirky, cocky, frat-boy quality of some of his appearances. He clocked in at 53 minutes, which is roughly what Clinton would have spent just on the socialization of health care. Although Bush declared war on Syria I was pleased that he paused short of ordering the immediate bombing of Iran (specifically TAY-ron, as he put it). One wonders, simply from the standpoint of physics, if a nukeyular weapon operates on the same atomic principles as a nuclear one.

He veered fundamentalist Christian on gay marriage, but mostly aimed for the center. He might have wanted to mention in passing that his previous State of the Union comments about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are "no longer operative." He might have noted that the highly successful elections in Iraq, however dramatic, did not include certain entire Iraqi cities, and that there is no clear path out of that hellhole. But this night was Bush's, and propaganda moments are not intended as confessionals.

AOL says the hug between the American Mom and the Iraqi daughter stole the show. Definitely a tear-jerker. Personally I was obsessed with Cheney and Hastert, Blob and Blobbier, who wore the expressions usually associated with Politburo members, those Soviet guys who occasionally would have to be airbrushed out of official photos.