American Politics Journal -- Not Yer Average Grandfather's Bedtime Story

American Politics Journal

SOTU Diary
A Running Diary of the State of the Union Address
by William Rivers Pitt

January 30, 2002 (willpitt.com/APJP)

5:58 am: I am one of those people who lives and dies by pattered activity in the morning. I wake at the same time, hit the shower at the same time, brush my teeth exactly the same way each morning, and always manage to be in front of the TV just as 6:00am rolls around to catch the first dismal spew from CNN. This morning I am two minutes ahead of schedule, and manage to catch the chipper man-bites-dog nonsense story that always concludes an hour of broadcasting on the cable giant. The substance isn't even worth noting, and I am treating it as noise while I pull my socks on.

6:11 am: As always, I wonder why I do this to myself. The media rah-rah for this administration is usually as sticky and saccharine as my toothpaste, but today was something truly special. Tonight, you see, is Bush's first State of the Union address, that Constitutionally-mandated annual report to Congress.

Since the September 11th attacks, and well before, CNN and the other media outlets have stumbled over themselves in an effort to inflate the substance of the man in the White House. They treat his most egregious verbal stumbles as holy writ, and are not above editing him with a friendly pen. When he claimed that taxes would get raised "not over my dead body" some weeks ago, CNN and the other outlets expunged the cumbersome "not" from their reporting.

This morning, as I prepare to depart for work, I realize that this augmentation of the ephemeral Bush-myth-in-the-making has reached new heights of absurdity. The spokesmodel-cum-reporter on my screen heaved and sighed with pre-orgasmic bliss at the very thought of Mr. Bush addressing the nation tonight. Following this near-pornographic display was a litany of poll numbers, delivered completely without a description of what questions were asked and whom they were asked of, which described Mr. Bush as being only slightly less popular than the Lord God of Hosts.

Is this trip really necessary? The man has an 82% approval rating, if you believe what you hear. His War on Terra has resulted in the evisceration of the Taliban regime and the installation of a new, presumably pro-American government. He has held together a coalition of nations to fight this battle in a manner that harkens back to his father's efforts in the Gulf War. There have been no further attacks on American soil since September. Why on earth does CNN feel the need to stroke this fellow so openly and obviously?

6:42 am: A few reasons popped to mind as I pulled into the parking lot at work.

Despite the annihilation of the feudal Taliban, Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar are still alive and free. Bush has taken pains to inform us that this doesn't matter in the long run, that we'll "get 'em" soon enough, and in the meantime here is John Walker Lindh to serve as our sacrificial goat. Never mind that the original goal of the war, to capture these two fiends, has not been met. Never mind that these two still represent a clear and present danger to the country. Some might suggest that Bush has failed. If so, then he can blame the debilitated Clinton military; after all, he did tell us they weren't up to the drill.

Meanwhile, the anthrax killer is also breathing the clean air of freedom after several assassination attempts against Democratic leaders that resulted in five civilian deaths and a great deal of national fear. John Ashcroft's Justice Department and FBI have apparently been too busy trimming the fat edges from the Constitution and Bill of Rights to catch up with this clever fellow. As with Osama and Omar, this person is a clear and present danger to the country. Maybe the three of them are with Amelia Earhart and Jim Morrison, living in sin somewhere on the outskirts of Paris. One wonders if they will ever be caught.

Looming over everything is the Enron debacle, a scandal so broad and deep that it has undermined practically every pillar of the American economy. Kenneth Lay and his friends have, in one stroke, shattered people's faith in the veracity and stability of Wall Street, of all accountants, of profit reports, of banks, and of their own retirement accounts. The Vice President is about to be sued because he refuses to tell the people how much the criminal enterprise that was Enron had to do with the setting of national energy policy. The President himself will likely speak tonight of his economic stimulus plan, which is little more than a fat tax giveaway to corporations like Enron. It should be remembered that Enron did not pay taxes in four of the last five years, and it will be stated stridently in the Democratic response to Bush's speech that such a giveaway is not the cure for the recession we are still mired in.

And then there are the whispers. Like the earliest days of Watergate, they are mostly below the radar screen, but they are there nonetheless. What did the President know, and when did he know it? Did he or his administration help Lay and Enron as that company's employees were bilked and lied to? What is Dick Cheney hiding? Was the Bush administration really involved in pipeline negotiations with the Taliban in the days before September 11th? Why, after all these months, are there still no answers forthcoming as to exactly how the American Intelligence community managed to fail completely in their duty as the nation's sentries?

Perhaps Bush and his speech tonight are being inflated to such a ridiculous degree because he and his administration are well and truly in serious trouble. A solid President needs no props nor media sycophants. Just days ago, Vice President Cheney telephoned Senate Majority Leader Daschle to alternately plead and warn regarding the upcoming Congressional investigations into Enron. Cheney made it clear that a heavy price will be paid if Daschle and his friends ask too many prickly questions.

A solid administration does not need to threaten anyone. These people are deathly afraid of something, and that stench of fear will be the miasma through which Bush will speak tonight. The media can scarcely be counted upon to make mention of it, but it will surely be in that august chamber along with the rest of the government. The game's afoot...

11:06 am: I have a few minutes to spare between classes, and think a brief backwards glance is in order. Our last President, William Jefferson Clinton, gave eight of these speeches in his tenure. Several of them happened while under taint of scandal. In this, he shares a commonality with Bush. The difference will likely be the balance struck. For Clinton, the scandal stories far outweighed the gravity of his speech. Recall this commentary offered by the Washington Post on January 28, 1998:

"When Dan Rather signed on for CBS at 9, he indicated the network would take the high road (in light of growing criticism of media overindulgence in the scandal stories) and report on the speech, not on the scandal. Delivering a kind of state of the network speech, Rather told viewers, 'We will tonight try to keep our primary focus on the State of the Union. We do this not because we believe this is what the president deserves or what Monica Lewinsky deserves or what Kenneth Starr deserves, but because this is what the American people deserve. We, the people, are the union and the state of the union is who and what we are.'

Nicely said, Dan.

Then he threw it to correspondent Scott Pelley.

And Scott Pelley immediately launched into a recitation of 'the latest' on the sex scandal, even though there really was nothing much beyond what had been reported on The CBS Evening News. Rather might have had egg on his face but the president quickly entered the hall and Pelley mercifully disappeared from the screen."

To be sure, Bill had a boatload of trouble on his mind as he gave his 1998 address. These troubles were the hood ornament on the media's coverage of the event. Dare it be said that the troubles Bush faces tonight are far more dire; the sex is notably absent, but only because the people involved in this scandal were too busy stealing from their employees, fiddling greedily with national energy policy, and undermining national security for the sake of profit to stop and get some nookie. So much for that journalistic necessity, 'the hook.' They might actually have to do some research to make this situation understandable to the American people. Don't hold your breath.

1:31 pm: A media hawk friend has reported to me that both CNN and MSNBC just expressed similar attitudes in their approach to the coverage of the State of the Union. Both networks stated that they did not want to seem unpatriotic or rain on anyone's parade with their coverage. How kind. How sweet. How gentle. How utterly bereft of journalistic integrity. I am pleased at this moment to be nowhere near a cable-connected television.

1:44 pm: Whoops. Noelle Bush, daughter of Florida Governor Jeb Bush and niece to George W., has been arrested after trying to purchase Xanax from a Walgreens pharmacy with a false prescription. Some might call that fraud. Others would call it bad timing. Why don't we call it family values in action and leave it at that.

Damn. Can you imagine partying with Jenna, Barb and Noelle? Hunter Thompson, eat your heart out.

7:01 pm: Just finished watching Lou Dobbs on CNN's Wall Street program, 'Moneyline.' He and his fellow broadcasters had that wide-eyed look of deer scant seconds before an unfortunate impact with a fender. The Dow lost 247 points today, the NASDAQ lost 50, and the S&P lost 32. The word on the Street was "Enronitis," the name of a disease that apparently affects the stock value of any company that demonstrates even the slightest hint of shaky accounting or profit reporting. One fellow on the trading floor commented that he hoped the disease was not fatal. I fear, however, that his hopes may be dashed. This thing is only beginning.

Hell of a day for all this to happen.

8:43 pm: Picking the proper network to watch this event is a delicate choice, akin to deciding which brand of rotgut whiskey you plan to get puking sick on. It is all about the hangover. Since I began the day with CNN, I may as well finish with it. There is something to be said for continuity, and there is aspirin in the medicine cabinet.

...and here is Jeff Greenfield with Judy Woodruff, puffing Bush up with all their might. It is like I never left for work this morning. They've already referred to him as a 'war-time President.' Perhaps, at some point, Bush might actually ask Congress to declare war.

8:44 pm: The CNN screen crawl has it that Bush himself is also leaning on Daschle to limit the scope of the Senate's 9/11 investigation. Seems he's worried about misallocating resources. Seems he's worried, anyway.

8:52 pm: Dick Cheney is in the house. Thousands of D.C. residents will stare in fear at their ceilings tonight as the roar of F-14s over the Capitol Dome rattles the china on the shelves.

8:56 pm: Charles Krautheimer, a writer from Time magazine, is predicting that in one year America will have forgotten all about Enron and will be engaged in a war with Iraq. This begs some questions: was his pension affected by Ken Lay? Has he heard England and Saudi Arabia, two vital coalition members, speak about their resistance to an Iraq war?

8:58 pm: I am a sucker for the pageantry of this event. Never mind Bush and all the horror and for a moment revel in the institution and the tradition. This is a special place and event if you can ignore the politics.

9:03 pm: Karzai, the new leader of Afghanistan has arrived in the balcony to a standing ovation, and stands next to a green beret who lost an arm in combat. They didn't say where. Laura Bush is beside them both, deranged in red.

9:08 pm: The second most dangerous man in America, John Ashcroft, arrives. A noticeable chill envelops the room.

9:11 pm: "Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States!" and Bush enters the room. The pretzel wounds seem to have healed, unless a gifted cosmetics artist was at work. The applause is sustained but far from loud. The CNN heads mention the close election for the third time now as the camera finds the Supreme Court justices in their compromised robes.

9:13 pm: The Congressional applause continues, and the CNN heads won't shut up. Bush just winked at someone...Renquist? He is announced again by Speaker Hastert, as is the tradition, and another cheer is raised. One wonders if the GOP would be as gracious for Clinton in similar circumstances?

9:14 pm: "The nation is at war, the economy is in recession...yet the state of union has never been stronger," says Bush.

9:15 pm: A chest-beating nest of lies about Afghanistan:

we've killed or captured all the bad guys and freed the women. No mention of the elusive bin Laden. Bush introduces Karzai, who will be dead in a year if Afghan tradition holds true. No leader long survives there after kissing up to the West.

9:18 pm: Bush is invoking free Afghan women again. I guess he didn't get the memo explaining how the Northern Alliance plays by essentially the same social rules as the Taliban. No matter, it sounded good. He's handling these pesky Afghan names well.

All the dead civilians are a "tribute to the Afghan people" it seems...and a tribute to American military might. True enough. No mention of the fact that the civilian death toll in Afghanistan has surpassed America's 9/11 civilian death toll. John Adams once said that facts were stubborn things. They also seem to be easily ignored things.

9:19 pm: Bush had "complete confidence in the troops" as the conflict began. This from the man who made it a campaign priority to denigrate America's military readiness in 2000. It could be suggested that such talk invited an attack from a determined enemy.

9:21 pm: We are ten minutes in and there has been no substance. Clinton would have listed a dozen policy ideas by now. Bush just said "nucular" while reeling off a list of fearful terrorist intentions. He says the 19 September 11th attackers were trained in Afghanistan, but fails to mention how many came from Saudi Arabia. He promises to "pursue them wherever they are," but why do I doubt that Saudi Arabia stands on the list?

9:23 pm: Bush has two great plans: bring the terrorists to justice, and stop the development of weapons of mass destruction. He says "nucular" again. He claims that terrorist camps exist in a dozen countries - Hamas and Hezbollah are named, not boding well for Mr. Arafat. "America is acting elsewhere," he states, including the Philippines, Bosnia, and Somalia.

9:26 pm: "Some governments will be timid in the face of terror. If they do not act, America will." This bellicose statement receives another standing ovation, as the congresspeople want to be with us and not against us while Ashcroft is in the room. Bush names North Korea as a weapons of mass destruction threat, and Iran, and Iraq...says "nucular" for the third time. Heavy on Iraq, "a regime with something to hide," they are an "axis of evil," and pose a "grave and growing danger."

9:28 pm: Bush invokes the woebegone missile defense plan, and the first signs of partisanship appear: Democrats don't stand and applaud.

9:30 pm: He moves on to his three priorities: win the (undeclared) war, protect the homeland, and revive the economy. "We must act not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Americans." Bush looks for all the world like he's pulling a fast one - his facial expressions are that of the boy who has just laid a tack on the teacher's chair.

9:32 pm: We have spent more than a billion dollars a month on the war, and must spend more. Bush touts his proposal for the largest defense spending increase in two decades, because "the price is never too high." Somehow, I don't think he will ever need to use food stamps because of the toll levied by that price.

9:34 pm: Homeland defense threat must be addressed:

we can be protected from attack only by action abroad and vigilance at home. Bioterror, emergency response teams, border security, heightened intelligence gathering are touted...My God, he's actually talking policy. It took 24 minutes. His eyebrows are wandering all over his forehead.

9:36 pm: Here come the shoe bomb stewardesses. They get the biggest ovation of the night, and Bush butchers one of their names.

9:38 pm: "The final great priority" is economic security. Budget deficits will be short-term if congress is fiscally responsible. Isn't he the one who just proposed a titanic boost in spending? He wants to extend unemployment and health care bennies - Kennedy applauds. Economic plan is summed up in one word:

"jobs."

9:42 pm: Bush touts "reliable and affordable energy," and praises conservation. Did Cheney just gag? We must produce oil at home so America is not dependent on foreign sources. Will he mention alternative energy? Nope, on to trade promotion authority. The Enron-designed House energy bill is praised, Bush urges the Senate urged to pass it, and not one Democrat stands or applauds..

9:44 pm: "Good jobs depend on sound tax policy," as he praises his corporate tax giveaway as being "just about right." The Democrats appear stapled to their seats. "Make tax cuts permanent," he demands, and no Democrat stands. Bush now has the temerity to call for a patients bill of rights, health care credits for uninsured workers, increased spending for veterans health, and giving seniors a sound Medicare system including prescription drug coverage. All of these proposals were doomed by his tax cut. He knew that and passed it anyway. Rhetoric has never been more empty.

9:47 pm: Bush wants safeguards for 401K accounts, and Enron rears its ugly head. "People should not risk everything if company fails." He wants stricter accounting and disclosure standards, accountability to the shareholders, and corporations should be held to the highest standards of conduct. Standing ovation, and did I just see as pig fly by? "We must make Social Security stable," he says, and has the gall to resurrect the harebrained scheme of investing Social Security funds into the stock market. If Enron proved nothing else, it proved how poor an idea that is. Yet he persists.

9:49 pm: The man who made his money in oil dares to mention a cleaner environment. Faith based groups rise again. He demands the same spirit of cooperation for the passage of his policies as has been seen since 9/11.

9:52 pm: The man who exhorted us to go shopping in the aftermath of 9/11 now says America has learned not to be so materialistic. The cognitive dissonance is astounding.

9:53 pm: Bush speaks of "a new culture of responsibility...we must not let this moment pass." I agree. Enron?

Bush asks Americans to donate 4000 hours over their lifetime to the service of neighbors and nation...is this a precursor to another draft? No, it's the USA Freedom Corps. Purpose: to respond to crisis at home, rebuild communities, and reach out to friends abroad. Here come the Crusaders as "the promise of peace corps."

9:58 pm: Praises "limits on the power of the state." Yes, he said that.

10:00 pm: "Deep in the American character is honor," says Bush. He will discover that fact to his woe soon enough.

10:02 pm: "We choose freedom and the dignity of every life," for the anti-choicers. "We will see freedom's victory," and he's done. A final standing ovation. The speech took a bit more than 45 minutes.

10:06 pm: First media spin: the speech was a "major turning point" because the capture of bin Laden was not mentioned as a goal. CNN seems to think he was seeking a mandate for a broader war outside Afghanistan. North Korea, Iran and Iraq certainly got the message.

In the aftermath of the 2000 election, I observed that the Republican Party wins Presidential elections when the media allows them to run "image campaigns" that are short on substance and long on opaque metaphor. Recall, if you will, how important the issue of flag burning was in the 1988 race. Never mind the Cold War, nuclear waste, astounding budget deficits or the cancer of crack addiction and AIDS. The flaming flag was all-important, and symbolized the prototype GOP campaign style. The racist specter of Willie Horton only spiced the air with menace, but the deal was done.

The media allowed George W. Bush to run an image campaign in 2000, managing to denigrate Gore as "boring" and "stiff" every time he tried to discuss vital policy questions. Tonight, we saw Bush achieve the apex of that image campaign in the halls of Congress. In all my life, I have never seen a more vacuous speech. Never before have so many dire questions been set before the American people. Never before have they been greeted with such a blizzard of platitudes.

There was no mention of Osama bin Laden, no mention of the anthrax killer, no mention of exactly where the war will move on to or how our allies will be handled, no mention of pension protections or the restoration of confidence in the stock market in the aftermath of Enron. We were urged to remember that we are free, that we bombed a backwards country further into rubble and dust.

That was about it. The state of our union may well be strong, but the man who gave that speech tonight has little to do with that strength. If he is not watched carefully, and if his back-room activities are not explored to the furthest possible extent, he will almost certainly undermine that strength even further than he has already. There is no question that America is in grave danger. Tonight, we were given irrefutable proof that George W. Bush is not equipped to deal with the menace.