Let’s see how the freshman senator from Virginia does with this one.
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One Civil War Is Enough
I hope that’s a big part of the response.
a onehanded applause…he’s a helluva lot more charitable than I…
slip him a subpoena to sign and acknowledge while he’s out there gladhanding??? 😉
My husband wants to slip him a pardon, or a confession, or a bill to sign. Then when the signing went on and on he started telling him to get off the screen, the pineapple has been cut man.
Just listening (not watching, so I don’t know how those in the chamber reacted which is HUGE) but I give the speech itself a B.
That’s a B for effectiveness in political machination and propaganda. Not for content, obviously. And I don’t know if political machinations and fear/hate mongering are enough anymore.
from the live-blog and the spouse’s comments, I’d give it an I for Incomplete, solely for not mentioning the need to rebuild the Gulf Coast post-Katrina.
Tweety just asked Tom Brokaw if the speech means that Pelosi (and Reid, I would assume) would have to bend and meet the Dems halfway…asshole (Tweety, not Brokaw)…
Tweety is just so damn dumb.
Webb hits it right off the bat. Excellent.
Actually, I thought he was much better than he usually is. I could stand to listen to him. The news folks all are remarking on how somber the speech was. Hell, he should be somber. Look at how many people’s deaths he has on his conscience.
He only stammered a couple of times. I think despite all the re-writes, he practiced this one more.
This is the Webb response. Just grabbed it from dKos.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Democratic Response of Senator Jim Webb
To the President’s State of the Union Address
Good evening.
I’m Senator Jim Webb, from Virginia, where this year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown – an event that marked the first step in the long journey that has made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth.
It would not be possible in this short amount of time to actually rebut the President’s message, nor would it be useful. Let me simply say that we in the Democratic Party hope that this administration is serious about improving education and healthcare for all Americans, and addressing such domestic priorities as restoring the vitality of New Orleans.
Further, this is the seventh time the President has mentioned energy independence in his state of the union message, but for the first time this exchange is taking place in a Congress led by the Democratic Party. We are looking for affirmative solutions that will strengthen our nation by freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil, and spurring a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the form of alternate energy programs. We look forward to working with the President and his party to bring about these changes.
There are two areas where our respective parties have largely stood in contradiction, and I want to take a few minutes to address them tonight. The first relates to how we see the health of our economy – how we measure it, and how we ensure that its benefits are properly shared among all Americans. The second regards our foreign policy – how we might bring the war in Iraq to a proper conclusion that will also allow us to continue to fight the war against international terrorism, and to address other strategic concerns that our country faces around the world.
When one looks at the health of our economy, it’s almost as if we are living in two different countries. Some say that things have never been better. The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared. When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it’s nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day.
Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world. Medical costs have skyrocketed. College tuition rates are off the charts. Our manufacturing base is being dismantled and sent overseas. Good American jobs are being sent along with them.
In short, the middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table. Our workers know this, through painful experience. Our white-collar professionals are beginning to understand it, as their jobs start disappearing also. And they expect, rightly, that in this age of globalization, their government has a duty to insist that their concerns be dealt with fairly in the international marketplace.
In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy – that we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.
And under the leadership of the new Democratic Congress, we are on our way to doing so. The House just passed a minimum wage increase, the first in ten years, and the Senate will soon follow. We’ve introduced a broad legislative package designed to regain the trust of the American people. We’ve established a tone of cooperation and consensus that extends beyond party lines. We’re working to get the right things done, for the right people and for the right reasons.
With respect to foreign policy, this country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years. Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary, that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism, and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable in the most violent and turbulent corner of the world.
I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with me for more than 50 years. This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift. He sent us the picture from Germany, as we waited for him, back here at home. When I was a small boy, I used to take the picture to bed with me every night, because for more than three years my father was deployed, unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing. I still keep it, to remind me of the sacrifices that my mother and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly served our country. I was proud to follow in his footsteps, serving as a Marine in Vietnam. My brother did as well, serving as a Marine helicopter pilot. My son has joined the tradition, now serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq.
Like so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues – those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death – we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We hoped that they would be right, that they would measure with accuracy the value of our lives against the enormity of the national interest that might call upon us to go into harm’s way.
We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us – sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.
The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable – and predicted – disarray that has followed.
The war’s costs to our nation have been staggering. Financially. The damage to our reputation around the world. The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism. And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.
The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.
On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.
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.
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.
Sen Jim Webb’s Response
link:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/23/sen-webbs-democratic-response-to-the-sotu-the-wars-costs-to
-our-nation-have-been-staggering/
Webb mentioned New orleans!!!!!!
Two areas where the parties stand in contradiction, the health of our economy and our foreign policy.
posting the speech as he is giving it kills the moment in my opinion.
I wanted to post just a link, but couldn’t find one.
I apologize.
and he did add a few things — reference to “the great city of” New Orleans, for example…
Wage disparity. Losing our middle class! Measure the health of our society at our base and not its apex 😉
Speaking of his family’s tradition of serving in the military. Talking about what the country’s leaders owe the country’s defenders, nailing Bush now for starting the Iraq War and nailing him really really hard.
Jim Webb. Great rebuttal and from here in VA! HaHa who’d have dreamed it!
Ruh Roh, he just outlined a real plan for ending the Iraq War in about two sentences.
Holy Shit! Either this President figures out how to end the Iraq War and they’ll agree with him and support him or they will show him the way. And that’s it and it’s all done. Whew!
That ending kicked an awful, awful lot of ass.
I can’t even find my own ass after looking into Webbs eyes right then. I don’t even need to blow my nose, it cleared my sinuses too.
he might have a slip of the tongue, and instead of saying “show him the way”, he’d say “show him the door”… lol
Don’t you think he knew that we’d all be thinking that?
Matthews just said both Bush and Cheney ‘somewhat deliberately’ avoided military service.
by Senator Webb…I liked the reference to his father’s service, an oblique reference to the sacrifice being made by so many families as their fathers (and mothers) head off for their umpteenth tour of duty overseas…
I liked it, too. But I think it was direct hit. There’s not an oblique bone in Webb’s body.
and his name is Webb.
I have to stop talking while I write.
and now for platidude obama.
whatever happy thoughts you want it to mean.
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.
I’d just like to suggest that he change that last word from “way” to “door.”
yet again… 🙂
Oooh, Edwards is on now on MSNBC!
he did a good job! He mentioned that boosto has deserted N.O.!
Brokaw looked bad, he also seemed to be slurring his speech very slightly… Maybe he had some bourbon during the SOTU also! LOL!
Maybe your ears are just slurring 😉
I’ll brb, I just hit bottom on thish bottle, gotter goo an git anuther wun.
I’m going to go get a refill too 🙂
Old folks usually crash by about 9 (my mom could barely make it past 8)…
John Edwards is disappointed that Bush didn’t talk about Katrina too.
That’s soooooo 2005, dahlink…
Lindsey Graham…they don’t even ask him about the President’s speech, they ask him about Webb’s.
That’s hilarious.
I’m a little surprised that Graham is still toeing the company line on Iraq, to be honest.
I’ve always thought of him as slimy and smart, but not evil. He is quickly dispelling me of that notion.
Timmeh’s HairPiece is slightly out of place…
Am I the only one who is totally annoyed with Brian Williams?
If the man wrote a haiku, the syllabic patter would be like 2-3-2. He stretches words out WAY too long and tries to make incredibly mundane things sound exciting and urgent.
Brian Williams is sending morse code to the trrists with his eyeblinks.
It’s the only way to contact them without a phone tap or opening their mail, I guess.
I think he’s got a bee sting on his left eyelid or something….
KO is sitting there thinking “oh my god, these windbags are full of themselves….how can I get out of here, fast!” I can he’s trying to look very serious….
Jackson vs. the Bank of the US!
CEO salaries!
TR, the GOP Trustbuster, warning against corporate influence!
Eisenhower ending the Korean War!
Laying the blame for Iraq right at Bush’s blood-stained feet!
Do the right thing (for once) Mr. Prez and we will follow you. If not, we’ll do it ourselves.
I don’t think I’ve used five exclamation points since I wrote my first love letter as a smitten seventh-grader.
It’s a good day to be a Democrat. If a candidate doesn’t step up to Webb’s standard, I’m writing him in. Pick on the Southern boy, all you want folks. His family and my family once lived across the river from each other in Scotland. We are a stubborn, head-strong bunch. When we feel strongly about something, we say it, and do what we can against it. We don’t much mind standing alone, but, after this speech, I think Webb will have plenty of company.
I’m really interested to see how ‘conservative’ the Conservative Democrat® Webb really is. He came out firing on all cylinders with a populist message after he was elected, and that surprised and pleased me.
He’s been mislabeled as a conservative. He has always been a old-line, anti-corporate power, populist. He understands the history of the country, especially the South, in a profound way. He knows about and identifies with the poor against the rich. “Conservative” once meant “anti-corporate.” Bush as ended that distinction, once and for all.
I completely agree. That’s why I put the ‘registered trademark’ next to that phrase 🙂
I think he’s taken a lot of flak for being Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, but at least so far, he’s hit the right points, and I think and hope he will continue to do so.
That’s a good point about the Reagan service. I wish people would realize that a military man serves when asked. I am not familiar with his service, but I doubt he shilled for Reagan.
Kidspeak tells me that Webb resigned in protest, although to what neither of us can remember. Maybe someone call help us out.
This is all I got. From wikipedia:
Thanks. ej.
WOW! ALL of teh Bush apologistas on MSNBC have their eyes blinking doubletime, it’s really weird….
Don’t worry, it’s just their brains rejecting the programming. They’ll get over it soon.
LOL! I hope you’re correct. Maybe the brainwashing is wearing off and the hangover is setting in….
Impressed by Bush’s “chivalrous” acknowledgement of Pelosi…why can’t he just acknowledge her like he’s acknowledge a male Democratic speaker?
Yeah, it’s a Big Deal…but the fact that she got there on her qualifications, not her gender, is what we need to focus on.
And I’d like to nominate Mike Barnicle for Wanker of the Night:
“You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to figure out that Nancy Pelosi’s outfit cost more than the average American paid for their first home”
I admit I was surprised he mentioned it. I wasn’t expecting it.
It is a big deal, in the same way that Herm Edwards and Lovie Smith being the 2 first African American coaches to make the Superbowl is a big deal : Great, but it will be a much more important milestone when it is no longer noteworthy.
that women have indeed come a long way, but that we’ve still got a long road ahead…
Women are great. It’s the oppressive and chauvinistic sectors of society that have a long road ahead.
I’ve been “writing a post” in my head all day, when Speaker Pelosi wore a subtle beige suit with cream blouse when she gaveled the House to order. Instead, she wore pale green tonight, which I love. I was hoping to see if Minnesota’s far-right Michele Bachmann was still in her “angelic” winter white, while Stephanie Tubb Jones was in dramatic black with large silver circles that outlined the front of her dress. Alas, I saw neither of the two latter ladies.
breathlessly reported that Nancy spilled chocolate on her earlier outfit, hence the change of clothes (this according to Think Progress; my channel changer won’t even stop on the FAUX News Channel)…
Aha, that’s a good reason! Makes her my kind of woman. Keith was breathless himself, when he showed a clip last night of Rep Bachmann clutching Bush, calling her the Katharine Harris of Minnesota. Bachmann was still in white; I suspect she meant to stand out in the crowd.
You’re kidding!!! And how much did Bush’s suit cost??
His “Special” underwear is $15K alone.
on the White House enemies list.
David Shuster is tearing Bush’s speech apart now.
But his critique is based on facts, so don’t worry about it gaining any traction.
Maybe the MSM should worry more about stepford Laura’s dress bought by taxpayers…
Also, an idiotic scroll seen on MSNBC was something about Cheney looking “dapper.”
OMG. The whole thing was ridiculous. The best part of the evening was the loudest applause Pelosi received.
about Pelosi’s outfit (enough already with the fashionista crap on Nancy! Let her wear what she wants!) … the crawl that pissed me off the most was:
“Dennis Kucinich, Democrat and Vegan of Ohio….”
Why not: “Dick Cheney, man who shot friend in the face” or “Huckleberry Graham, carnivore … ” or “GWB, murderer of multitudes of Iraqis and sacrificer of young American troops?”
Effin ridiculous… enough already with damning Dennis K for being a Vegan! The man has more integrity than a boatload of Rethugs could hope for in their rapturistic paradise!
Disclosure: Though I worked hard for Dennis in 2004, I’m all Edwards, all the time this time around … Dennis can raise more hell in his new sub-committee position, and I have every confidence he will.
Webb totally ROCKED! I wasn’t sure about him at first, but I sure am a huge fan of his now (well, as of his WSJ op-ed a while back, that cinched it for me). Didn’t hurt at all that he knocked off Macaca Allen either! Very wise choice for the Dems to pick him for giving the response. Gone are the days of those snooze-a-thons by Byrd back in the bad old Reagan days… at least I Hope!