General Reaction from the State of the Union

So this is much delayed because I've been out of town, but I wanted to give my reaction from the State of the Union. Basically, this speech could have been given in any year of the Bush presidency. There was nothing enlightening or new, just the same deluded crap. Bush has surrounded himself with so many cronies in his administration that he's completely oblivious to what's going on in this country. They stroke his ego and spin every negative into a positive. That's the only explanation I have for why he continues to "stay the course" when his approval ratings are piss-poor and most people have soured on current Iraq policy -- a failure that will define his presidency for decades to come.

It was so unremarkable and trite that specific details less than a week after his speech are escaping me. I do remember his saying that social programs like Social Security have to be reformed. What does that mean exactly? In Bush terms, it probably means "less funding" or "cut".

The tax rebate is nice, but it may be too little too late. We're heading towards a recession. And honestly, it's exacerbated by Iraq. Bush may be in denial, but the constant deficit spending because of the war is a huge contributing factor to a recession. Coupled with the housing crisis, declining infrastructure, stingy R&D, and the falling dollar, I really think that things will get a lot worse before they get better.

So as we gear towards Super Tuesday, the fact that the Republican field is distancing themselves from Bush is a good thing. For example, consider the debate in California. I especially like the bullshitting the candidates employed when asked "Do you think things are better from 8 years ago?" or something like that. It was a clear barb against Bush. Mitt Romney, aka everyone's favorite tool, started talking about what he did in Massachusetts -- totally dodging the question. He's political poison and even the GOP knows it.

On another note, the Super Bowl is today. One thing before this spectacle designed for non-fans gets started...people are making too big of a deal of how the Giants nearly beat the Patriots in week 17. NEARLY is the important word here. They still lost, in other words, they didn't win. So why is everyone making such a big deal out of it?