The Speech

First, former Clinton advisor Dick Morris on the O'Reilly Factor on his thoughts before Bush gave his speech:

1) latest Fox poll showed that, of those surveyed, 45% agreed that the biggest problem facing the country was Iraq. The next most important issue (not mentioned) registered a mere 10%. Morris suggested that Bush steer clear of the "one-issue" presidency

2) in response, O'Reilly quoted a Gallup Poll which stated 86% of Americans are satisfied with their life here...so, he wondered, can President Bush really get around the question of Iraq?

3) Morris suggested that Bush address the following topics to highlight some recent strong points of the presidency: low unemployment; strides made in reducing the terror threat from North Korea, Iran, and Somalia; and low gas and oil prices

4) Lastly, Morris wanted Bush to address fixing Social Security ("everything should be on the table") and energy independence.

Fox News' Brit Hume summed up the speech before it began, saying that Bush would try to reach common ground by addressing gasoline usage, health care reform, and the Iraq war - all of which he did cover...not so sure about the "common ground" part, however.

By the way, did anyone actually notice Michael J. Fox in the audience? Apparently he was there...

Considering the speech Bush gave only a few weeks ago, the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes did not have high expectations for the context of the speech, predicting a non-confrontational assessment of the State of the Union, with a focus on energy and education. He also wanted viewers to note the Democratic response to any of Bush's talking points.

Roll Call's Mort Kondracke safely predicted a thunderous clapping when Bush brought up personal responsibility for the Iraqi people, but a muted applause when Bush explained that, in order to achieve the goals in Iraq, the U.S. military would need time.

Before the speech began, Hume took a jab at presidential hopeful (to use the term graciously) Dennis Kucinich, asserting humorously that this speech gave Kucinich "more air time than he has ever gotten in his political life."...it's always about campaigning, right?

Now, for the speech (first, what I took from it, followed by links):

- the introduction for Nancy Pelosi, followed by heartfelt recognition from constituents, was a classy move on the part of the President (Chris Matthews called it "chivalrous"), and I thought she received the applause pretty graciously. It was a great start...but did it give the Dems hope? Well...probably not.

- Bush claimed he was "willing to cross the (political) aisle when work had to be done", explaining that people didn't care what party you were from, as long as you got the job done. This received an appreciative applause but I'm not sure Dems should buy into it absent from "comprehensive immigration reform" and the minimum wage hike. Going through his bullet points, we'll see if "common ground" is reached on any other issues.

- the early positive statistic Bush spouted was on the economy: 41 straight months of uninterrupted job growth, creating 7.2 million jobs in that span (pretty sure that was the right time frame). Unemployment and inflation both very low - Bush encouraged the growth of the economy not through more GOVERNMENT, but more ENTERPRISE. Dems did NOT like this line as Pelosi seemed to bite her lower lip, while Republicans went nuts. I personally thought the point was well taken, and he's proven that his hands-off approach to the economy works.

- Bush plans to outline a goal that eliminates the federal budget within 5 years - everyone could come together on that issue; however, when he said he planned to do it without raising taxes, Democrats fell silent. I found this especially telling - I'd like to see this report when it's released, it's a very intriguing idea...and one that Dems don't buy at the moment.

- he vowed to end the practice of earmarks - of which both Dems and Republicans are guilty of exploiting. Unfortunately, he didn't mention the role that bloggers played to get this legislation passed. I was hoping he would, but not expecting it.

- rhetoric that Social Security is failing, which we should all know by now. Not sure that the "Reagan era...is still alive in the Bush White House."

- he asked Congress to re-authorize the No Child Left Behind Act. Dems didn't approve of the idea of "school choice" which Bush brought up. I honestly have never understood this one and would love for someone to come up with good reasons why school choice doesn't benefit everyone. For whatever reasons, Dems hate it. I think it's a great start to solving our dwindling public school system.

- health care through tax deductions - Dems hated this too. We should expand Health Savings Accounts (no response from Dems) and should legislate Medical Liability Reform to protect good doctors from "junk lawsuits" (are you listening, John Edwards?) He asserted that the relationship between a patient and his doctor should be the overriding factor in determining treatment, not the government

- immigration - ugh. The shot of Tom Tancredo shaking his head said it all. "No animosity, no amnesty" didn't make much sense to me. Signing "comprehensive immigration reform" into law will please the Dems greatly (and some Republicans, too - read anything Linda Chavez ever seems to write).

- energy and the environment: reduce gasoline usage by 20% in the next 10 years. Now THAT sounds ambitious - again, I'd like to see plan outlines for that. Also, an increase twofold of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve...oops, he lost the Dems again! He called for the U.S. to be "better stewards of the environment" and "confront global climate change" - Dems liked this, but, unless I missed it, he didn't really outline a strategy to confront global climate change...

- a brief bit on the courts and how nominees are due prompt, fair hearings - a bit of a shot to Dems, which I'll expound upon in a later post

then, on to TERROR. I'm not going to be super extensive here because much of it was addressed in his speech a few weeks ago and the themes are pretty much the same. But some key points:

- BEST LINE (paraphrase): "Success measured by things that have NOT happened - and to those men and women who have prevented it, WE OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO THOSE PUBLIC SERVANTS."...It's not something that's often recognized or even acknowledged, heroes that go unnoticed because terrorism does NOT strike again...and not just soldiers, but just vigilant citizens. Extraordinary recognition on the part of the president.

- he pointed out that our enemies have adjusted their tactics in 2006 after a relatively successful 2005, citing steps backward in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. This was tough to listen to, if you're a proponent of the war or not.

- SECOND BEST LINE: "You did not vote for FAILURE."...Ouch, Dems...(to be fair, Republicans too)

- the War on Terror will be a generational struggle - he will develop a special, bipartisan advisory council on the War on Terror...this is quite intriguing. Who will be named to this panel? And what will their role exactly be?

I won't get into the special guests because, although worthy guests, their stories largely are not political. I'll tackle Jim Webb's response in a later post.

Full text of speech via Drudge.

Thorough coverage as usual from Michelle Malkin.

Live blogging from Mary Katharine Ham, Captain Ed, and Ace of Spades (ha!).

More reaction, and fallout, to come.