THE WEDNESDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

So were you able to catch the State of the Union address Tuesday evening? Youngest daughter, Mary, had a choir cabaret concert that night and it hit the two-hour mark at 9:00 when Anne of the House leaned over and whispered, “If you want to walk home to see the speech it would be ok.” I was out the door and hustling the mile to our house as fast as my short, aging legs would carry me through the snow. I only missed the first four minutes when the President was talking about the budget.

I was impressed with his new sense of humility. I’m not sure he has a lot of choice since the Congress has moved to the left side of the aisle, but I was afraid he would still come across as if he was trying to pick a fight. He seemed to be trying to reason with his audience more than in the past. Just a few comments on the subjects he addressed:

Tax breaks for health insurance: I think everyone should have health insurance. I also think many people don’t agree with me. Give people money to buy health insurance and many of them will choose to buy something else with it. I seriously doubt federal health care will make many people happy. (See: Great Britain)

No Child Left Behind: Nice sentiment. I don’t want to leave a kid behind if he wants to work and study. But our educational system is fast becoming one big international joke and if we don’t start leaving some kids behind we’ll all be stuck behind. Nations that realize college isn’t for everybody (See: Japan) have long since passed us. I think competition has a place in education.

Alternative fuels: It’s about time!

Immigration reform: It seems like a good idea to tighten up the borders and give temporary work permits. As it is now it is just too easy for anyone to get across the borders and I seem to recall we’re fighting a war against terror. Step 1: keep terrorists out of your own country.

Iraq: I don’t see any good solution and I’m tired of people saying, “Well, if you don’t like what the President is doing, what would you do?” Don’t stick this on me! If I was president we wouldn’t be in this situation. We had a number of alternatives before we invaded Iraq. It’s too easy to say, “Don’t criticize unless you have an alternative to offer.” It’s possible for a person to create a lose/lose situation without good alternatives and to require alternatives as currency for criticism is ridiculous. Some people say, “Just let the military deal with it!” No, I don’t think so. The military has a solution but I’m not sure I’m willing to see women and children blown up in their solution. I agree with the President’s statement that it is time for the Iraqi government to step up. Maybe I think they should step up even more than he does. It’s time for some multinational talks and I don’t mean the UN.

Did you hear the same interviews I heard after the speech? John McCain seemed to be struggling to be supportive of the President. Hillary could do nothing more than criticize. Barak Obama was scary good. Thoughtful, cooperative, creative.

Finally, how about Jim Webb’s Democratic response to the speech? Watch out for this guy! My prediction: potential vice-presidential timber or a presidential run. Was he smooth or what? Here’s my biggest complaint of the night. This may not be a perfect quote but it is close, “The majority of our nation does not support the way the war is being run.” This is where the Democrats really make me angry. Since when do they concern themselves with what the majority of our nation thinks? Let me tell you this, if I may, the majority of our nation does not support abortion either and the Democrats don’t seem too concerned about that!

Thanks for listening. You’re too kind.