Posted on 02/03/2005 7:17:00 PM PST by GretchenM
President and Mrs. Bush attended the National Prayer Breakfast in DC this morning.
President Bush took his "Social Security can be fixed" message directly to Americans.
The Senate voted 60-36 to confirm Judge Alberto Gonzales as United States Attorney General, with all of the "no" votes coming from Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independent Jim Jeffords of Vermont.
Any other descriptions of what the president or his chief advisors did today will appear next to the photos.
Enjoy today's visit to Sanity Island!
Thanks for the "dose", Gretchen!
RUSH: We are joined for a few moments here by Vice President Dick Cheney who has taken some time out to join us today. Mr. Vice President, it's always, as you know, a thrill and honor to have you with us, and good day, sir.
VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD B. CHENEY: Well, good day to you, Rush. Good to talk to you again.
RUSH: Now, the State of the Union speech last night. I guess anything I say to you is going to sound like softballs, but I was just telling the people that listen to the program here that I thought it was one of the most loftily ambitious declarations of American purpose that I have ever heard. You were there. You saw it. What was the...? On television it's one thing. What was the reaction throughout the House chamber last night during most of this speech? The president didn't stumble. There were some catcalls now and then; he just kept forward. What was your impression of the event last night as you watched it?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, it was a great event. These things always are. There's sort of a ritual connected with it, but the House is packed. The feeling among Republicans especially is very good. The president was really up to the speech. He'd spent a great deal of time on it himself. I hark back. The first time I ever went to one of those, Rush, was 1969. It was Lyndon Johnson's last State of the Union speech just before he left office, and I've seen a lot of them since, some of them behind the rail on the floor and some of them sittin' in the chair and this is as good as I've ever seen for a State of the Union speech.
snip
RUSH: The war on terror and the war on Iraq. The elections on Sunday seem to have inspired the president, the members of the administration. There seem to be an aura of command and confidence last night as the president delivered the speech. Now, I know that you have not ever had doubt that what we're doing is the right thing, but these elections on Sunday, did they exceed your expectations?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: They did although I must say as we got closer and closer to the election date I felt better and better about the prospects that we were going to have a good turnout, and obviously we did. No, I think it was remarkable. We've had a run here as the president pointed out last night -- Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestinian Authority, now Iraq -- where in fact we've seen the enormous power of the concept of freedom and democracy and the right for people to govern themselves, and lots of times, I suppose, people take that for granted because we've had that privilege for over 200 years now. But when you take something like that and apply it in a society such as Iraq where people have been absolutely brutalized by a terrible dictator for over 30 years and where people have not had that privilege previously, you see the enormous drive these people have to get to the polls and cast that ballot. It really transforms society, and it's the power of that idea, that concept, that drives much of what the president is talking about, by way of policy. I thought it came through in his speech last night and of course we've seen it work on the ground now in several difficult parts of the world just in the last few months.
RUSH: I'd like your personal reaction to something. This is phase two, the inaugural address and this speech last night on the lofty vision of the concept of human freedom and what it can mean to the world, that the president has articulated. It has struck me. I've been flabbergasted by how "controversial" the concept of freedom for the people of the planet has become to some people. The president can make a speech with the lofty vision that, frankly, I think ought to be the vision of the UN. I mean that's what it was formed: world peace and freedom and so forth and fighting for it. Here's the president simply articulating what he believes is the natural creation of each human being, and it's met with just this unbelievable controversy and nitpicking. From where does that cynicism come, do you think?
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well (chuckles), I understand exactly what you mean, Rush. I have the same feelings lots of times. There's a certain elitist attitude out there that on the one hand says, you know, we're naïve for believing in a principle that directly and actually going out and applying it, that lacks the nuance that you'd like to see and, you know, the papers produced by the Council on Foreign Relations kind of mentality. The other aspect to it is I think it's the view that I think is totally incorrect, that people who live in the Middle East or in other parts of the world and the Third World aren't capable of self-governance. Sometimes I think it's almost a racist attitude. And as the president says that, you know, freedom is God's gift to mankind, and it's in fact I think been demonstrated now pretty conclusively that it has this enormous appeal to virtually everyone and in fact it is an antidote to much of what plagues the world today, especially when we think about the war on terror.
snip
RUSH: Mr. Vice President, thanks for your time. Just know everybody is out there praying for you, and we all love you. Thanks for your time and all the best.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Rush. It's great to talk to you. Love your show.
RUSH: Thank you so much.
www.rushlimbaugh.com (I couldn't link directly to the site for some reason).
Brit also pointed out that Sen. Reid contradicted himself 180 degrees on the privitization of SS accounts; during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" a while back he spoke positively about it; this week he is saying, No way.
Yes. I thought she looked especially happy and captivating in today's photos. Secure.
So true. She picked an issue that no one else is addressing. She's being very influential in her own way.
Thanks for the pictures.
I am so glad to have such a spiritual president. We are so lucky to have him.
*The Dim leadership (kind of an oxymoron) had its picture taken in front of FDR's statue*
The Dims are so use to playing the FDR card. They don't
realize there is a generation that doesn't know who he is and The President is taking his message to that generation.
LOL!! What a cute picture with that little kid!
Philly shout out! I'm so glad Lady Laura (I like calling her that), is focusing on boys. My son went thru the Philadelphia public schools, coming through just around the time that girls started getting all of the attention. Thank goodness he was in gifted programs where they at least gave lip service to attending to all the kids. However, he still complained about the obvious favoritism toward girls.
When he went to college, we were informed at the parents' orientation that it was the policy of the women's safety program to tell incoming female students to think of all men as potential rapists. I was shocked. The young men in class or in the dorms aren't to be seen as their protectors and companions, but rapists. This is what comes from radical feminism, folks.
Looks like Lady Laura has some real work to.
Too funny!
I ALSO loved that Rush called the SotU, a speech for the AGES, and said it was the best speech that he's heard the President give.
The Republican party is alive and growing because of him, and the Dems are.......well, DEAD, Jim. :o)
Man, that Barbara is SMOKIN hot!
Thank you Gretchen.. about ready to call it a night & get to sleep & this was a wonderful way to end the day... great pix & so much fun to see the reactions of the people he visists with and speaks to.
THe troops love him to death...
Barbara is adorable. And I think Laura's program for boys is inspired and much needed.
An interesting study a decade or two ago showed that boys and girls have different reactions to childhood traumas or neglect.
Girls often can shake off the damaging effects in their lives of neglect or trauma, and will still go on to be successful although delayed.
Boys often never get over the effects from lack of nurturing in their childhood.
Exercise
Sensible eating
Early to bed and early to rise....
I think Greta said that FDR's grandson was having a cow over this. My thoughts were, who cares? FDR is dead and I don't know what, if any, policy position his grandson holds.
I deal w/college kids who have a hard time reading journal articles that are 10 years old because that's 'too old' or the 'technology was different and everything is changed now,' they certainly aren't looking to FDR for how they should think about social security.
While I'm a boomer and have a bit more sense of perspective and history, FDR might as well start spinning in his grave, cause those of us who are here now need to bring SS into the 21st century. To heck w/the grandson and the Dims.
WooooHoooo. My niece and her husband attended the President's appearance in Great Falls.
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