(Since we were all wondering...)Pelosi's SOTU Blinks "Clocked at 25-30 per min." (Cheney 3-4)

Broadcasting & Cable ^ | 1/23/07 | Joel Topcik

[AnnaZ]

As he and his colleagues noted the historic significance of Rep. Nancy Pelosi's presence on the dais as the first woman speaker of the House, Gibson said that he and Stephanopoulos had shared a laugh earlier about whether she and Vice President Cheney would coordinate their outfits. I haven't checked the transcripts from years past, but I'm quite certain Gibson--or any of his colleagues--never joked about Dennis Hastert conferring with Cheney about tie patterns. (And I'll bet Katie Couric had the sense to avoid it, having been the subject of much sartorial scrutiny herself.)

What was worth commenting on, however, was the contrast in blinks per minute between Pelosi and Cheney. While Pelosi clocked a good 25-30 blinks per minute, Cheney barely mustered 3 or 4. If energy conservation is a personal virtue—as he once said so dismissively—Cheney is a saint. The man functions admirably on standby power.

[AnnaZ]

I thought some freeper clocked her at about 60 b/s.

This is not accurate . I tabbed her at 80+ /min. more than once .

It was a lot. And she looked desperate for a glass of water or something too. I had to just focus on W in order to concentrate.

That said, Pelosi was at least gracious, in words and demeanor.

Another thing I noticed, a lot of the Pubbies looked rather tense, like there was danger afoot. It was odd.

Last observation -- Kucinich was this year's SOTU-entrance McKinney.

[LostInBayport]

That's unfortunate. Perhaps you missed the part where she and her fellow Dems failed to stand and applaud when the President mentioned victory. The speech mattered....so did the reaction it received from both sides.

They also sat on their hands when the President mentioned doing something about health care without raising taxes. That spoke volumes too.

[fishergirl]

HA! Your're right! She looked exactly like she was in a nervous titter! Her worries about "That Day" may be manifesting into strange facial tics and rapid blinking. The "seals" had better watch out - the Dims are known to eat their own.

[AnnaZ]

That is hilarious!

[HitmanLV]

I said last evening that Pelosi's blinking was in fact an encoded message to Princess Ardala and The Draconian Empire.

[Chode]

shoot... i'm still amazed the b!tch can blink her eyes at all!!!

[AnnaZ]

More agravating than the blinking was the continuous rolling her tongue around her mouth. What was that all about?

Maybe she was desperately thirsty. (Dry mouth? She's from SanFran afterall... = )

[AnnaZ]

I figured out she was blinking in morse code.

The message was 'Bush's Fault!'

LOL.

[TXBubba]

I only saw 5 seconds on TV last night. Pelosi's eyes were the first thing that caught my attention. (because the woman never blinks) It was really strange. Then for it to be all over the news today I knew it had to be distracting for everyone. Going from non-blinker to continual blinking is just weird/fake.

[weegee]

Right. I knew that was the pretty pony. Everyone in the media at that time was comment "how well" Edwards did at the debate and no one in the FR thread echoed my sentiments (which I posted) that his blinkly was very shifty body language.

Now the media's talking points are that Pelosi blinked a lot.

Edwards blinks a lot too. And he's running for President in 2008. I say nail him to the wall on it.

[silent_jonny]

It was disgusting to watch.

But I ... couldn't ... look ... away!

Rush was talking about this today and said Pelosi was "chewing her cud". I think he was lurking on the Dose last night? ;)

[mystery-ak]

Yeah,...he was reading our posts...lol

[ridesthemiles]

It must have worked. I was more distracted by the blinks than anything else. Last year, I made comments about the amount of coughing. It seems whenever the President made a strong point, someone would cough.
I think that both of these are intentional tactics to "dis" the President.""

I remember the coughing- Thanks for the reminder. It was very distracting.

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL! Yes, I noticed that, too. She was blinking like crazy... maybe she was nervous.

[HitmanLV]

Haha! I thought she was having a stroke.

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL!!! She was having something for sure.

[BunnySlippers]

4. Over Botoxed

[Miss Didi]

From Rush today, "I think it was Morse Code. I think she was sending code to the Democrats as to when to applaud or when not to applaud. In addition to when she stood up, that was a signal for them. She also looked like she was chewing her cud to me."

[Stultis]

That's cuz they used to be her thigh muscles!

Hey, Hey, Hey! Trying to drink Dr. Pepper here...

[swmobuffalo]

"The speech mattered....so did the reaction it received from both sides."

Really. Do you think I didn't notice when the Dimmies FAILED to stand when the President spoke of achieving victory?

What I should have said was whatever Pelosi did with her teeth and her eyes was not what I was watching.