American Enterprise Institute's Michael Novak -> W's Next to Last State of the Union.
I was deeply surprised by the president's delivery, deliberate pace, low-key but very strong and conservative arguments, and his poise. ......... I was stunned by the number of times he forced the Democrats not only to applaud, but even to get to their feet, whether with fake enthusiasm or grudgingly--even on key matters regarding the war on terror and Iraq, but also on health care and energy concerns that the Democrats prematurely regard as their strongest turf. The Democrats were forced neither to hiss nor to boo, but to listen with far greater warmth than all day long the media were predicting..........
Bush did not speak like a defeated man, nor even like an unpopular man, and certainly not like an intimidated man--but like a man strangely confident that he was eventually going to be seen to have been clear-sighted and brave, the more so when the winds blew against him.
I mentioned something very similar to this to dad I was very surprised also cynical I felt madam speaker was somehow behind the dems behaviour. She did not want them to ruin her moment of glory and place in history something actually that I can understand and although I do not like or agree with her she will go down in history as the first women speaker and she has the right to make sure her party did not to ruin it for her.
Agreed, and The Majority Rat Babies sitting on their butts when GWB talked strongly about victory was very telling. They are so not ADULTS and never will be, they are a bunch of gangsters with soiled Diapers trying to stomp the President and VP into the ground on one hand and yet running around at the SOTU looking like groupies trying to get autographs, handshakes, kisses, whatever from their Favorite Rock Group. They are truly nutz...