LIVE THREAD: President Bush's State of the Union Address 2006 9:00 P.M. EST

Free Republic ^ | January 31, 2006

[Howlin]

9:00 P.M. EST!!!

It's a great day to be a Republican!!!!

[nutmeg]

My husband calls it: Cock-eyebrow!

[Bull Market]

Excess profits! We are doomed!

[AlbionGirl]

Latest from NRO online: Tim Kaine ain't doing too good with the Democratic response. Nobody ever does do well with these responses. Maybe that's why they brought him in -- as a hazing maneuver.[JPod]

LOL! He looks like a pod-ed Chuck Schumer.

[Pimpmygop]

Is this about Virginia or all of us? WTF... This guy must have talked about VA 100 times..

[rjp2005]

I like the oil addiction point; it could have been even stronger, such as saying "we're gonna break this addiction or it'll break us". But his subtle point him to walk the fine line between supporting the oil industry that basically gave him a base of financial power, and the new energy research that he genuinely would like to support more.

I don't care about being green for the sake of being green. Building back-to-the-future fusion cars out of some pie-in- the-sky-nostalgia doesnt matter to me. But I DO CARE about winning the war on terror, and I DO CARE that this remains Bush's top priority while in office.

I think Mr. President realizes that with the short time in office he has remaining, he can make a difference ensuring our military and civilian economy has the literal power to do this, even when a someone else occupies the Oval Office.

Let the race for new energy begin - to beat Iran at their own game, we'll be stronger if we dont have to depend on the middle east anymore.

(Guess the speech fired me up I was too longwinded here...)

[defconw]

This is a parody right? Right? This is so bad, it's hilarious!

[TheBigB]

That eyebrow is driving me nuts

Mmmm, potential tagline material. ;)

[Feiny]

The EYEBROW
The EYEBROW
The EYEBROW
The EYEBROW
The EYEBROW
The EYEBROW

[Howlin]

ROFLMAO...................................ROFLMAO.........I'm laughing so hard I'm surprised you can't hear me from over there!

[pulaskibush]

He's been taught to say "there's a better way" every other paragragh. He looks like a whining child with nothing better to say.

[maggief]

He resembles Robert Shapiro ...

[MikefromOhio]

Early ratings (just from me and out of 10)

Substance

There were a LOT of things hit on tonight. Quite a bit of substance. Of course, towards the end of the speech there were a few junktime things thrown out there. I'll give him an 8/10, simply because the Iran, Iraq, World policy, defense and economic parts were very very strong.

Style

The style of this speech was very much like most on FR have wanted for a while. He took on his critics head on, meanwhile he indirectly went after some within his own party that have been waffling from time to time. I'll give him an 8/10 here as well....

Flow

This speech had a flow to it. Sometimes the theme tended to wander, but that's what comes with the terroritory with SOTU speeches. 7/10

Focus

the Focus of this was wide-ranging and forward-looking. He hit his critics, came on strong in the cases of Iraq, Iran and terrorism, went after the tax cuts, and still hit on Social Security. 9/10

Relevance

The world is a dangerous place. It is made so by despotic regimes like those in Iran. Energy independence would help. A strong line with Iran will help as well. to make this short I will stop here. 8/10

Talking Points

This speech will give a tone to the ENTIRE 2006 Congressional elections. This speech gave a ton of ammo for the Republicans and the Conservatives to use this Fall. 10/10

Momentum

The President was on a roll, even at the end of his speech. 10/10

Principles

This will be an interesting speech with concerns of illegal immigration. The President said NO to illegal immigration. Will he follow through? That is the crux of any argument from here to the fall elections. Making the tax cuts permanent would be nice, cutting spending would be great and the strong line on defense is always a good line to use. However, some things will need to be ironed out. I hope they go the way of security with the border, but you never know. 7/10 overall, mainly because of the first 2/3rds of the speech.

That gives me 67/80 possible on this speech. Very Very good. Probably not the best ever, but still the message was there, it was given in a clear concise way, and the Democrats will enter meltdown mode over this speech, well, as I am watching this a$$clown of a governor screw up the response, they already have. OUT.

[Fudd Fan]

He reminds me a bit of McGreevy, come to think of it...

now THAT's disturbing!

[Amore]

Oh man, all those eyebrow comments, I had to turn back and look. Too funny!

[Nova Reservist]

he transitioned from 9/11 to Iraq, to Virginia Veterans benefits, makes my head hurt

[Corin Stormhands]

It's not my problem if all you heard was "Illegals."

Given the speed of the thread, I'll give you a pass on this one.

I didn't hear "illegals." Multiple people up thread said that he said "illegal aliens." He did not.

I simply pointed that out and made NO statement with regard to immigration.

[AGreatPer]

This is all they got?

Oh please show them with the pots and pans outside.

[AmishDude]

Yes. He does sound like he's on an infomercial. And that eyebrow goes up all at once and slooooooowly slides back down.

It's like he's saying, with his eyebrow, "You're too smart to buy what I'm trying to sell."

Oh, and "There's a better way." It's such a gimmick. I can't believe that phrase focus grouped well.

[Txsleuth]

This Kaine guy is HELPING...IMHO!!

He keeps saying how the STATES are doing this and that re: education and such..that is what we WANT..STATEs to take care of themselves...

PLUS..he is boring....

[rwfromkansas]

I was flipping around and caught David Brooks on PBS saying the same, but overall he thought Bush did a good job.

Surprisingly, Oliphant/bow-tie man did as well.