[Pokey78]

Pinging the Sullivan list.

[nutmeg]

bttt

[Nick Danger]

He should have mentioned the allies who are already on board - the Brits and Italians and Australians and Spaniards. But if his goal was to show resilience, patience and a moral grasp of America's current responsibility, then he accomplished it.

I'm certain that he did not mention them by design. One of his points -- and he made it quite explicitly later -- is that "...the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others. Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people."

Yes, we will talk to the UN. Yes, we will consult. We welcome allies. But at the end of the day, the President of the United States cannot allow foreigners or UN bureaucrats to get between him and his oath of office.

There's a fairly loud minority running around out there who want to subordinate U.S. soverignty to "international law," but on this issue -- as on so many others like the International Court and Kyoto -- Bush is having none of it.

[Consort]

Andrew Sullivan is gay . . .

A homogenius.

[carlo3b]

Sheeeeesh..I wish I could have said it better, but of course I can't!
I am so sorry to hear he has HIV, it seems as happens all too often in his community, a bright young man has had his treasured life forsaken for a weak will. However, it frequently surprises me how much I agree with this man on so many issues, not all issues, but it doesn't seem to matter.. I really like him.
I think if we can hone our message with Compassionate Conservatism, Mr. Sullivan could be considered a Sensible Liberal.... even if those words choke me as I say them... LOLOL

[steelie]

"Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known....This shall never happen"

This is the very paragrph I pulled out for my 13 year old as the gist of the speech!

[FreeReign]

So to get it out of the way: the domestic ambitions of this president strike me as immensely expensive and clearly liable to sadddle us with at least another decade of deficit spending.

I don't think the domestic ambitions of this president will saddle us with another decade of deficit spending. For example, his 4% discretionary cap will keep us right where we are. However, I do think that the president really, really needs to start cutting discretionary spending -- ya know in an incremental fashion.

Besides that, tort reform, a partial birth abortion ban, excelerated tax cuts, and support for missile defense are all good news. And of course the president made it clear, that we will defend ourselves, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE U.N. DOES.

[Nephi]

Only a Republican President can get away with transitioning America from the world's policeman, to the worlds Doctor.

GRIDS is a terrible disease, but it is not the federal government's role to take on the disease, especially in Africa. That is something that should be left to the world's charities.

Speaking of charities, when his Dad coined the term, "points of light," I defended it as the constitutionally sound way of addressing the welfare of society. I never expected to trade government bureaucrats for charity bureaucrats. If the government has money to give to faith based charities, it needs to be given back the people so that they can receive the blessings of giving it themselves.

That's gonna be hard, though since Bush proposed something like a half a trillion dollars in new spending.

[LurkerNoMore!]

Sorry to Sullivan, but I take issue with this statement:

I shouldn't be surprised, of course. Bush was an addict. And he came this close to saying it.

I know I'll probably get hit from the AA side on this, but Bush drank more than he should have, it was pointed out to him in a personal way by his wife, and he stopped. Cold Turkey. He made a decision not to ever drink again, and didn't! Addicts/alcoholics usually need some kind of short term help, right?

[Odile]

Thank you, Andrew! Here's some instant analysis of me own:

I thought the president did a wonderful job. One of the army of fervid and self-important commentators said, "He had a couple of aces up his sleave, didn't he?"

Boy did he ever!

I loved the way he began talking only about domestic problems. He got his points across masterfully about the benefits of his proposed tax reductions and the strengthening effect they should have on the economy, and he ALSO stole a lot of the Democrats' thunder by promising access to "unrationed" medical care for all Americans and prescription drug benefits for the elderly. His admonition to Congress to end partial birth abortion was politically brave, but obviously the right thing to do. May they find the courage and the will to act on ending this atrocity at last. The only POSSIBLE excuse for such a practice would be if it were the only way to save the life of the mother.

I'm glad too that the president remains committed to the idea of putting more and more of the social security money under the direct control of each citizen -- thus giving the possibility of earning a MUCH greater return on the investment and making it an inheritable part of every family's net worth.

The president's amazing statement of concern for the victims of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, and his ambition to bring massive amounts of financial aid to the Dark Continent and other deprived areas was a real zinger. It may have been aimed primarily at the Congressional Black Caucus to help defuse some of their perpetual ire, but I think Mr. Bush's concern is sincere and his compassion real.

How we are going to pay for all of this and fund the War on Terror too I can't imagine, but we've always managed before in times of even greater crisis, and I'm sure we will this time too. sacrifice is good for the soul. As a nation, we've been on a pretty foolish joyride for a very long time. A little bitter medicine may be exactly what we need to regain our moral compass.

I also loved his frequent references to God and our need to rely on the Almighty for ultimate guidance. How refreshing it is to see a leader in action who is not ashamed of his ties to Christianity and who refuses to equivocate on the subject!

The most memorable quote of the evening told us,"Freedom is not America's gift to the world, but God's gift to humanity."

Yes, indeed!

Did anyone see the shots of Senator Daschle glaring balefully at the president as he spoke? This is a bitter, power-mad little man with a poisonous philosophy of governance and a shriveled soul. Hitlery, as always, was unable to camouflage her unwarranted attitude of smug superiority. Those famous contemptuous sidelong glances ought to do her in by all that's holy, but no one ever got rich by overestimating the intelligence of the average American voter -- particularly those who live in "Black" and "Blue" America.

All day the media has led us to expect that the president would say little or nothing about Iraq. That was another masterstroke, because when Mr. Bush got to that subject at long last, he really gave us a clear demonstration of his absolute certainty that Iraq has hidden arsenals of deadly weapons. And, he was most reassuring about his commitment to ending the brutal career of Saddam Hussein and of hunting down and destroying the shadowy, elusive agents of Al Qaeda -- one way or another.

The opposition will say, of course, that the president was trying to frighten us into supporting him by highlighting and exaggerating the brutal nature of the many dreadful possibilities that threaten our security at home and abroad. Many of these perils are insidious. I struggle to believe that the measures he briefly outlined about increased vigilance at our borders and ports of entry are adequate, but it's good to know that at least SOMETHING is being done.

Mr. Bush's hopeful attitude about the eventual development of a strategic missile defense system is heartening. And, I LOVED his vision of a new kind of hydrogen-powered automobile that would not only free us from too much dependence on foreign oil but would also be pollution free. I sure hope I live to see it come to pass.

What I love most about our president is his calmly serious, direct approach. He's not playing to the peanut gallery. Yes, he pandered to the Demonrats more than I'd like by supporting a lot of socialistic ideas, but he HAS to do that in order to survive politically. There are just too many Democrats. They have lots of power still and cannot simply be swept aside or passed over

Our president may not write every word he delivers, but I get the feeling that he really BELIEVES what he is saying. David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter, who has just written a book about the president, was saying just today on C-Span that Mr. Bush takes a very active interest in the speeches written for him and edits them mercilessly to better reflect and suit his own ideas.

There's an essential NICENESS and clear-eyed DECENCY about our president that's very hard to resist. I wish him -- and us -- every success.

May God bless America!

[Carolinamom]

Andrew Sullivan gets it in this beautifully written and honest column. Bush touches both hearts and minds.

[cricket]

A big 'thank-you' to Andrew Sullivan for his sincere analysis. . .I suspect he will get much less from his friends; but it is good to see how GW reaches across, brings together so many.

Contrast with any Democrat approach where divisivness is the cornerstone of any political argument.

. . .Juan Williams; hardly a Bush fan, when on Fox tonight with Brit, Fred and Mort. . .was almost teary in his appreciation of GW's inclusiveness as offered in his 'State of the Union' speech.

Juan offered the most complimentary analysis of any of them.