Posted on 02/04/2003 12:41:52 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Well, I personally took a heck of a lot of delight in seeing the likes of Democrats Richard Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards and John Kerry gulp and gulp again as President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union Address.
Yes, my self-satisfied smile got wider and wider, as the faces of these presidential contenders looked more and more depressed.
Ah, how sweet victory -- and retribution -- truly is.
The American lib-lefters who mocked Bush so much are now having second thoughts.
Deep, deep second thoughts.
As comedian Jackie Gleason used to say, how sweet it is!
The scornful individuals who mocked Bush without mercy not only months ago but just days ago, aren't quite so demeaning now.
For they now know Bush will not be the pushover they thought he would be come the next U.S. election.
Indeed, I'll bet they are quietly considering whether they should really waste the time and money battling him.
Look at how exhausting even the primaries are.
Then comes the big campaign.
The harsh media scrutiny.
Why bother if you know defeat is at the end of the road?
Strange they never got the cues from the U.S. midterm elections in which the Republicans trounced them all across the nation.
Now, I've witnessed a few political speeches in my life --many in front of the speakers themselves.
In Canada, the champions were John Diefenbaker, T.C. Douglas, Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney. From the U.S., Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Their words rippled through an audience.
Diefenbaker was almost a demagogue and hypnotic like one. Trudeau was dynamic but a con man. Douglas was passionate like the Christian preacher he was.
Mulroney had that smooth baritone voice.
Nixon was very measured, Reagan was affable but forceful ("Tear down this Wall, Mr. Gorbachev!") when necessary, and Clinton jovial.
Britain's Margaret Thatcher, too, ignited the audience I was in.
But by any assessment, despite their differing styles, none could have bettered Bush this past week.
For almost one hour I hung onto every word.
Bush, once ridiculed for being supposedly inarticulate, was superb.
Not a stutter; not a stammer.
Polished and unblinking.
I'm told he got 77 ovations from both sides of the political spectrum.
Can you image Prime Minister Jean Chretien commanding such respect?
One can't even imagine Chretien giving an articulate speech, never mind holding a nation's attention for the best part of one hour.
Bush has come of age.
He has, as they say, grown into the job.
The president painted a portrait of what a nation should be.
A nation with worldwide obligations to spread freedom for every man, woman and child living under dictatorships, and a nation in which average families deserved solid tax cuts right now rather than later.
And America under Bush will deliver both that freedom to the world, and those tax cuts to its families.
But after Bush concluded his speech and I reflected on his performance and his perspectives, a touch of depression descended on me.
Why can't we in Canada have a leader like this?
Why don't we have a leader and a government untouched by both personal and cabinet scandal?
Why do we not want to bring solid values to the world?
Why don't we have a prime minister who isn't a self-serving charlatan?
My advice to Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper is to screen and re-screen George W. Bush's speech and study it well.
Emulate his delivery and his sincerity.
For surely, Canadians deserve to be viewed as part of a respected first-rate power, not a second-rate one.
Jackson, associate editor of the Sun, can be reached at paul.jackson@calgarysun.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to callet@sunpub.com.
Aw, sure it can. You simply bite your lower lip, give a soulful and concerned look with your eyes, and say in a quavering voice: "I feel your pain." Five out of ten Americans will buy it every time.
Exactly. We should have had a bunch of them done last weekend, but there was not because they don't contain the results that the liberal media wants. Before, when the media and the democrats (but I repeat myself...) were working hard to drive his numbers down, they reported on two, three, and even more polls a week.
Splendid! Absolutely wonderful, JH2!
"For almost one hour I hung onto every word."
Me, too, Mr. Jackson...me, too.
And it was a record-breaking speech. The degree of squirming and facial contortions on the left side of the aisle confirmed that.
JH...once again, a great piece you have written about President Bush. And yes, indeed, character does matter!
Amen.
Bears repeating =^)
Methinks you're right, friend.
I have no doubt you're absolutely right, friend ;^)
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