State of the Union address....

[Combat Chuck]

As you all know, our president, George W. Bush is giving the State of the Union address tonight. Many people have been speculating as to what will be in the context of this incredibly important speech.

The main thing I guess is the whole War with Iraq. Other little things like the national deficit may also be brought up during the speech.

First question: Will you be tuning in? If so, what exactly do you want to hear tonight, and what don't you want to hear?

[Ugly Bastard]

I won't be tuning in due to prior obligations. However, I am very interested in what goes on in this speech.

I DO hope to hear him say something/anything to regain the support of the Nation. I can tell that he isn't as "popular" as he was Post-9-11.

I DON'T want him to pussy out and just say a bunch of shit about education and social security. It'd be nice if the balance of his speech was about how we are going to destroy Iraq, that would be highly motivational I feel.

God Bless Bush.

G'day.

-Ugly Bastard

I want him to stand up to Iraq without sounding like too much of a Warhawk. Also, he needs to say something to rally international support for said cause. Mostly though, I hope he gives us the reasons on why we should attack Iraq. I need convincing, Mr.Bush, convince me.
Also though, this is the State of the Union address, so he better sure as hell talk about the economy and what he's doing to improve it. I also want something on how affirmative action has no place in today's society....
I'd also like some cursing, I've always wanted a President who wasn't afraid to curse...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pliedes:
I'd also like some cursing, I've always wanted a President who wasn't afraid to curse...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That would be quite hilarious.

[Titan]

I would like to see someone's review/summary of this event post-fact, as I do not have a TV and most likely will not be watching it.

[Combat Chuck]

Yeah, I've been quite busy tonight, and can't catch it....a summary would be nice.

I think maybe pliedes would be the guy I would see as most up for this job....and he can also interject curse words in quotes as well.

[victim]

I've been watching... good stuff.

Hasn't said the word Iraq yet.

New Bushism though just a second ago - Hitlerism

[victim]

There it was, nearly 40 minutes in... first use of the word Iraq, he's doing good.

[victim]

To the people of Iraq
"Your enemy is not surrounding your country, it's running it."

Bush introduced several new pieces of information against Iraq, such as the threats made against scientists that speak to the UN, or a recent attempt to purchase uranium in Africa.

In this speech, Bush has essentially said that we will be going into Iraq... that is unless Saddam completely disarms... yeah... right.

Good speech.

Lots of decent domestic stuff too

He wants to put more than a billion dollars into researching alternative fuel sources, such as hydrogen fuel cells.

Bush also wants to help combat AIDS worldwide with a plan that would treat over 2 million people in Africa and the Carribean.

This was considered to be one of the most important speeches in his presidency so far, and Bush did very well, a good speech.

Hilterism. Fuck, he's been stealing from our "Word of the Day" thread...

Overall, the first part of his speech was concerned wtih domestic issues and outlining plans for improving or solving them. Many solid points. I thought the best part was when he said something along the lines of "Jobs are created when the economy grows; the economy grows when Americans have more money to spend and invest; and the best and fairest way to make sure Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place." Fuck all you dirty fuckers who disagreed with that and sat on your asses. Overall, it sounded like a standard peacetime address. Clinton was always really good in this area. I'd definately rate this one above par though.

About two-thirds of the way through, he turned his attention to Iraq.
He outlined the threat of Iraq, the unwillingness of Iraq to disarm and completely compley with regulations, and the uttery tyrany of Saddam Hussien. Bush stated at one point "Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks to build and keep weapons of mass destruction. But why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate or attack." He did something I've never really heard in a State of the Union address though, he listed many of the vivid, violent acts that the Iraqi government has used on it's own people. A very powerful line was "And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country, your enemy is ruling your country." He stated "We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. "
There was dead silence in the entire chamber throughout this entire area of the speech. As far as delivery was concerned, Bush excelled in this section and was very persuasive and effective.

One of his closing lines was... "Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity."

While he did begin to present the case against Iraq, much of it will be done by Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council in upcoming weeks.

More as I get time...

The President did dedicate a section to North Korea. He said:

"On the Korean Peninsula, an oppressive regime rules a people living in fear and starvation. Throughout the 1990s, the United States relied on a negotiated framework to keep North Korea from gaining nuclear weapons. We now know that that regime was deceiving the world and developing those weapons all along.

And today the North Korean regime is using its nuclear program to incite fear and seek concessions.

America and the world will not be blackmailed.

America is working with the countries of the region -- South Korea, Japan, China and Russia -- to find a peaceful solution and to show the North Korean government that nuclear weapons will bring only isolation, economic stagnation and continued hardship.

The North Korean regime will find respect in the world and revival for its people only when it turns away from its nuclear ambitions.

Our nation and the world must learn the lessons of the Korean Peninsula and not allow an even greater threat to rise up in Iraq. A brutal dictator, with a history of reckless aggression, with ties to terrorism, with great potential wealth will not be permitted to dominate a vital region and threaten the United States."

The case against Iraq was laid out well for fitting decades of attrocities and reasoning for military action into a 10 minute section of a speech. He stated:

"Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein faced the prospect of being the last casualty in a war he had started and lost. To spare himself, he agreed to disarm of all weapons of mass destruction.

For the next 12 years, he systematically violated that agreement. He pursued chemical, biological and nuclear weapons even while inspectors were in his country.

Nothing to date has restrained him from his pursuit of these weapons: not economic sanctions, not isolation from the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities.

Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead utter contempt for the United Nations and for the opinion of the world.

The 108 U.N. inspectors were sent to conduct -- were not sent to conduct a scavenger hunt for hidden materials across a country the size of California. The job of the inspectors is to verify that Iraq's regime is disarming.

It is up to Iraq to show exactly where it is hiding its banned weapons, lay those weapons out for the world to see and destroy them as directed. Nothing like this has happened.

The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax; enough doses to kill several million people. He hasn't accounted for that material. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.

The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin; enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure. He hasn't accounted for that material. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed it.

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He's not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them, despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb.

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.

Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide.

The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving.

From intelligence sources, we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves.

Iraqi officials accompany the inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses. Iraq is blocking U-2 surveillance flights requested by the United Nations.

Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview. Real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on what to say.

Intelligence sources indicate that Saddam Hussein has ordered that scientists who cooperate with U.N. inspectors in disarming Iraq will be killed, along with their families.

Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks to build and keep weapons of mass destruction. But why?

The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate or attack.

With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region."

[Titan]

pliedes - you have done your country (or just me chuck and UB) a great service, thank you.

[This message has been edited by Titan (edited January 28, 2003).]

[tonguegina]

Hmm...all I have to say is thank God for cable tv.

[Combat Chuck]

I was able to catch the very end of the speech and then the Democratic response.

Thanks pliedes, that was a great in-depth review, and exactly what we needed. Great job.

I believe that G.W. Bush did a good job of clearly and bluntly stating his points and the reasons for them. While I've never found Bush to be an incredibly powerful speaker, there were some definite strong points to the speech. The aforementioned "To the people of Iraq: the enemy is not surrounding you, it is running your country." was quite effective.

Overall, a good speech. I wouldn't mark it down as a historical candidate, but Bush did exactly what he wanted to, and his staff should be pleased.