The annual attempt on the part of the sitting President of the United States to take a bow for the things he allegedly accomplished, smooth the ruffled feathers of the people sitting on their hands on the side of the aisle opposite the majority party, and say things that can appeal to the Emperor of China as well as the homeless guy living under the viaduct downtown; this exercise in pomp and circumstance might just be the most entertaining 70 minutes one can find on television. Last night's episode was among the best three-ring circuses I have ever seen.In the center ring, the man of the hour did his thing, speaking with his usual eloquence but in a far more casual and less-mechanical cadence than normal. But the viewer might have experienced a certain level of motion-sickness as Pogo, aka Nancy Pelosi, demonstrated the spring-loaded aspect of her derriere in a dizzying series of seat-ejections during the President's attempted remarks. Sometimes, she appeared to be levitating a few seconds before the President even made his point! At her right sat the Chesire Cat, aka Joe Biden, whose toothy smile remained fixed as his head seemed to nod ceaselessly, reminiscent of Hillary Clinton in her First Lady days.
In the left-hand ring giddy members of Congress of the Democrat persuasion, who do not come equipped with spring-loaded bums, sat with eyes riveted on Pogo in order to know when they were supposed to erupt in loud cheers and applause and to likewise get the cue to return their butts to their respective chairs. Ever mindful of the cameras, each worked hard to keep a look of rapt concentration on his or her face.
In the right-hand ring, there was little need to look for cues from anywhere. All were apparently under orders to entirely avoid showing their hands during the speech, even when the President said something that was obviously designed to appeal to Republican ideology. And clearly, after last year's outburst from the gentleman from South Carolina, they weren't taking any chances that anyone would repeat the faux pas by substituting a single digit salute. Sure, there were one or two instances when all the cast were allowed to show support of some all-American remark from the podium, but they were rare and contrived.
Meanwhile, there were two groups of honored guests in the audience who provided, um -- well, who demonstrated the advantages of wearing uniforms in public. The Supremes, in their matching black robes, also practiced their bored, above-it-all stares; that is until POTUS had the audacity to call them out on their recent decision to allow corporations to throw their money around in just about any way they see fit. At that, Justice Alioto broke ranks and actually reacted!
The Joint Stiffs, elegant and soldierly in the uniforms of the branches of service each represents, sat at attention in the manner I observed when I attended my nephew's graduation from USMC boot camp years ago. Blinking is not allowed, coughing is not allowed, hell, moving is not allowed. So when POTUS mentioned his renewed resolve to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 2010, the cameras trained on their faces might as well have been pointing to one of the galleries in Madame Toussaint's Wax Museum.
Today we get to watch, listen to or read the reviews. Here's a gutsy prediction from me: Dems will grade the speech an A or A+, GOP supporters will grade it a C-, at best, and Independents will go on scratching their heads, trying to figure out what it all meant. OMG, I just cannot wait until next year's speech!
Entertaining.
ReplyDelete