February 01, 2006

2/1: 99 Responses, And Unmitigated Praise Ain't 1

While they complained about the length of the SOTU and the pointlessness of the clapping, bloggers nonetheless considered the speech a high-interest event. Although the Blogometer was not around yet to cover Pres. Bush's annual address in '05, but from what we recall, this year there was more coverage than ever -- probably a function of the expanded blogosphere more than any great interest in this SOTU over previous ones. We're definitely sure that more conservatives watched than liberals, and even Bush's supporters were not happy with certain aspects. There's a lot to cover, so let's get to it:

SOTU OVERVIEW: Move Over Alito, Hello SOTU

• We'll get into issue-by-issue critiques of the speech below, but it's worth mentioning here that conservatives were anything but enthusiastic about the speech -- Right Wing News gave Bush an overall C- grade: "There were a few high points, but he didn't deliver up enough specifics or enough popular programs," and is stuck in the "whole Big Government Conservative/Compassionate Conservative mindset that's so frustrating for Reagan conservatives." At The Corner (start here and scroll down) NRO's contributors live-blogged the SOTU as well as VA Gov. Tim Kaine's (D) response. They had little good to say about Kaine's address, and even a few criticisms during Bush's. Instapundit posted advance thoughts, links to others, speech excerpts, and then the full text of the SOTU address once it became available. From his review, once it was over: "Better than I expected, though that's a function of my low expectations. ... The Presidential Commission on entitlement reform was also very lame, though realistically it's probably all he can do."
• Centrist Joe Gandelman offers a middle-of-the-road take on the speech's reception: "Few pundits are hailing President Bush's State of the Union speech last night as a major watershed in his Presidency. It's not being called a failure but it's not being called an inspiring home run, either."
• Among the many live-blogging the speech -- Conservative Captain's Quarters,who noted that the speech "seemed to emphasize a particular theme, of moving forward to engage the world rather than waiting for the world to engage us"; liberal Kevin Drum, writing: "Now a reference to Clinton. That makes the score 4-1 in favor of references to former Democratic presidents. Aren't there any former Republican presidents he wants to give a shout out to?"; Arianna Huffington, rolling her eyes at "17 mentions of 'freedom' from the guy obsessed with assaulting it here at home"; Wonkette, with the special guest return of Ana Marie Cox.
• How much SOTU live-blogging do you need? There was far more of it than anyone could possibly read -- right-leaning Swamp Pundette; Plunderbund; Radioactive Liberty; Stop the ACLU; Don Singleton; Suitably Flip; Gay Patriot; peak oil-focused The Oil Drum; Blogs for Bush; The Matt-Cave; Modern Fabulosity; Macsmind; Drumwaster.
• Of course, not all bloggers watched it -- Josh Marshall did not, and wonders if this behavior is normal for a political junkie: "I have a confession: I'm not sure when the last time was when I watched the State of the Union address. I think I may have watched it in 2003. But I'm not even certain of that. Perhaps a glance through the archives would show that I watched a bit of it last year, I don't know. The truth is, I find it unwatchable. ... Are there others out there like me? I know that a great portion of the country never watches the thing and can't be bothered with politics in any case. But are there others out there who are genuine political junkies -- downright incurables -- and yet can't bear to watch this thing?"
• With Justice Samuel Alito's confirmation coming only hours before the speech, some bloggers made a point of watching the SCOTUS, focusing in particular on when various justices felt comfortable applauding: Liberal A la Gauche paid attention to when the SCOTUS justices clapped for certain things: "Alito looks a bit bewildered. The Supreme Court Justices just rose and Roberts applauded Bush' comment about fighting to protect our freedom. Breyer clapped a little. Alito just stood there at first, but then looked around and seemed to notice it was okay to clap and began to do so"; Charmaine Yoest was watching the SCOTUS as well: "Justice Thomas and Justice Breyer standing and clapping at his mention of Alito's confirmation! Wow! That is unprecedented." Righty David Boyd quotes Washington Post's Milbank noting, "When Bush declared that 'liberty is the right and hope of all humanity,' Alito was the only member of the judicial quartet to provide his concurring applause," and adds: "You're damn right it is. I don't know what's wrong with us if you can't applaud that. Kudos to Alito for thinking for himself eight hours into his appointment." Law prof Ann Althouse, on who was present and who was not: "We see a close up of Alito, and he seems to be pulling in his smile, as if maybe it's in bad taste to over-beam right now. No Sandra Day O'Connor, unless she's stashed away somewhere else. No Scalia. No Souter. No Stevens. No Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
• The justice-clapping wasn't the only clap-observing going on; despite the monotony of the GOP and Dem clapping/not-clapping routine, there was one surprise -- Social conservative Watchman's Words: "The one time that the Democrats wholeheartedly applauded was when the President decried the failure of the last year to act on Social Security. They celebrated not dealing with the largest long-term financial problem facing our nation." At MSNBC's Hardblogger -- where a half-dozen MSNBC personalities and guests offered their running commentary -- David Shuster also noted the surprise ovation: "The president's speech tonight was 51 minutes long... and was interrupted by applause 64 times. 63 were likely anticipated by the President's speechwriters, one was not."
• As they have done multiple times in recent months, the House GOP held a "blog row" event on the Hill. Justin Hart of Right Side Redux was there. So was NAM VP Pat Cleary for the Manufacturers Blog, posting members' responses to various Bush proposals. The Hill made a photo of House GOP conf. chair Deborah Pryce their website "photo of the day" for 2/1.
• Dems were active in blogging about the SOTU in other ways -- House Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi posted to HuffPo, calling Bush's speech "more of the same," and throwing links to a recent Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) post at Daily Kos, as well as several reps' live-blogging at DCCC's The Stakeholder. Pelosi's header: "It Was a Nice Break from Reality TV." In that DCCC live-blogging, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) wrote: "I was very disappointed with the President's speech tonight. The President had an opportunity to level with the American people, to honestly address the missteps made, and to pledge to move our country in the right direction. ... And, not surprisingly, there was nothing but bluster in his defense of NSA domestic surveillance and no apologies for misleading this country into war." CAP's Think Progress held a post-SOTU live webcast featuring several prominent left-of-center bloggers.
• One type of blog post is almost always underrepresented in the Blogometer, and that's the round-up post. Last p.m., that kind of post was far more popular than it usually is. Top-tier bloggers such as Michelle Malkin put one together, as do those lower on the totem pole, such as A Lady's Ruminations on the right and The Higher Pie on the left. And National Journal's own Beltway Blogroll posted a "nonpartisan SOTU primer" in the late afternoon.

We wouldn't call the speech a bomb, but in this section we will mostly focus on things that bloggers were unhappy about. Right-of-center bloggers did have a lot of positive things to say about the speech, but no one was entirely satisfied. On the left, few were satisfied by much at all:

• As expected, "addicted to oil" got a good deal of attention. But he didn't get much goodwill for focusing on an environmental issue -- Liberal UCLA prof Jonathan Zasloff wasn't impressed by the line, and wonders why others are: "How many times do people have to fall for this before they wise up? You don't even have to read the news stories very carefully. The President will apparently say that the US is addicted to foreign oil. And then you know the same old "policy" response: drill everywhere, destroy environmental regulations, do something cosmetic like talk about hydrogen a little, and that's it. Same old, same old." Steve Soto adds, "keep in mind that Bush's solutions ask for no sacrifice from anyone, don't address reducing consumption ... and certainly won't call for an end to all oil company tax breaks and subsidies." Even conservative Cliff May opined, "nuclear is great but it will only cut our dependence on oil when we have plug-in hybrids cars that can run primarily on electricity.
• Conservative La Shawn Barber felt not enough was said about immigration: "I'm bitterly disappointed with him for vague and empty platitudes about illegal immigration. He didn't address the social costs of the illegal scourge, nor did he mention anything about the incident that happened at the border this week, nor offer anything concrete to his pro-enforcement base." PoliPundit agreed: "Sure, there may be a small post-SOTU poll bounce; there will always be one. But it could have been so much bigger! Imagine how different today could have been if the president had chosen to bludgeon Democrats with a winning issue, like, say illegal immigration. Sigh."
• Not surprisingly, Bush's defense of the NSA wiretapping was not received well by his critics on this issue -- Andrew Sullivan live-blogged the speech over multiple posts, commenting early on the NSA section: "Classic Bush: ignore the actual criticism; set up a straw man; and then whack it with a big baseball bat. And you know what? It worked extremely well. 'We will not sit back and wait to be hit again.' Great line. Best defense. Avoids the basic issue." Liberal PSoTD also focused on the issue: "This country needs the news media to quit focusing on what Bush says, or even what Congress says, about the end around NSA, and get them to focus on the legal issue. Period. Bush can hang as many scare tactic names on the program as he wants, but the courts will determine whether he and his administration broke the law. Let's get to it." Echidne of the Snakes scoffed at Bush's claim that if the program had been in place earlier, it might have helped prevent 9/11: "This was funny, because of course we all remember that government document entitled, roughly: 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack America.' If a government document didn't make George do anything, why would illegal wiretapping?"
• On foreign policy, there were skeptics on both sides -- Liberal atty Glenn Greenwald: "There is something quite disturbing about the way in which Bush has taken to telling us in almost every speech he gives now the type of criticism of him we should and should not be making." He is highly skeptical of Bush's claim that the "end of tyranny" is a legit foreign policy goal, and he interprets Bush's line about "we will never surrender to evil" to mean: "We must have civil and respectful debate, and that's why I want to point out that anyone who disagrees with my terrorism and foreign policies is in favor of surrendering to our enemies." Another part of Bush's speech gave a shout-out to those living in places such as Burma, North Korea and Iran, saying the "demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom as well" Conservative defense analyst James Joyner provided a reality check: "Translating this into actual policy, however, will be virtually impossible." More Joyner: "He did make several references to 'radical Islam,' although continuing to pretend that it was some tiny minority of the Religion of Peace."
• Fiscal conservatives were optimistic about his brief nod to an issue dear to GOP-leaning blogs watching the House leadership race -- In one line, Bush said: "I am pleased that Members of Congress are working on earmark reform -- because the Federal budget has too many special interest projects." The Truth Laid Bear's N.Z. Bear responded: "From the Porkbusters team, I say: welcome aboard, Mr. President! ... Having the Presidential bully pulpit keeping Congressional feet to the fire on the need for earmark reform is a Very Good Thing --- and one that I sincerely hope is not a This Night Only performance." Power Line's John Hinderaker, who wonders if anybody but GOPers are watching, liked the mention as well: "'Earmark reform' -- he's for it! And, shrewdly I think, he links it to the line-item veto." But PoliPundit did not agree with that: "'Earmark reform?' 'Line item veto?' Joe Lunchpail is changing channels. Sigh."
• A few on the left were weirded out by Bush's mention of "human-animal hybrids," but in general Bush's critics on bioethics couldn't take it too seriously -- Obsidian Wings' liberal Hilzoy: "What, exactly, does Bush mean by 'human-animal hybrids'? Any being that has human and animal parts? So much for Jesse Helms, who had a pig valve transplanted into him." War Liberal asked, "did he really call for a ban on 'human-animal hybrids'? Is this a real concern? Are we at war with the Lobster People again?" Dave Nalle at Blogcritics: "Okay, has someone been giving him particularly bad Science Fiction novels?" Wonkette posts a Technorati-generated graph showing that the phrase "human-animal hybrids" went from nowhere to ubiquitous after the speech. Lefty Max Sawicky was incredulous as well, and in lieu of commentary posted a photo of a dog and a man both trying to catch a frisbee in their mouths.

DEM RESPONSE: Eyebrow-Beaten

Liberal policy blogger Ezra Klein must feel somewhat vindicated about having criticized Gov. Tim Kaine's (D-VA) telegenic qualities must feel somewhat vindicated about having criticized Kaine's telegenic qualities (see 1/30 Blogometer). Expectations were fairly low for his response, given the criticism of Kaine that had gone before as well as the role's natural disadvantage coming after the SOTU, but bloggers didn't seem to cut him much slack because of it.

The "eyebrow" was a hit -- or at the very least, it was memorable. Searching Technorati for "kaine" and "eyebrow" at mid-a.m., we found dozens and dozens of posts since last night. There are 145 results, as VA bloggers such as Commonwealth Conservative have been well aware of his interesting eyebrow properties. Expose The Left, formerly The Political Teen, posted video featuring Tim Kaine's curiously raised eyebrow.

Lambert at liberal Corrente wasn't pleased with Kaine's address, particularly where he said: "Are the President's policies the best way to win the war on terror?" Asked Lambert: "Why the rhetorical question? Why dignify Bush with the title of 'President,' which he has thrown away by violating his oath to protect the Constitution? Why accept the formula for endless war embodied in the 'war on terror'?" But it wasn't a total loss: "Still, kudos to the Dems for putting Kaine forward after only 18 days in office; that was a risk, and the Dems need to take risks in learning how to win again."

Libertarian ex-DNC spokesperson Terry Michael: "It took just 15 seconds for Gov. Tim Kaine to begin pouring Religion Lite -- one of the new favorite brews of the consultant wing of the Democratic Party ... How about us social cultural lefties, who make up a big chunk of the Democratic Party base. Are we going to be turned on, and turned out on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, by another cheesy attempt to inject religion into politics?"

Blogging at Hugh Hewitt's site, conservative Mary Katherine Ham approvingly noted Kaine's openness about being religious, and imagined how the left would react: "I think he mentioned his faith a couple times in the speech, and even suggested that we "pray for healing." Crazy fundie. The fever-swampers are gonna be ticked off. Fundraising numbers will plummet! Kos will call for heads! Quick, get Howard Dean out there!"

Vodkapundit live-blogged it: "OK, I have a 2008 Election Drinking Game. Every time between now and then, take a shot every time a Democrat says 'there's a better way.' Your liver will give out long before the election. Maybe even before Kaine is done talking."

SHEEHAN: The Short-Timer

Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan's arrest and removal from the House chamber prior to the speech was undoubtedly the biggest subplot to last night's speech. Brad Friedman of The Brad Blog was one of the 1st out of the gate with the news, not to mention the flashing-siren GIF swiped from Drudge Report. He kept adding updates throughout the p.m. as developments were available -- in effect, live-blogging the Sheehan arrest.

Early on, AP reported: "A Capitol police official reportedly said Sheehan had unfurled a banner, which is a violation of House rules." This proved wrong, but not before many bloggers became aware of it. Eventually reports were corrected to reflect the fact that it was Sheehan's shirt that was at issue. When that fact became known, there was outrage from mostly left-of-center bloggers, but some others as well. But for once since last summer, conservatives were not the clear majority blogging about Sheehan. Attytood's Will Bunch concedes that Sheehan has "said some wacky things in recent months that a majority of her otherwise allies on the left don't agree with. But nobody -- NOBODY, regardless of their politics or past statements -- should be arrested at a political event for wearing a T-shirt. When you have that type of policing, you're becoming a police state." Tennessee Guerilla Women: "Cindy Sheehan was being fingerprinted and booked for the crime of 'unlawful conduct.' Seriously, that was the charge. Can a crime get any broader or more ambiguous than that? Cindy Sheehan's actual crime was the wearing of the shirt," which TGW quotes: "'2,245 Dead -- How Many More??' You will note that this is a simple factual statement." With pictures, liberal Blogenlust identifies "acceptable" and "unacceptable" forms of SOTU protesting -- purple fingers, acceptable; Sheehan's T-shirt, unacceptable. Iconoclastic conservative John Cole, who is "second to no one" in his "disgust for" Sheehan, is upset that she was removed over her T-shirt: "It was one thing when I thought she was arrested for unfurling a banner in the Capitol or some sort of civil disobedience. But arrested for wearing a t-shirt? WTF?"

Despite Bunch's admission above, pointed criticism of Sheehan and her defenders' response did come all from the right -- Sheehan came at the invitation of Rep. Lynne Woolsey (D-CA), and Michelle Malkin pointed out that Woolsey is a supporter of antiwar org. Code Pink, adding: "Recall that Code Pink obtained 16 tickets -- reportedly from unidentified members of Congress from New York and California -- to last year's inaugural address, which they interrupted repeatedly with their screams and banner-unfurling antics." Steven Taylor of PoliBlog thinks Sheehan didn't act in her own PR interests: "I suppose there is some political capital to be generated from being arrested, especially in the House chamber right before the SOTU. Still, wouldn't it have been a far better bang for the buck, so to speak, to stay in the room, get on TV (global TV, mind you) and then be interviewed by the networks after the speech?" Drudge Report points out: "In the early days of the Senate's impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in January 1999, a Pennsylvania man named Dave Delp was removed by the Capitol police from the Senate gallery for wearing a t-shirt that said, 'Clinton doesn't inhale, he sucks.'"

BLOGGER SURVEY: High Brow Critiques

New Media Strategies conducted a survey of SOTU reaction among bloggers. Click here to see the report as a Word document. Among the findings:

• Most conservatives "love" the line: "Second guessing is not a strategy."
• Some conservatives "cringe" at the line: "We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy -- even though this economy could not function without them."
• Many liberal bloggers feel Bush's speech was just "More of the same."
• Specific liberal criticism "centers on a lack of a plan for Iraq and," as one put it, "bizarre and ridiculous" talk about cloning, embryos, and human-animal hybrids.
• Both sides make Cindy Sheehan "a top issue to rally around."
• And the "one unifying aspect of the evening" was the "focus" on VA Gov. Tim Kaine's (D) "left eyebrow." One blogger said it has a "mind of its own" (release, 2/1).

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Anyone Can Complain About The Officiating

Via a nonpartisan report on the cable newsers' broadcasting plans by TV Newser, then via an alert by lefty watchdog Media Matters, liberal powerhouse Daily Kos focused negative attention on CNN's plan to feature GOPers William Bennett, Victoria Clarke and J.C. Watts in their post-SOTU coverage. More, noting that CNN chair Walter Isaacson had met with GOPers re: improving relations: "Always working the refs, even as their domination of cable news becomes complete." NRO's Stephen Spruiell thought the outrage a bit ridiculous: "Right now I'm watching Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, David Gergen, Paul Begala, Jeff Greenfield and J.C. Watts. How is that a stacked deck?" TV Newser did mention all of those present; although conservatives might contend that CNN's nonpartisan pundits tilt left, Begala was the only known Dem listed as part of the team.

Conservative UNC-Chapel Hill prof Cori Dauber found Washington Post TV columnist Tom Shales' review amusing: "Some of the oddest responses to presidential speeches always come from Tom Shales, maybe because he has no background in presidential rhetoric, and so reads the whole thing exclusively through the lens of how it played as a TV-event." This time it's for his lead, which goes: "Whether George W. Bush is, at best, the worst president since Herbert Hoover -- as a seemingly sizable number of Americans appear to believe -- he acquitted himself fairly well and came off as basically competent when he delivered his fifth State of the Union speech last night." Dauber comments: "Don't you usually use the word 'whether' in order to construct sentences around a contrast? You know, like ... 'whether George Bush is the worst president blah blah blah -- or not?'"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Representin' Without Representation?

At local Gothamist franchise blog DCist, Martin Austermuhle questioned DC Mayor Anthony Williams' decision to attend the SOTU address year after year. "[G]iven that the District gives so much of itself to the federal government, it's only courtesy that the city's mayor be given a chance to sit in on one of Washington's most important nights. No one questions the invitation, but should they question the attendance?" Williams cites a close relationship with Bush and "would never not take the First Lady up on the invite, but should his successor?" Candidates vying to replace Williams "seemed somewhat taken aback by the question" when asked at a recent forum. But DCist continues: "If Congress does not act decisively on District voting rights this year, should next year's State of the Union address feature one less guest?"

LEST WE FORGET: Are We Having Fun Yet?

Expectations of SOTU dullness were high enough that there was no shortage of bloggers conducting their live-blogging in an unusual manner:

• Lefty Tbogg live-blogged his "not watching the state of the union": "6:15 PST - Waiting for a job applicant to show up so I can make her an offer. She calls: stuck in traffic. I offer to wait. 6:20 - Read ESPN.com. No interesting baseball news."
• Two Babes and a Brain did a highly irreverent, stream-of-conscious live-blog: "Look... Kerry is doing a cross word puzzel ... puzzle."
• Semi-retired OH blogger Tim Russo posted a SOTU-review-as-lost-"Seinfeld"-script to Brewed Fresh Daily.
• Liberal Parrotline live-blogged it as a "wingnut" -- that's the lefty term for conservatives, and roughly equivalent to "moonbat," the righty term for the left might. A sample: "6:37: YAAAAAAY!!!!! PATRIOT ACT!!!!!!!! WOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!! 6:38: Oh. My. God. DEMS ARE TOTALLY ANTI-PATRIOTIC!!!!!"
• Conservative Jeff Goldstein live-blogged the proceedings as an "experiment in minimalism": "Laura in pink, like a birthday cake. Pelosi in Cardinal red power suit. Like Jezebel. Or the devil. Or a really old red thing." He continues: "Games begin: Hastert, portly; Cheney, virile; Bush, in pale blue tie and dark suit, notes the passing of Coretta Scott King." And: "Bush: State of the Union Strong."

Posted by at February 1, 2006 12:55 PM