The State Is...Apparently Strong

Fortified on my usual EM order of Beef Pad Thai (seriously I’m like a crack fiend for that stuff), I’ve hunkered down to witness the annual dog and pony show known as The State Of The Union.

The Fashion:
The ladies last year were all pimped out in purple. Nice to see a bit more diversity this year. A few of the men mixed it up with interesting ties, but not much you can do with your basic navy suit. Hillary was working her softer side with a pink cashmere cable sweater shell and matching oversized pink pearls under a smoke grey pantsuit (‘natch). Nice earrings. Whereas Nancy, my dear, WHY? Mint green, layered mint green shells, you look like you're off to an Easter Egg Hunt on the Front Lawn, not to be forever immortalized as the first female Speaker. You knew you’d be in front of a red, white and blue striped flag sitting on a brown chair – why that particular color choice?. I'll never understand DC 'fashion' although I did find myself digging Laura’s asymmetrically buttoned red jacket, and dare I say it? Condi looks good – best of the night: simple, sleek black skirt suit accessorized by the requisite white pearls.

And so it begins…

A historic stand and clap for Madame Speaker makes me smile. (I still hate your suit. Good God woman, it's tweed?) Kudos to W for making the acknowledgement of this symbolic moment a priority.

Sit, stand, clap. Clap, stand, sit. Clap, nope - let’s not stand on this one. Clap, stand, sit.

Every body clap.

Republicans only clap. Cut to Hillary and Obama look disgusted (great job placing them together in the camera shot). Ted Kennedy looks like he’s asleep and Cheney’s sucking on a lozenge he ‘discreetly’ pulled out of his back pocket for dear life. Oddly, Nancy Pelosi, who has not discreetly or brazenly pulled one out of her pocket, also looks for much of the speech that she is sucking on mentholated Halls.

Nothing much new is introduced in the remaining 40 mins. Although the subway hero’s applause session was amusing.

I know W’s practically a lame duck at this point, but I expected more than hearing the same empty promises on health care and the environment, the evil terrorists, Cuba and the like. The troop surge support setup was also pretty weak.

With regard to the war, my pushing-30 self wasn’t around during the early stages of Vietnam, but I wonder, is this the same rhetoric as State Of The Unions during that time?

According to our fearless leader, the state of our union is strong. Methinks it’ll be stronger in oh, about two years…