'The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force'
The Supreme justices sit there on camera like stunned corpses as a bipartisan standing ovation explodes in the Chamber. He's addressed ear mark spending, lobbying limits and transparency, changing political discourse, the super-majority dictated by the Republican minority leadership (60% majority needed to do anything), and further tax cuts for education and child credits. He states that voting no on everything is hindering progress (what an astonishingly brilliant observation!).
He then goes into Al Queda (trademarked courtesy CIA) and that as a candidate he promised he would end the war and that this is what he is doing - he will "have all the combat troops out of Iraq by August".
"All of our troops are coming home." (flash to a general's face who looks bewildered and Joe Lieberman mouthing something that looked a lot like 'yeah right'.) No mention of Afghanistan or the many other countries where we are killing because it is what we (or our drones) do.
Then - to supporting the troops when they come home, Michelle and Joe Biden are heading a new committee to support military families! (Rousing applause - yes - yes to the military families, the Chamber responds! Camera zooms in on those in uniform.)
Sheesh - something really bad must be about to happen with all these promises that cannot be fulfilled...
There's just no way all of this is going through - he is righting all the most obvious (to the sleeping populace) wrongs in one speech - down to reducing our nuclear stockpiles and "the farthest reaching arms control treaty in two decades"... ( what? )
"Securing all vulnerable nuclear material around the world in 4 yrs so they never fall into the hands of terrorists." Which brings us to isolating North Korea and Iran - A HAAAA - "they too will face consequences", he says!
I now know why I've avoided these speeches in the past. "America must always stand on the side of human dignity and freedom." ... (The nation glances nervously in the direction of the 'naked' airport scanners.)
"If you abide by the law, you should be protected by i.t" ... (who defines the law?)
He has "finally reversed legislation that prevents gays and lesbians from serving their country in the armed forces" ... (great, that's really important while the globe is on fire! To get more cannon fodder - gay cannon fodder is even better!)
Now he's attacking pundits "turning serious issues into sound-bites" and how citizens are losing hope - "no wonder there is so much cynicism and disappointment" - "there are few Americans who believe we can change or that I can deliver it. I never said it would be easy or that I could do it alone." (The nation thinks, 'didn't you?' - could have sworn you said that somewhere between 'yes we can' and 'hope'... somewhere between my KFC dinner and McDonald's breakfast, I could have sworn you said you were the answer...)
"When you try to do big things it stirs controversy - we can respond to that by playing it safe and avoid hard truths and pointing fingers and keep our poll numbers high and get through the next election, instead of doing what is best for the next generation. I know if the people who were in this position had made that decision 100 years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight - we must do what is hard, even if success is uncertain..." (paraphrased due to excessive rhetorical leading that caused my mind to spasm momentarily - or more than momentarily).
Then a rousing crescendo of hyperbolic emotional rhetoric of what it means to be an American - "USA, USA, USA" (he actually said that) - "it lives IN you" (get it out!!) -
"a new decade!" "We don't quit! I don't quit! Strengthen our union!"
You get the point - he is a spell binder. As the pressure behind my brow increases to the point of pounding, I turn off the mind control device that is television, understanding why the sheeple are now more comfy, more sleepy and more secure in their dream - no matter what crashes in on them in the next few years.
Even the Republicans were applauding, so it must be the truth, right? 'Any more KFC left in that bucket, honey?'
The SOTU address was pure mind control and rhetorical hypnotism. If - and this is as hypothetical an 'if' as I can muster - there were any chance of all of these changes he is describing actually being implemented, he'd be put out of commission so fast our heads would spin.
It's theatre, nothing more - and if you're satisfied with actors that perform their parts flawlessly, despite the empty words of the script, then I suppose you could say it was a good speech.
(No actual msg laden poisonous food was ingested during this experience - however I do now feel that I need a shower.)
For braving that mass-hypnosis session. The State of the Union is DIRE. The vultures can now relish canabalizing it with renewed vigour.