Check out what the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has been doing lately. Chances are, you’re probably not going to like it.

Full text of SOTU 2007. Of course, I’m not going to cover the whole thing.

* * * * *

Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests and fellow citizens:

Yeah! “Madam Speaker!” But on a weird note, that kinda makes Nancy Pelosi out to be a dominatrix. ;)

This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour — when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavours under way, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies — and the wisdom to face them together.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Some in this Chamber are new to the House and Senate — and I congratulate the Democratic majority. Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not.

Your responsibilities may not have changed; but Congress’s certainly have.

Each of us is guided by our own convictions — and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this nation’s prosperity …

Drop the debt!

to spend the people’s money wisely …

Said by a “lower-taxes-and-spend-away” conservative.

to solve problems, not leave them to future generations …

Unless it’s the Iraq war.

to guard America against all evil,

Including corruption, greed, et al, I hope.

and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us.

And they’re defending us from what again?

We are not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty in the air.

I smell a little de-ja-vu. Case in point? Opening remarks from SOTU 2006: “In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another — and I will do my part.”

A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy — and that is what we have. We are now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth — in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs … so far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move — and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government but with more enterprise.

Hey, big spender! Stop spending! Drop the debt! Drop the deficit!

Next week, I will deliver a full report on the state of our economy. Tonight, I want to discuss three economic reforms that deserve to be priorities for this Congress.

First, we must balance the federal budget. We can do so without raising taxes.

Oh, really? How?

What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We set a goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009 — and met that goal three years ahead of schedule. Now let us take the next step. In the coming weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years. I ask you to make the same commitment. Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government, and balance the federal budget.

Of course, he can’t own up to the federal deficit on his own and get its reduction on while he’s still there! It has to be eradicated under someone else’s administration.

Next, there is the matter of earmarks. These special interest items are often slipped into bills at the last hour — when not even C-SPAN is watching. In 2005 alone, the number of earmarks grew to over 13,000 and totalled nearly $18-billion.

Gee, I wonder how that happened? Oh yeah, a lot of that was the doing of the members of your own party!

Finally, to keep this economy strong we must take on the challenge of entitlements. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience — and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound. Yet we are failing in that duty — and this failure will one day leave our children with three bad options: huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits.

Or, like about 45 million USicans are experiencing already, they will have no health insurance whatsoever. So if they break their leg, shove something in their eye, fracture their elbow, or whatever, if they can’t pay, they’re–pretty much–SOL.

Everyone in this Chamber knows this to be true — yet somehow we have not found it in ourselves to act.

Or no one has the balls to introduce the concept of a single-payer health care system–something which, despite the various horror stories that may abound, does work.

So let us work together and do it now. With enough good sense and good will, you and I can fix Medicare and Medicaid — and save Social Security.

Social Security is fine. As for Medicare and Medicaid… see above.

Spreading opportunity and hope in America also requires public schools that give children the knowledge and character they need in life. Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No Child Left Behind Act — preserving local control, raising standards in public schools, and holding those schools accountable for results.

…and screwing other schools over in the process. NCLB was a joke, and still is.

And because we acted, students are performing better in reading and math, and minority students are closing the achievement gap.

And schools are getting screwed over.

Now the task is to build on this success, without watering down standards … without taking control from local communities … and without backsliding and calling it reform. We can lift student achievement even higher by giving local leaders flexibility to turn around failing schools … and by giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better.

Like private schools or home schools. Or sending them into the workforce early.

We must increase funds for students who struggle — and make sure these children get the special help they need.

…and find out why they struggle.

And we can make sure our children are prepared for the jobs of the future, and our country is more competitive, by strengthening math and science skills. The No Child Left Behind Act has worked for America’s children — and I ask Congress to reauthorize this good law.

NO.

A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available health care. When it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs. But many Americans cannot afford a health insurance policy.

45 million USicans without health insurance…mostly because people’s employers don’t offer it.

Tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills.

What about those who are employed who don’t get insurance from their employers? Are they still going to be effed up the gluteus maximus?

At the same time, this reform will level the playing field for those who do not get health insurance through their job. For Americans who now purchase health insurance on their own, my proposal would mean a substantial tax savings — $4,500 for a family of four making $60,000 a year. And for the millions of other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making health care affordable for more Americans.

Is it? How about, oh I don’t know, single-payer health care?

Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America — with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country. To secure our border, we are doubling the size of the Border Patrol — and funding new infrastructure and technology.

How about finding some way to help immigrants who do want to come here legally make the process easier? And what of any illegals who are detained who have kids who were born here?

Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border — and that requires a temporary worker program. We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis. As a result, they won’t have to try to sneak in — and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers, and criminals, and terrorists. We will enforce our immigration laws at the worksite, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers — so there is no excuse left for violating the law. We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals.

Nothing wrong with that…I don’t think.

Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America’s economy running and America’s environment clean. For too long our Nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists — who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments … raise the price of oil … and do great harm to our economy.

Getting the hell out of Iraq wouldn’t be a bad idea in that regard. I’ve heard, supposedly, that the current cost of the war in Iraq would’ve been enough money for the US to adheer to the standards put forth in the Kyoto protocol…to which, of course, the government gave the one-fingered salute.

It is in our vital interest to diversify America’s energy supply — and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power — by even greater use of clean coal technology … solar and wind energy … and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol — using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

How about legalizing pot again? It’s been seventy years since it was criminalized. It seems to me it would be a big help (along with everything else).

We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 per cent in the next ten years — thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

Or you could just sign on to Kyoto.

A future of hope and opportunity requires a fair, impartial system of justice. The lives of citizens across our Nation are affected by the outcome of cases pending in our federal courts. And we have a shared obligation to ensure that the federal courts have enough judges to hear those cases and deliver timely rulings. As President, I have a duty to nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench. And the United States Senate has a duty as well — to give those nominees a fair hearing, and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.

But what about this whole “giving undesireable judges a permanent vacation” thing that’s been going on in secret? If they’re fit to serve–and by “fit to serve”, I mean impartial and fair, regardless of their own political leanings–and aren’t looking to retire anytime soon, leave them alone.

For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that terrorists can cause. We have had time to take stock of our situation. We have added many critical protections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the terrorists intend for us — unless we stop them.

But yet Osama Bin Laden has been on the loose for that same length of time and…where is he again? Oh, yeah; we don’t know, because you all were so busy looking for Sadaam Hussein and pummeling Iraq–a (now-deceased) dictator and a country that had nothing to do with what happened here back then! How about let’s get back to looking for OBL. I hear he’s playing Mickey Mouse at Disney World this year. ;)

With the distance of time, we find ourselves debating the causes of conflict and the course we have followed. Such debates are essential when a great democracy faces great questions. Yet one question has surely been settled — that to win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy.

And the enemy is not Iraq. Fifteen of the hi-jackers were from the neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Quit that cushy friendship you’ve got going with the royals down there and start lookin’! *nods*

From the start, America and our allies have protected our people by staying on the offence.

…and breaking international law.

The enemy knows that the days of comfortable sanctuary, easy movement, steady financing, and free flowing communications are long over. For the terrorists, life since Nine-Eleven has never been the same.

Yeah, they’re more pissed off and new terrorists are being born every day because you won’t leave their families alone. How many more innocents have to be killed?

Our success in this war is often measured by the things that did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the attacks that we and our allies have prevented — but here is some of what we do know: We stopped an al-Qaeda plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast. We broke up a Southeast Asian terrorist cell grooming operatives for attacks inside the United States. We uncovered an al-Qaeda cell developing anthrax to be used in attacks against America. And just last August, British authorities uncovered a plot to blow up passenger planes bound for America over the Atlantic Ocean. For each life saved, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave public servants who devote their lives to finding the terrorists and stopping them.

And here’s one of the things that didn’t happen, and has yet to happen since this so-called “war on terror(ism)” started: Osama Bin Laden has not been captured.

Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy.

Every innocent civilian who dies at the hands of the US marks the birth of new terrorists.

The evil that inspired and rejoiced in 9/11 is still at work in the world. And so long as that is the case, America is still a nation at war.

And OBL is still a boogieman looking for a house to haunt.

In the minds of the terrorists, this war began well before September 11th, and will not end until their radical vision is fulfilled. And these past five years have given us a much clearer view of the nature of this enemy. Al-Qaeda and its followers are Sunni extremists, possessed by hatred and commanded by a harsh and narrow ideology. Take almost any principle of civilization, and their goal is the opposite. They preach with threats … instruct with bullets and bombs … and promise paradise for the murder of the innocent.

Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions. They want to overthrow moderate governments, and establish safe havens from which to plan and carry out new attacks on our country. By killing and terrorizing Americans, they want to force our country to retreat from the world and abandon the cause of liberty.

So what are we doing by killing and torturing innocent Iraqis? THE SAME FREAKIN’ THING! Oh, and did I mention we’re probably creating new terrorists?

Listen to this warning from the late terrorist Zarqawi: “We will sacrifice our blood and bodies to put an end to your dreams, and what is coming is even worse.” And Osama bin Laden declared: “Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us.”

And you’re telling them the SAME THING, especially in regards to the former.

These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one camp in the Islamist radical movement. In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shia extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah — a group second only to al-Qaeda in the American lives it has taken.

The Shia and Sunni extremists are different faces of the same totalitarian threat. But whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter the innocent, they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill Americans … kill democracy in the Middle East … and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale.

In the sixth year since our nation was attacked, I wish I could report to you that the dangers have ended. They have not. And so it remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people.

Bob Cesca points this out…

Finding the terrorists and clearing them out. Right. What’s the old maxim? Picking gnat shit out of pepper? This language represents the same kind of simplified language the president has employed since the beginning of all of this — the same language that shoved us into this without a plan to win and get out. “Go in there and get ‘em, Private Stretch!” That’s the plan. Wasn’t that how we got into this in the first place? No details as to how our soldiers might identify “the terrorists” as opposed to “the non-terrorists.” This is the brand of euphemistic, misleading silliness that leads certain Americans (Hannity) to believe that it’s still a winnable war: all we need to do is lasso the bunch of them. No reprisals, no collateral damage, no blowback. Clear them out. That’s it.

Al-Qaeda and Sunni insurgents don’t wear giant foam hats — no identifying uniforms or I’m al-Qaeda And I Vote bumper stickers. In Good Morning, Vietnam, Robin Williams said, “Well, we walk up to someone and say, ‘Are you the enemy?’ And, if they say yes, then we shoot them.” What the president vaguely described is a nightmare scenario for our soldiers. They’ll be placed, once again, in the deadly and unfortunate position of finding an enemy who is completely blended with the populace. How can anyone expect our best fighting men and women to engage in this kind of fight?

As a result, there will be many accidental shootings of innocent Iraqi citizens and subsequently an increased level of anti-Americanism. And of course there’s the blowback. With every civilian unlawfully arrested or killed, the seeds of hatred and vengeance are planted.

This war is more than a clash of arms — it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our nation is in the balance.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19 men to get onto airplanes and come to kill us. What every terrorist fears most is human freedom — societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their resentments.

Bullcrap. They got into planes to come to kill “us” because they were sick and tired of seeing their people being treated like crap; and wanted to send a loud and clear message. All they want now is for this country to stop being the world’s police and let them sort out their problems THEMSELVES.

Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant ideologies — and most will choose a better way when they are given a chance.

Have you given them that chance? No.

So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates, reformers, and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security … we must.

Remember that your definition of a “free society” is not necessarily theirs. Assimilating the Middle East to be like North America or Europe isn’t working and will never work.

This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory.

And victory means: Getting out of Iraq and turning control over to THEIR government, instead of continuing to occupy their country against the peoples’ will.

We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq — a plan that demands more from Iraq’s elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission. Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror.

In order to make progress toward this goal, the Iraqi government must stop the sectarian violence in its capital. But the Iraqis are not yet ready to do this on their own. So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq.

20,000 more people who may, potentially, come home in body bags. 20,000 people who may never see their families again. 20,000 people WHO DON’T NEED TO GO THERE!

The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighbourhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down terrorists, insurgents, and roaming death squads. And in Anbar province — where al-Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them — we are sending an additional 4,000 United States Marines, with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out. We did not drive al-Qaida out of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq.

But yet, you didn’t really drive them out of Afghanistan, did you?

The people of Iraq want to live in peace, and now is the time for their government to act.

NO.

My fellow citizens, our military commanders and I have carefully weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance of success.

What a load of crap. You just did it because you know the Iraq Study Group was/is right; but you want to thumb your nose at them anyway.

Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq — because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far-reaching.

You should for sure. Case in point: Your handling of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina–which (conveniently?) went unmentioned in your speech tonight. On that note…

MAKE LEVEES, NOT WAR!

How about working on the mess in your own backyard before even thinking about sending more troops to their deaths in Iraq, not to mention sending the cost of the war up into the trillions? I’m sure taxpayers would much rather their money went to helping out the Gulf Coast than sending unnecessary troops to Iraq.

Let’s skip ahead a bit to this part about increasing recruitment or whatnot…

One of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military — so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years. A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.

Why, though? There’s already the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard–both of which, from my understanding, are made up of reserves.

But enough of that…

American foreign policy is more than a matter of war and diplomacy. Our work in the world is also based on a timeless truth: To whom much is given, much is required. We hear the call to take on the challenges of hunger, poverty, and disease — and that is precisely what America is doing. We must continue to fight HIV/AIDS, especially on the continent of Africa — and because you funded our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the number of people receiving lifesaving drugs has grown from 50,000 to more than 800,000 in three short years. I ask you to continue funding our efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. I ask you to provide $1.2 billion over five years so we can combat malaria in 15 African countries. I ask that you fund the Millennium Challenge Account, so that American aid reaches the people who need it, in nations where democracy is on the rise and corruption is in retreat. And let us continue to support the expanded trade and debt relief that are the best hope for lifting lives and eliminating poverty.

One of the better parts. But again, rebuilding New Orleans does not seem to be a priority. Apparently, he’d rather forget August 29, 2005–the day Katrina struck–and the days of nonresponse that followed. In a way, one can’t blame him much; but in another way, one would think that he’d be finding some way to make amends. Maybe say something like, “Listen, I know the government’s response to Katrina was craptacular. That hurts me deeply; and I regret that it took us so long to respond. But I’d like to make things right with the people of New Orleans. I propose (insert substantial amount of money here) be designated to go to New Orleans and other places that were devastated in August and September 2005, so their levees can be built or rebuilt, and so a disaster like that doesn’t happen again.”

After some props to various people in the gallery–NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, former Baby Einstein owner Julie Aigner-Clark (who now works with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by making child safety videos), a guy from Harlem who saved someone from being run over by a train, and a soldier who was recently awarded with the Silver Star after using himself as a human shield while in Iraq–GWB concludes…

In such courage and compassion, ladies and gentlemen, we see the spirit and character of America — and these qualities are not in short supply. This is a decent and honourable country — and resilient, too. We have been through a lot together. We have met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence — because the State of our Union is strong … our cause in the world is right … and tonight that cause goes on.

Not every cause we have in the world is right. Meanwhile, it’s a bit surprising GWB didn’t end the speech with some form of “God bless America” (of course, to that, I would respond with “…and the rest of the world, too”).

Meanwhile, you can read the Democratic response (delivered by freshman Senator John Webb, in–IMO–very fine form) at Crooks and Liars. I especially like his response regarding the war effort.

* * * * *

Oh, did I mention that GWB’s pre-SOTU approval rating is at the lowest for a president since Nixon’s final SOTU in 1974?