Down From The Tower 

Melissa,

In the midst of such an unusually long and dramatic election season, I sometimes forget that George W. Bush is still tinkering around in Washington. Last night, I got slapped back to reality when the President gave his State of the Union address. Like the rest of his presidency, the speech was uninspiring, mendacious, and nearly unwatchable.

In fact, the only thing mildly engaging about the whole event was watching Hillary and Barack engage in camera-ready histrionics. I nearly fell out of my chair when Hillary got caught peaking at Barack before deciding how to respond to Bush’s threatening rhetoric about Iran. Of course, the undercover warmonger was already on his feet applauding. But I digress…

As always, President Bush was self-righteous and hypocritical as he scolded the Congress (read: Democrats) for undermining progress. A prime example is when he criticized legislators for using earmarks to circumvent public and legislative accountability. While I don’t disagree in principle, such rhetoric is difficult to stomach coming from a president who has issued more than 1000 signing statements (more than every other president in American history combined!) in order to thumb his nose at the law on everything from Patriot Act provisions to restrictions against torture.

Like most final SOTU addresses, Bush took the time to celebrate his many “victories” in office. My eyes started to glaze over as he listed the many ways that he has turned the country into a proto-fascist empire. Fortunately, I was able to laugh out loud when Bush matter-of-factly noted that No Child Left Behind was an effective policy that needed to be continued. Even some Republicans didn’t clap for that one…

Did you watch? Why am I asking that. Of course you did. What did you think?

Marc.

Marc Lamont Hill is an Assistant Professor of Urban Education and American Studies at Temple University.