State Of The Union
I really don't like State Of The Union addresses. They're usually dull laundry lists of programs, and their dullness is infinitely exacerbated by the infinite parsing and reparsing of every last word by the press corps. I don't care how long the speech was, I don't care if it matched pundits' expectations of what topics were broached, and I definitely don't care to know how many times it was interrupted by applause.And speaking of the applause, can we try to do that a little less, fellas? I mean, come on, do we really need to interrupt him every eight and a half seconds? Can't we agree or disagree with speeches the way the British do? When Parliament approves what the Prime Minister says, they bellow a hearty "Hear, hear!" and then shut up. If talk shows can have applause signs to tell the cretins in the audience when to clap, surely we can do it for Congress, too.
For his part, the President was clearly getting annoyed with being pre-empted by applause even before finishing his point:
To make our economy stronger and more productive, we must make health care more affordable APPLAUSE — and give families greater access to good coverage APPLAUSE — and more control over their health decisions. APPLAUSEAPPLAUSEAPPLAUSE I ask Congress to move forward on a comprehensive health care agenda - with tax credits to help low-income workers buy insurance APPLAUSE — a community health center in every poor county APPLAUSE — improved information technology to prevent medical errors and needless costs APPLAUSE — association health plans for small businesses APP and their employees LAUSE — expanded APP health LAU savings accounts SE — and medical liability reform that will reduce health care costs, and make sure patients have the doctors and care they need. CHEERSAPPLAUSEAPPLAUSEAPPLAUSEAPPLAUSE . . .
Nobody will remember any of this stuff, whether the $350 million Palestinian aid package passes or fails or gets killed in committee or expanded to $400 mil or decreased to Alex Rodriguez' contract value.
They will remember this, though:
I wish the applause were longer.
posted by Marsh @ 3:10 AM
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