I wonder if anyone else reacts as I do each time there is a State of the Union address. It is a performance comparable to that of a rock concert before a crowd of enthusiastic fans. The words–spoken or sung–are geared to prompt outbursts of applause from the audience, a kind of knee-jerk, mindless reaction, bringing to mind puppets on a string.
The difference between the two performances, however, is that fans pay for tickets to witness the musical performance. For a State of the Union address, taxpayers foot the bill for this undignified rabble-rousing show.
As for content, George W. Bush portrays a world in which might makes right, and the arrogance of the powerful comes with the right to tell other people how they should live, think, organize their lives. As for the American economy, what Bush describes is not the life of most Americans.
