Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

The reasons for the starkly dramatic disparity are fairly clear:  continued corruption by those who claim to represent the quickly disappearing "middle class";  mounting debt by a people and a nation determined to do honest work for honest pay;  patriotic, idealistic, and largely altruistic citizens who no longer feel grounded, secure, or protected;  over-worked, underpaid, and despite what our President tells us, UNDER-INSURED employees who don't see any economic, political, educational, or social relief in the near term;  an inability to access public information that should be reliable, accurate, and comprehensive; a growing belief that the values that made us great as a nation have been auctioned off to well-placed lobbyists, corporations, religious fanatics who recognize only one truth; and an oppressive stench leaking out of every federal agency that has rewarded incompetence over credentials for the last five years.

No wonder the nation is feeling a little low.

The Constitution requires the President to report to us on the State of the Union.  Although, technically, it doesn't require that he tell us the truth.  Therefore, his view revealed in the SOTU probably won't include charges of illegal wiretaps, violating the Constitution, ignoring the FISA court, or endowing privileges to the unitary executive.  Since the Constitution also doesn't require him to address what some of his friends and staffers have been up to, I guess we won't hear much about the following:  illegal wiretaps; domestic surveillance; Jack Abramoff's ongoing connections; Tom DeLay's indictments; Scooter Libby's indictments; Karl Rove's role in the CIA leak; the Enron trial of "Kenny-Boy" Lay and Jeff Skilling--or his reasons for appointing Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Since apologies aren't required by the Constitution, chances are, we also won't hear much about the record on Katrina, either.

Some listeners have already pre-medicated against this insidious ritual.

It is time to end the meaningless annual ritual of the State of the Union address. What began as a yearly survey of the nation's condition has deteriorated into a frivolous moment of political theater and continuous campaigning.

Those who tune in will hear few new ideas, and more of the same, clichéd themes. You'll hear how safe this Administration has made us, despite the indisputable fact that 9/11 occurred on its watch.  You'll hear how their vigilant, over-reaching protective measures, despite violating the Constitution and our current laws, have prevented additional terrorist activities on these shores.  You'll hear unsupported claims about "progress" in Iraq, "freedom on the march," a strong economy, promises to reduce the deficit, new opportunities to reduce health-care dependence, and believe it nor not, you'll also hear how Social Security still needs reforming (another plan that fizzled on his watch).

And you'll probably hear that the State of the Union is sound.  

If you need a good primer of facts beforehand, here's one.

For more on the specifically proposed health care bamboozle, try these additional links here and a representative excerpt here:

This year the president plans to tinker around the edges of health care -- widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent domestic challenge facing the nation -- by expanding tax breaks for health savings accounts, computerizing medical records and allowing national pooling of health insurance.

Along with preserving his first-term tax cuts, all are small-bore projects to sustain his legacy of an 'ownership society,' which he said is one of the things 'I would like to be remembered for.'

For what happens to those who oppose the imperial will, read this.

No doubt Kaine will offer a resounding rebuttal tomorrow night.  But before he does, here's an early observation:  you can't lead the nation, you can't make good decisions, unless you're willing to admit the mistakes of the past, learn from them, and listen to those who disagree with those decisions.