SOTU

I didn't see much of the the State of the Union speech - had a more pressing engagement - but a few thoughts.

• Even if the Democrats feel they did good by effectively killing Bush's Social Security initiative last year, it's bad form to gloat about it. And it will look a lot worse in a few years when the bills come due. The D's really need a plan.
• The NSA wiretap thing redounds to Bush's credit, and he framed the issue well again yesterday. Unless and until the media provide a specific, credible example of someone suffering a real loss of civil liberties or some other form of persecution as a result of the program, ideally with video, the Democrats will derive no benefit. Moreover, the squishy legalisms reinforce the stereotypes that currently plague the Democrats generally.
• Cindy Sheehan really doesn't help anyone's cause. It would be helpful if someone took her aside and patiently explained that her 15 minutes are up.
• I'm not sure I want a car that runs on wood chips. Reminds me too much of the movie Fargo. But hare-brained, off the shelf ideas are a staple of SOTU addresses.