I think Bush really blew it last night. The red meat for his right wing conservative base will really drive independents away from the GOP. Last night, I had a flashback to Pat Buchanan's speech at the 1992 GOP convention.
Matt Welch at http://www.mattwelch.com said it best:
"Finally! A president not afraid to defend American families from the clear and present danger of ... professional athletes using performance-enhancing medical supplements. Let no one doubt our resolve! Leave no jock unsniffed!
I don't remember a State of the Union speech so overtly, snickeringly partisan. But then, I have a bad memory, I missed about eight speeches a row there, and maybe "partisan" is French for "Matt doesn't agree with it." More drug testing for teens! More PATRIOT Acts! Less gay marriage! More centralized databases, for everything! More abstinence! Less separation of church and state! More God, o Lord, much more God! What deficit? What brazenly irresponsible spending? What stupendous costs, in American lives and U.S. dollars, of irritable, crowd-pleasing anti-multilateralism?
Glenn Reynolds speculated last night that maybe "Matt Welches are more common" in American politics nowadays ... I can't vouch for that, but speaking for the one who bought the url, I feel like the prez did his Texas best to alienate this crucial, if narrow, swing vote."