state of the union confusion

how many of you tuned into last night's state of the union address? i got home in time to see the last 30 minutes and also watched the democratic response. i turned off the TV in a state of confusion.

how can they be saying such very different things with conflicting statistics? how can they both be promising such very different things? everything bush said sounded like we were doing well, and then Kaine explains that we're not and he has a better way. ok, so this is a very elementary summary of the President's address of the American people last night. but i don't think i'm alone.

instead of admitting mistakes (never an easy thing to do, much less with millions watching), Bush lets us know how much money has been allocated to the gulf shore relief efforts. it sounds like a lot--quite generous sir President. but then Kaine reminds us that it is a little too late for many affected by Katrina.

i enjoyed the President's humor regarding the baby boomers turning 60, and that he and Clinton were two of his father's favorite people (especially since i recall watching Clinton win the election when Bush was in office). hilary showed no expression at that moment, but i thought it was a cute comment considering Bush seems so funny making "cute" commments.

the extreme split down the party lines is hard to miss. almost embarrassingly so. how can our leaders make decisions that will benefit a country when they don't play well with others? ok, so i'm back to simplifying a very complex situation. but i can't help but feel the same emotions i felt in high school when a student body candidate was making empty promises such as, "i'll get you longer lunch hours," "i have a plan to get you more than 2 weeks off over the holidays." really? well, of course he was elected and, of course, we never got these things.

why the empty promises? who are we to believe? aren't we all working toward a better life for americans? don't we all want to protect america against terrorism? don't we all want more affordable health care? don't we all never want to see another situation like Katrina play out? don't we all want to rely on other sources of fuel than oil? on a very elementary scale, it seems as if we all want the same things. how are we going to make this happen?