State of the...Who Really Gives a Shit?

I have a confession to make. I didn't watch the State of the Union last night. not one bit. and I couldn't care less.

you know why? precisely because this morning, as I was walking into the T, I grabbed a copy of the Metro and read the large-print headline from Mr. Bush's address last night:

"America must not fail."

thank you, Buddha, for that little piece of wisdom. I wasn't planning on it.

of course, you might chalk it down to bad journalism and bad headline writing. but I think there's something simple and deliciously witty about the Metro directly regurgitating the idiocy that is Bush's futile efforts to be inspiring nowadays.

States of the Union are no longer interesting to watch. they are, as someone I read somewhere pointed out yesterday, more a reading of a laundry list than any kind of platform speech. the alternative fuels bit was nice, I concede, but, apart from that, there's really nothing new that we haven't seen. and I really don't feel compelled to sit glued to the TV for Dubya (not much to look at, or listen to), reacting to every little thing that comes out of his mouth like it's a real shock.

I'm much more interested in the little political shenanigans that people play on momentous occasions such as these, like the uncomfortable exchanges Hillary and Barack shared while doing post-address TV interviews, or the fact that Nancy Pelosi apparently changed from a beige suit to an olive-green one (a note, dear girl: beige may be too neutral, but olive green just plain looks bad against the rich brown leather of the Speaker's chair; try a deep crimson or burgundy suit next year).


respondents to the New York Times' Caucus blog seem at least semi-outraged by the fact that the paper is paying any attention at all to Pelosi's clothing rather than the fact that she's the new Speaker or her achievements or blah blah blah. take a chill pill. the Times didn't make her change. she changed herself, with obvious thinking to the implications of her dress. there's a story there, perhaps about how women must struggle against the glass ceiling within the confines of a male-centric society. but don't blame the Times for making it interesting.

and, last but not least, the lucky cabinet secretary who got to stay home last night was Jim Nicholson, of Veterans Affairs. it tickles me every year to see that our government pays so much morbid attention to details.