Re: Bush's speech - well crafted, hit all the right buttons, well delivered. I paid more attention to what I call "atmospherics" than the words.
I was in the car when it started - the applause when he came in the room was so strong that if I had turned on the radio without knowing what it was, I wouldn't have known what it was. So my first impressions were aural - Congress is surprisingly unanimous in their approval of him so far.
I got home shortly afterwards - visual impressions now - there was a remarkable attempt to convey unanimity and support visually, too.
The members of the Supreme Court sitting on the front row right in front of the podium wearing their judicial robes is something I don't recall seeing during State of the Union addresses. The United States Constitution mandates that the President give a State of the Union address to both houses of Congress annually - traditionally it is given early in the year. This was intended to play on that theme, which is why he mentioned the state of the union. I identified afterwards only five of the justices - the four rock-ribbed conservatives, Scalia, Rehnquist, Thomas and O'Connor, and one of the most liberal, Breyer.
Seeing the Supreme Court reminded me of the terrible battle between Bush and Gore over Florida - which was finally decided by the Supreme Court in a controversial opinion, 5-4, conservative v. liberal. Breyer was vehement in his disapproval. The first justice to shake Bush's hand last night was Breyer. That showed unity of a special kind, a symbolism which was probably only significant to a few but very meaningful to those who got it.
Having New York Mayor Giuliani and New York Governor Pataki there was a nice touch, as well as at least one New York firefighter and New York policeman, and the widow of one of the men who crashed that plane in Pennsylvania, to remind us all that we may be called upon to show heroism.
Having Tony Blair here, too, also showed a special kind of unity, with Europe and NATO and our traditional allies.
He went out of his way to urge people not to persecute Arabs and Muslims per se, and to call upon Muslims to recognize that A-Qaeda is disapproved of by Islamic scholars and clerics - an excellent touch, I hope.
But the most important atmospheric touch was to show that the most powerful people in the US could assemble in the Capitol, a very visible target, without fear and without being touched. In other words, GFY Al-Qaeda! We're here and you can't touch us. A well-placed bomb would have destroyed every important politician in the US - and the time and place of the address was made public, and Al-Qaeda could do nothing.
I am sure that many will analyze the speech by what was said. As a lawyer, my opinion is that what is important about the speech is what was conveyed. Overlapping but different. Atmospherics are really really important, and his team did a wonderful job with that.
I hesitate to say this because I don't want to be misinterpreted - oh, never mind, maybe you'll guess what movie I am thinking of. |
