OK, not much to say about the speech.
the BEST line of the whole thing, the one that had me standing and applauding in my own house, was:
"Hindsight is not wisdom, second-guessing is not a strategy." -- GW Bush
WAHOO! WORD! YOU GO DUBYA!
Put that in yer pipe and smoke it KerryKennedyClintonSchumerFeinsteinPelosiRangle and Co.!
Let's face it, you can't put much stock into these speeches. All they do is give you a better feeling for the man who's running the show at the moment, and last night I saw a guy I still support for the most part. I disagree with him on several issues, but admire the way he consistently refuses to lower himeslf to the sub-human level of discourse favored by his critics and enemies. He even takes it a step farther and PRAISES them in ways they do not deserve. The man is as true a Christian for this alone as for anything he's ever done, make no mistake about it. I couldn't do it, no way, but I admire the heck out of him that he can.
And the thing is, even when I don't agree with everything a President does, I need to respect and admire him, it's fundamental to my existence and piece of mind. I didn't find anything to respect or admire about Bill Clinton. In other words, I couldn't see past the Pinnocchio-nose on his face to find out if his policies were good, bad or indifferent.
With Bush, I feel like someone GOOD is in charge. He may be wrong or misguided on some points (immigration, immigration and immigration) and he may be too generous with his praise and our money (AIDS relief, Islam is a "religion of Peace," our education system is great, etc...), but on the whole, he does what he does--I think--because he thinks it's the right thing to do, not because polls tell him we think it's the right thing to do. He is, in that respect, the polar opposite of Clinton, and to me, that's a good thing.
What I'm left with then is the terror--abject terror mind you--of what will follow him if it's someone from the "dark side." If someone like Hillary were to get elected, what would be undone purely for the sake of undoing it? What "Bush" agenda items would be trashed simply because they were his? Because let's fact it folks, tax cuts, the Patriot Act, troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, talk of private investment accounts to save Social Security, refusal to sign Kyoto, and many other things we want and need in this country will disappear faster than you can say "heinous bitch" if someone like Hillary is our next President.
Are we ready for that? Let's hope not. Let's hope we get someone like Condi instead. No, let's not HOPE, let's remember last night's speech (and the Democrats' reaction to it) and let's make it happen.