New York Times: Long on Rhetoric, Short on Sorrow

[rhiannon55]

Long on Rhetoric, Short on Sorrow
by Bob Herbert

President Bush showed what he does well at the beginning of the State of the Union ceremony when he graciously acknowledged and introduced Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House of Representatives. He seemed both generous and sincere, and it was the right touch for a genuinely historic moment.

At the end of his speech he introduced four Americans of whom the nation can be proud, including Wesley Autrey, a New Yorker who made like a Hollywood stunt man to save the life of a stricken passenger who had fallen onto the tracks in front of an oncoming subway train.

The rest of the evening was a study in governmental dysfunction. The audience kept mindlessly applauding — up and down, like marionettes — when in fact there was nothing to applaud. The state of the union is wretched, which is why the president’s approval ratings are the worst since Nixon and Carter.

If Mr. Bush is bothered by his fall from political grace, it wasn’t showing on Tuesday night. He seemed as relaxed as ever, smiling, signing autographs, glad-handing.

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0125-20.htm

[keta11]

1. He does not have an ounce of conscience! n/t

[rhiannon55]

2. "But this is a president who runs when empathy calls.

While others are monitoring the casualty lists, he’s off to the gym."

There was an earlier thread about Bush's lack of empathy; this quote from Bob Herbert's essay, IMO, basically says it all.