The State of the Union

I was all prepared to write my third live blog of tonight's State of the Union. I cleared my schedule, ate my dinner, and sat down with my laptop in front of my television. Then I thought about what I read today on CNN's website (as well as the fact that last year's live blog was terrible). Here was the headline:


Wow. Exciting.

But, alas, of course I watched the speech. I love the State of the Union. I love watching Congressman fall over each other to shake the hand of the President, or to get his signature. I love the standing ovations and the snubs. I love Michael Chertoff. I love the suits (Charlie Rangel) and the pantsuits (Sheila-Jackson Lee). I love Carlos Guitteriez's moustache. I love when Dick Cheney smiles. I love the candids (Teddy Kennedy) and the posing (Hillary Clinton). I love the First Lady and her guests. I love when the camera catches Congressmen sleeping (John Dingell). I love that the President still can't pronounce nuclear. I love the seating chart. I love the cardboard cutout Supreme Court Justices. I love that the President pronounces the word as POH-tential. I love John Lewis. I love Ted Kennedy. I love Barack Obama.

I love when the President lies. I love when the President panders. I love when the President sends coded messages to Christian conservatives. I love when the President misrepresents his record. I love when the President cherrypicks from the past seven years. I love when the President makes me ashamed.

I love democracy. I love our democracy. I love our history. I love our tradition. I love our country. And I love that no matter what this President has done to this country, what lies he has told, what ghastly errors he has made, how many people he has hurt, and how many lives he has ruined, I still tuned in.