In the past, in addition to fulfilling Article
II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, the State of the Union Address conveyed
policy information between the president and citizens as an account of
victories, disappointments, and goals, all framed within a rhetoric of stability—a
coach’s rally to the team before the game. However, that presumes the president
has a role similar to that of a coach, someone who loves the game, honors the
rules, respects the players, and knows the field. The current president is no
such coach.
The president does not coach or govern, he is “handled” by
his staff. Things would probably be worse if he did actually govern as his
instability remains his most defining characteristic. So, the State of the
Union Address was an assembly of words possibly written by Stephen Miller and someone
else to help tone down the more overt white supremacist allusions and add
a veneer of appeal for unity, something the GOP desperately needs before the midterm
elections.
The State of the Union is so low that the President’s
ability to read the teleprompter has been interpreted as a victory. The words
themselves, do they indicate policy? Whenever Trump speaks, people flock to
read the assemblage of nouns and verbs like tea leaves to divine if they make sense.
The words represent the rhetorical skill and prejudices of the speech writers,
not the State of the Union.
Have we not learned that this unqualified president,
a corrupt caricature of a leader supported by a GOP that has betrayed the honor of our
nation, represents naught but his own guile and not the gumption of our people?
Arise America, the midterms await.
No comments:
Post a Comment