* Chances are the State of the Union speech will continue to be over-anticipated, over-analyzed and over-responded to. The most recent one prompted four separate Republican responses: the official one by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington–plus those by Sen. Rand Paul of Texas, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. No opposition agendas were ignored. In English or Spanish. That’s the partisan political world we inhabit.
But couldn’t we consider changing some of the dynamics WHILE the president is actually delivering his speech? I know it’s like asking a network to not do reaction shots in the Super Bowl, but it’s worth bringing up because it ultimately will affect both parties.
Approximately 30 million Americans still watch the prime time, SOTU speech. Shouldn’t we try to keep it as unfiltered as possible? Shouldn’t we show it as much respect as possible? Whether it’s being delivered by President Obama, President McCain, President Romney or President Clinton.
I’d love to see virtually nothing but tight shots of the president. Perhaps aided by a furniture rearrangement that would move the vice president and the speaker of the House farther apart and out of backdrop-distraction range.
We don’t need to see Joe Biden and John Boehner applauding or thumb twiddling, standing or sitting as befits their partisan positions. We could do without Biden’s Cheshire cat-grin shout outs and Boehner’s variations on a bored, awkward theme. And we don’t need reaction shots from self-absorbed politicians thinking more about how a given SOTU passage will play in their district than whether it references something worth heeding regardless of party affiliation.
And one final item: A Duck Dynasty VIP guest? But we know that voting bloc.
* Paula Dockery recently reminded everyone why she hasn’t left the Republican Party. That was the upshot of her Tampa Tribune column last week on medical marijuana. She’s not the only opinion shaper to find fault with it, to say the least, but her rationale–and where medical pot will inevitably lead–was Reefer Madness absurd.
“Not only is it the camel’s nose under the tent leading to full-fledged decriminalization of marijuana,” wrote Dockery, “it would likely lead to all drugs being legalized. That’s right–crack, crank and heroin will all be available at the corner store.”
* In a business where the term “craft” is bandied about routinely, Philip Seymour Hoffman personified it. In fact, “craftsman” was a job description for him. What a loss.
* Here’s the part that just doesn’t seem credible on the Chris Christie “Bridgegate” affair. He told the media over the weekend that “I first found out about it after it was over.” He added that he had “no knowledge of the planning, the execution or anything about it.”
I get “plausible deniability,” made famous by Richard Nixon. Minions will do dirty work that they know the boss, even a hands-on sort such as Gov. Christie, would want done but the subject can’t be literally broached. So, no, the New Jersey governor can truthfully say he had no knowledge that something like this was coming down.
But no knowledge until it was an after-the-facto firestorm? This was a gridlock-producing, four-day lane stoppage on the busiest bridge in the world. You’d be able to hear the horns, helicopters and hypnenated-New Jersey invective all the way to Trenton.