SOTU thoughts

It was impressive by a couple of different standards. One, by comparison to the way Trump behaves when addressing his base exclusively, such as at his rallies. Two, by comparison to previous SOTU speeches from either party. Sure, like all SOTUs, it had its laundry-list-of-grand-vision policy initiatives that Congress will assuredly not make its priorities (the flag on Mars thing being a good example), but the moments informed by actual conservatism were ringing assertions of it.

There was some back-and-forth childishness. Donald Trump should have shaken Pelosi's hand. It's an interesting question to consider whether or not that would have affected her decisions to not include the "high privilege and distinct honor" portion of the customary introduction or to tear up her copy of his speech right behind his back as he bid those assembled good night. They're not buddies -  although the fact that the Very Stable Genius once had high regard for her, telling CNN in 2008 that he found her "very impressive" and saying he "like[d] her a lot" - and thought she should have impeached Bush!  - is emblematic of his erratic nature.

There was some audience childishness as well. The Republican "four more years!" chants did nothing to impart dignity to the proceedings. (But let's get real; this speech was most definitely crafted as a campaign salvo.) But the Women in White really need to give up their schtick. Women got the right to vote 100 years ago. There's no point to this stunt now (although I'm sure any one of them would give me an earful about why there is.) And the staged walkouts were grandstanding of the first order.

You know who served as a highly visible foil to the displays of polarization? A Democrat. Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema.  Now, that was impressive!

The speech had its moments of real conservatism:

• "We will never let socialism destroy American health care."
• support for choice in education
• We've "rejected the downsizing of America's destiny"
• "In America, we don't punish prayer. . . [or] muzzle our preachers and pastors"

This year's calling out of audience notables was outstanding.

100-year-old Tuskeegee Airman Charles McGee and his great-grandson, who aspires to be a Space Force cadet, gave us all a look at true American greatness. Ellie Schneider, the girl who had been one of the youngest fetuses ever to be delivered, effectively sent the message that everyone's life is sacred. Janiyah Davis, the Philadelphia girl who was awarded the opportunity scholarship right there on the spot drove home the point about educational choice. Sgt. Townsend Williams' surprise reunion with his family was a great touch.

The shoutout to Juan Guaido sent an unmistakable message to the world's socialist tyrants that the United States, at least at this time, will not appease them.

And then there was the conferring of the Congressional Medal of Freedom on Rush. Man, he's looking frail. Pugnacious optimist that he is, he's been sounding the right notes publicly since he announced his condition, but he's clearly quite sick.

I confess that, along with the nod to Mr. McGee, this one caused me to tear up a bit. As I said the other day in my Precipice piece about Rush's announcement, I'm not going to let his unfortunate Trumpist turn over the last five years unduly color my assessment of the overall arc of his career and contribution. His pioneering work as a conservative radio personality was essential to the growth of the conservative movement. He thrilled us with his courageous plain speaking. He made a lot of us who had been reading National Review in the privacy of our homes realize that we could forthrightly say this stuff in public. Rush Limbaugh is indeed a great American.

There was a fair amount of decidedly un-conservative content in the speech. There was no mention of the debt or deficit, but there sure was a resolute assurance that Trump deems Social Security and Medicare are untouchable on his watch - even as it's plain as day that those programs' unfunded liabilities are the cause of our grim fiscal outlook. His daughter has plainly gotten to him regarding this paid-family-leave business.

There was, of course, lots of braggadocio and comparison to previous administrations, particularly to that of his immediate predecessor, the Most Equal Comrade. It got more confrontational than was necessary, it seems to me. But some of it is clearly backed up by facts, such as the net worth of the bottom half of wage earners increasing by 47 percent, and minority unemployment at an all-time low.

I've said before that there's kind of a cyclical pattern to the Very Stable Genius's behavior. He'll make some great move, often a good speech like this, followed by two or three particularly egregious examples of his boneheadedness that sully the good move's effect. We actually got a bit of a taste of that a few hours before the speech, when he was in full swagger-and-bluster mode at the luncheon he hosted for an assemblage of TV news anchors.  It won't be long before he pulls another stunt like disregarding his own assertions about proper behavior during the national anthem at the Super Bowl party he hosted at Mar-a-Lago.  Count on it.

No mention of impeachment. Why would there be? That whole push is going to fizzle out, probably today.

The evening clarified a lot of things, most prominently the ever-deepening polarization in post-America. The above-mentioned Senator Sinema demonstrated a possible way to ameliorate that, but I doubt if it will be heeded. There are, as there have been for three-plus years now, three main forces in our nation's political life: progressivism, conservatism and Trumpism. At least we know the lay of the land as we venture out into that jungle that is 2020.