Son,

The speech writers have their challenge. Tonight’s State of the Union by President George W. Bush will be his last. He is worried about his legacy – and this is an opportunity to set the historical stage. The State of the Union has become the mantle for the President to sway public opinion.

So how does this President, in this time in America, spin the reality of domestic and foreign policy disaster? I doubt that the President will make any new bold proposals. He will attempt to justify crisis with some defensive rationale. He will blame the Congress. he will blame the Democrats. He will try to be relevant to the Republican Party – hoping to influence the 2008 election. None of his rationalizations will work. The public is on to his nonsense.

On the Domestic Front we have seen the most egregious government spending in three decades. Our National Debt is measured with exponents because no one can remember how many zeros to put after the numbers. The failure of FEMA at Katrina cannot be denied. The crisis of financing Social Security has been horribly bumbled.

Does Foreign Policy require a comment – OK I’ll venture one. Failure! Think Afghanistan where the Taliban is reconstituting. Think Bin Laden who rests snuggly in his bed. Think Iraq, where our valiant soldiers are dying. Think respect by the world bodies – Bush has none.

The Economy is in disarray after years of Government support for greedy corporate interests. The failure of monitoring of predatory lending has spiraled this country into a nation of personal debt with minimal securities. We are being bailed out by foreign interests who stand to gain control our our financial markets.

Blaming, justification, and rationalizing are all symptoms of the mental perversion of denial.  Any positive spin in this State of the Union will reflect the State of Denial that has gripped the White House for seven years.

Dad