Tale of Two Presidents

Feb. 1, 2006 - The State of the Union was a tale of two presidents. One was gracious about his opponents, seeking common ground for the sake of the nation’s future. The other accused his critics of being isolationists, pacifists, protectionists and unpatriotic.

One wanted the downfall of tyrants and dictators; the other wanted the downfall or transformation of elected governments in Iran and the Palestinian territories.

One wanted to extend tax cuts; the other wanted to cut deficits.

One was determined to promote America as the world leader in science; the other was determined to put strict limits on human-embryo research—restrictions that other countries have rejected.

Both presidents are of course one and the same: the often inspirational, often self-contradicting, George W. Bush. Democrats frequently mistake this split personality as some kind of giant game of bait-and-switch. But it’s more accurate to think of it as the gap between Bush’s idealistic self-image as a leader, and his realistic desire to do whatever it takes to win.

Part of President Bush genuinely wants to be fiscally responsible. Another part of him sorely wants to skewer Democrats on taxes in 2008 if they try to let his tax cuts expire. Part of President Bush genuinely wants to lead a harmonious and united nation in the long battle against Islamist terrorists. Another part of him sorely wants to silence his Democratic critics and portray them as weaklings in November.

Judging by their dozy response, the Democrats are ready to play their part. Many House Democrats on Tuesday could barely focus while their rival-in-chief was delivering his script for unseating them in the fall. Near the back of the chamber, Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Dem from New York, worked on a crossword puzzle as Bush made his way to the podium. Once Bush was on stage, Weiner and several of his colleagues broke out their BlackBerrys and spent most of the speech scrolling through e-mails and muttering to each other under their breaths, prompting Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to hush them at one point.

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