Here are my observations and opinions on the State of the Union Address and the Senate acquittal of President Trump.
WHAT A NIGHT! – It began with a vindictive Nancy Pelosi purposely omitting the customary words “high privilege and distinct honor” when she introduced President Trump as he entered the House to deliver his State of the Union Address.
There have been reports that the president snubbed her by not shaking her hand. While there are photographs that show her extending her hand in the president’s line of sight, I have reviewed videos of it several times. He was turning to his left as Pelosi extended her hand, and it’s conceivable that didn’t see her hand. It’s like watching an instant replay in football. Keep in mind that he didn’t shake hands with Vice President Pence either.
(Originator unknown.)
During the address, Pelosi refused to stand or acknowledge a number of achievements, including those affecting women. The Democrat women of the House, all dressed in white, remained seated, surely instructed to do so by Pelosi.
The losing group of House impeachment managers sat in the front row, wishing, I am sure, that they could have disappeared among their colleagues.
After the president’s inspiring close, the petulant Pelosi stood behind him, making a scene of tearing her copy of the address into pieces.
My father had words he would occasionally use to describe a woman whose facial expression was like that of Pelosi’s, a description I don’t often hear anymore – “sour puss.” It was on full display last night, on her face, and those of the other House women. The woman who Pelosi has allowed to turn the Democrat Party to the radical left, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, refused to attend.
I believe that Pelosi set out on Tuesday evening to be the “it’s all about me” Pelosi we have come to know, from ignoring tradition with her introduction to tearing up the president’s speech.
“(She) wasn’t just mad at President Trump last night … she was also probably mad at herself and her fellow Democrats as well for being outmaneuvered by the ostentatiously theatrical president,” wrote John Fund. “The man her party impeached just two months ago is now about to be acquitted, has a record-high 49 percent approval rating and could well win reelection and even endanger her House majority.
“(She) sat in the Speaker’s chair last night realizing that Democrats had lost the political momentum to Trump. She grimaced throughout the speech, shook her head and refused to applaud a fourth grader in the audience who was awarded a scholarship so she could attend a better school.”
As an observer of her antics, I saw last night the woman, who once claimed to be a “master legislator” and “astute leader,” in extreme frustration. She knows that she should have stuck with her original position on the divisiveness of a partisan impeachment, rather than give in to the radical left of her party. With the president’s acquittal coming the next day, she realized that she had surrendered the upper-hand to President Trump.
Someone said she was seen jamming pieces of the torn speech into the hands of House impeachment manager Zoe Lofgren as if saying, ‘look what you have done.’
After the vote on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the floor of the Senate, quoted Pelosi saying she “refuses to accept the acquittal,” adding, whatever that means. He referred to Pelosi’s decision as a “colossal political mistake.”
Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell, appearing on Fox News Channel Wednesday morning expressed disappointment in the address – not unifying or inspiring.
Even if you heard the president’s closing remarks, I recommend that you read this transcript of his closing:
“As the world bears witness tonight, American is a land of heroes. This is the place where greatness is born, where destinies are forged, and where legends come to life. This is the home of Thomas Edison and Teddy Roosevelt, of many great generals, including Washington, Pershing, Patton and MacArthur. This is the home of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, the Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong and so many more. This is the country where children learn names of Wyatt Earp, Davy Crockett, and Annie Oakley. This is the place where the pilgrims landed at Plymouth and where Texas patriots made their last stand at the Alamo.
“The American nation was carved out of the vast frontier by the toughest, strongest, fiercest, and most determined men and women ever to walk the face of the Earth. Our ancestors braved the unknown; tamed the wilderness; settled the Wild West; lifted millions from poverty, disease, and hunger; vanquished tyranny and fascism; ushered the world to new heights of science and medicine; laid down the railroads, dug out canals, raised up the skyscrapers – and, ladies and gentlemen, our ancestors built the most exceptional Republic ever to exist in all of human history. And we are making it greater than ever before!
“This is our glorious and magnificent inheritance. We are Americans. We are pioneers. We settled the new world, we built the modern world, and we changed history forever by embracing the eternal truth that everyone is made by the hand of Almighty God.
“America is the place where anything can happen. America is the place where anyone can rise. And here, on this land, on this soil, on this continent, the most incredible dreams come true.
“This nation is our canvas, and this country is our masterpiece. We look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers just waiting to be explored. Our brightest discoveries are not yet known. Our most thrilling stories are not yet told. Our grandest journeys are not yet made. The American Age, the American Epic, the American Adventure, has only just begun.
“Our spirit is still young; the sun is still rising; God’s grace is still shining, and my fellow Americans, the best is yet to come!
“Thank you. God bless you. God bless America.”
If the warm, touching stories the president shared about guests he invited, and introduced in the gallery didn’t inspire, and present his picture of a diverse nation, those who say the address lacked words to inspire or bring the nation together didn’t want to hear those words.
Incidentally, I told Mrs. Kramer before the address that I hoped he would use the words “the best is yet to come.” He has successfully used this line in his rallies, and it speaks to another four years of continuing to make America great.
(emoji.co.uk)
WEDNESDAY’S ACQUITAL OF IMPEACHMENT on both counts by the Senate was the week’s capper.
NO SURPRISE – Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, my first winner of the John “Thumbs Down” McCain award of 2020 on February 1, 2020, voted to convict the president on February 5, 2020, masking his disdain for Trump with his religious convictions.
WHAT A WEEK
THE GOOD NEWS FOR THE PRESIDENT began a week ago when his defense team convinced the Senate not to bring in new testimony and documents, which should have been done by the House.
ANOTHER PROMISE KEPT by President Trump to replace NAFTA, the trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, with the USMCA was signed. This followed the signing of a trade agreement with China.
THE MIDEAST PEACE PLAN, designed to bring to a peaceful end to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, was signed after several years of development by the Trump administration after the failure of previous administrations to set forth a plan.
EVEN THE DEMOCRATS HELPED make it a special week when it failed to give their caucus voters in Iowa a reliable vote-tabulating system, making them the laughing stock. It was interesting to note that leftist George Soros is the largest donor to Shadow, the company that designed the failed system.
FINALLY – Surveys regarding the approval of the president’s performance revealed that his rating is at its highest in both Gallup and Zogby polls.
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
