The most striking shots of President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night were not of the president himself.
They were of the members of Congress: Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other. And rarely were both sides’ applause ever in sync.
It was a disheartening sight. True, politicians will inevitably try to score points for their party during the State of the Union by applauding or abstaining. But this spoke to the deep political scars – between and within each party – that still cripple this country.
When Bush was elected president in 2004 by a slim majority, it was clear the United States was politically split. It was also clearly up to Bush to find a way to heal the division.
Tuesday night, we were reminded of his failure to do so. Tellingly, Bush mentioned “bipartisan” support only twice in his speech.
To be sure, politicians from both sides of the aisle – as well as the American people’s general attitude – deserve some of the blame for this. But Bush is our leader. We take our cues from him.
A union, by definition, is a joining together of more than one part. Bush insists that “the state of our union is strong,” and from his podium he stares down at a divided Congress and a divided people.
And so we rejoin: What union, Mr. President?