We basically snoozed our way through the boring "It is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war"; and "we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan's Security Forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan's future." Our eyelids cracked a little when Obama sketched the time-line of his surge (don't call it a surge, though!): The 30,000 troops will begin to deploy in early 2010 and all American forces will start withdrawing in July of 2011. (No definite date for a complete exit, though, since politicians hate deadlines as much as we do.)

But, really, our ears only perked all the way up when we heard this:

[Afghanistan] is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak. This is no idle danger; no hypothetical threat. In the last few months alone, we have apprehended extremists within our borders who were sent here from the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan to commit new acts of terror. This danger will only grow if the region slides backwards, and al Qaeda can operate with impunity.

It's probably a leftover reflex burnt into our cerebellums by the Bush years, but it seems that nothing really makes you sit up and accidentally spill beer on your shirt like your president dropping the fact that terrorists are among us into the middle of a speech. You remember it: Back when our president didn't have much worthwhile to say it was all blah blah blah TERRORISTS ARE GOING TO KILL US blah blah FREEDOM. People went wild for that stuff!

But now we have a president with a lot interesting things to say and a lot of pretty ways to say them. And while a number of commentators have been quick to point out the similarities between Obama's war strategy and rhetoric, and Bush's, what was most striking to us was the near-complete lack of the fear-mongering and Get Your War On mentality which was used by Bush to such great and terrible effect. (The word "terrorist" appeared just three times in Obama's 33-minute speech, which is going to be either a heartening or infuriating fact depending on what cable channel you get your news from.)

Instead, this was a call to arms based on shared American values and the need to "show our strength in the way that we end wars and prevent conflict."

Unlike the great powers of old, we have not sought world domination. Our union was founded in resistance to oppression. We do not seek to occupy other nations. We will not claim another nation's resources or target other peoples because their faith or ethnicity is different from ours. What we have fought for — what we continue to fight for — is a better future for our children and grandchildren. And we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and access opportunity.

Which we will help them do by leaving them alone (starting July 2011).

Of course this is a better way to rally people than constantly barraging them with color-coded terror alerts and axes of evil and Wars on Terror. And our foreign friends were probably breathing a sigh of relief at such a measured tone (seeing as how it appears they're off the hook for future wars—once they give Obama the additional troops he wants for this one.) So we were happy to indulge Obama as he skipped into poetry land in the last quarter or so of his speech, talking about all the great things he believes "with every fiber of my being," and how America is "passing through a time of great trial," etc., etc., etc., off into a hazy glow of positive vibes and his trademark theme of hard-won optimism in the face of adversity™.

But still: TERROR ALERT: YELLOW!!!

(Here's the entire, 33-minute speech. Or read the entire text here.)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Investors have been leaving Galleon Group in droves since Rajaratnam's arrest last week on charges that he used a network of informants to acquire inside information that netted him $20 million in profits. Galleon Group's trading partners have filed redemption requests to withdraw $1.3 billion of the $3.7 billion managed by the company. Clients are concerned that Galleon Group's assets could be frozen in the coming investigation. The investor exodus has forced Galleon Group to sell tech stocks and other assets to raise cash.

Rajaratnam visited the Galleon Group's Madison Avenue headquarters on Monday for a rousing ten-minute speech. Some of the employees in attendance for Rajaratnam's visit were crying as he told them "I'm counting on you to take care of our investors" and vowed to fight the charges being made against him by federal prosecutors. Rajaratnam also sent out a letter to Galleon Group employees and investors in which he proclaimed his innocence and promised that he'd "continue to be here working for Galleon" and that "the firm will continue to serve its clients with effectiveness and integrity."

There is one bright spot for employees who don't share Rajaratnam's rosy outlook for the Galleon Group. Executive recruiters have alreay been approaching staffers at the dying hedge fund about jumping ship. Raj Rajaratnam may think his company still has some life left in it, but the vultures have definitely started circling overhead.

It is a wonderful piece of alternate universe American history, in which President Nixon had to explain to a nation that Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were going to die on the moon.

Did you know that God wanted her to be Miss Universe but then I guess God changed his mind and made her a martyr to political correctness instead, or something? It's true! But don't worry: "even though I didn't win the crown that night, I know that the Lord has so much of a bigger crown in Heaven for me." That's right: she is going to die and become Jesus.

You can watch all 15 engrossing minutes of her speech here.

Two main things to know: first, the President was not fooling around, particularly about the "death panel" rumors, which he described as "a lie, plain and simple." You go, Barack!

Of course, despite his tough talk, the GOP doesn't seem ready to concede. Rep. Joe Wilson, responding to Obama's claims that illegal immigrants aren't included in reforms, declared "You lie!" That's pretty rude, no? But we're not surprised by any of this.

Nothing particularly new was brought to the table tonight. The main aspect was, quite simply, an opportunity to explain away misconceptions, reiterate his plans, and bring the debate back to level ground. August brought us insane town hall outbursts and Republican hand-wringing over health care, and tough-talking Obama attempted to put that all to rest with this evening's appearance. But, alas, it may mean nothing.

Rather than focusing simply on the much maligned subject, Obama attempted — and succeeded — to fit health care into a bigger picture, like his administration's tireless recovery efforts. Of course, the American people aren't always good at visualizing, so the President had to tackle the largest misconceptions about reform, like that it's a socialist takeover.

In order to really drive home his point to two conflicting camps, progressives and Republicans, the President had to both make sure people knew that we, a nation, all have a stake in the matter — as he did by referring to the mess as a "collective failure" — and ensure business interests that the market place will remain top dog.

There may still be companies that refuse to do right by their workers. The problem is, such irresponsible behavior costs all the rest of us money.... If some businesses don't provide workers health care, it forces the rest of us to pick up the tab when their workers get sick, and gives those businesses an unfair advantage over their competitors. And unless everybody does their part, many of the insurance reforms we seek – especially requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions – just can't be achieved.

Those themes — the collective responsibility and the importance of the market place — were well-placed and oft-referenced in his speech, but it's likely the former will make the most right-wing heads spin. References to the market place and competition will be pushed aside as opponents focus on Obama's emphasis on the "everybody," especially considering his campaign-ready closing remarks:

But that's not what the moment calls for. That's not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it's hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history's test.

Those who were against his reforms likely weren't won over, and the Republicans, who sat sour-faced and stern, don't look like they're ready to sit down and work things out, despite the best efforts to make it all crystal clear. In addition to Wilson's "lie" remark, there were plenty of other times when the Republicans, who refused to clap and wore oppositional signs, let out audible "boos."

So, if we're going to play political psychic, tonight's speech will only further embolden the right's name-called, finger-wagging and general obstruction. But maybe they'll surprise us!

You know, like an op-ed. Though none of the bits where he'll call out uninsured people in the audience or whatever were included.

The power of the president's bully pulpit is usually grossly overstated. It is, after all, the job of Congress to make laws, and of the President to enforce them. But decades of expanding executive power and the post-civil rights polarization of the political parties and the complete utter piece of garbage joke the Senate has become along with, yes, the convenient-for-media-narratives idea of The President as the Guy In Charge Of the Government have all conspried to make everyone think that what Obama needs to do to get serious is Make a Speech Before Congress. So Obama will sell congress on a bill congress is itself writing. The real point is, now that August is done and Labor Day is behind us, to try to fight back against the last month of lies and scare tactics and get the debate back to something resembling reality.

I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. And ever since, nearly every President and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way. A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.

Yes. It's socialist national health insurance! It would be a wonderful idea! But that is not what Obama is actually selling. He explains what he is actually selling: a series of insurance reforms and subsidies for the uninsured to purchase insurance.

Also he is mad at you, Sarah Palin!

But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.

The excerpts released do not suggest a very stirring or inspiring speech. But all it really has to go is make everyone get briefly serious again, for a minute. We'll see how it does in that respect, oh, tomorrow morning.

[Photo: AP]

Oh, look, we got an invite!

Hong Kong - 31 August 2009 - CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, Asia's leading independent brokerage and investment group, will host the former Governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, in her first international speaking engagement outside North America.

Palin will address CLSA clients and delegates in a keynote speech at the 16th CLSA Investors' Forum to be held in Hong Kong from 21-25 September. Palin joins a list of noted global leaders including Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Alan Greenspan who have chosen the CLSA Investors' Forum as their platform of choice to reach global institutional fund managers and CEO's of Asia's leading listed corporations.

Noted global leaders Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Alan Greenspan, and Sarah Palin! Hah, one of these things is not like the other. (Alan Greenspan is the only one who broke a whole fucking country.)

Oh, the reason Palin is speaking to these investors, after spending months accepting speaking invites and then canceling at the last minute claiming she never agreed to them, is because she has signed on with the Washington Speakers Bureau, which is sort of this big scam company that you send hundreds of thousands of dollars to, and then they send you various liars and frauds.

Palin speeches are expected to go for "six figures apiece," but if you want someone to have written them down for her beforehand, that'll probably be extra.

And she's "about 85 percent finished with her book, due out this spring from HarperCollins"! The book sounds like it is so far about marathons she has attended and baskets she has scored. Palin was paid millions of dollars to write this book, which will be a collection of blog posts about fat hipsters.

She is going to be very, very wealthy, and this is all before she decides on a TV or radio gig, and also there is a Liberal Media Plot against her.

They paid Kenya Mejia $1,800 to say "I love you, Jake Minor!" in her actual graduation speech, the idea being that she would say she was inspired to call out her crush by seeing the same thing done in this movie, I Love You, Beth Cooper. Then the video of this would "go viral," supposedly. Let us count the ways in which this plan failed.

1. The movie bombed. "Even Ms. Mejia hasn't seen it." Return-on-investment fail.

2. The Fox-produced-but-supposedly-just-amateur YouTube video the company posted of the stunt barely has over 2,000 hits. Why would anyone care? They would not. Viral fail.

3. The school district is pissed. Education fail

4. This "Jake Minor" character that Kenya called out as her crush is not even her boyfriend. Although her boyfriend supposedly "endorsed it," hopefully for a hefty cut of the check. Furthermore, Jake Minor has a girlfriend of his own. His assessment of Kenya: "She's pretty quiet." Love connection fail.

Let us never try this again.

[WSJ]

The New York Times summed it up in this way:

He was one part politician and one part black preacher as he spoke in lilting cadences, his voice quiet at times, thundering at others, in unusually personal terms. At one point, when his audience shouted back at him, repeating his words, he threw back his head and laughed, saying, "I've got an amen corner back there."

Though he spoke for nearly 45 minutes in total, it was the last ten minutes of the speech that will be most remembered, with the following quote destined to perhaps become the most memorable moment from the speech:

They might think they've got a pretty jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States of America.

The final ten minutes or so are embedded below.

Obama to Fellow Blacks: No Excuses For Any Failure [New York Times]

"It's great to have a nice home. It's great to have nice homes! It's great to have a nice home that just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara," she told the students. "It's great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn't great is lying to you."

What kind of fiend would tell you that having your own private jet isn't GREAT?!? Probably the type of dirty hippie who goes dumpster diving for leftover chicken scraps at KFC, only to find that they'd all been given away, to a surly mob of coupon-wielders! Get your own jet, hippie, maybe you won't be so bitter.

Educations!

[WSJ; Pic by AP. Incidentally Oprah was silent on the Chicken Riots.]

We know the liberal bloggers derisively compared Jindal to Kenneth the Page—but is that just regional elitism? Well, yes, but Republicans thought he was a joke too!

David Brooks thought Jindal sucked, so so much. So much that he couldn't even formulate the crazy backwards this is secretly bad for OBAMA that the Republicans are a mess argument he'll eventually use in a column. "It's just a disaster for the Republican party," Brooks said, calling out Jindal for "nihilism." Which is actually a pretty accurate description of the entire Republican response to the economic crisis, right?

At The Corner, official Jindal girlfriend-in-waiting K-Lo jumped out of the gate with the first response to Jindal's response, cautiously complimenting how awesome he was without really committing, because her and Jonah don't form genuine opinions until the smarter Corner contributors weigh in with things that make some sort of sense. And right on cue, Ramesh Ponnuru acknowledged that Jindal's "delivery was weak." And so K-Lo lets an emailer note that Jindal sounded ridiculous.

These psycho conservatives commenting at Larry Johnson's blog wonder if Jindal is even a natural-born citizen and pray for Sarah Palin.

Hilariously, a Free Republic commenter says Jindal reminded him of Richard Pryor's "white man voice," which is pretty clever and also maybe racist (because it's from a Free Republic commenter).

Sorry, Bobby! Maybe by 2012 someone other than a preschool teacher will give you some tips on reading speeches?

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States:

I've come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here.

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven't been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has - a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family. You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day. It's the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights. It's the job you thought you'd retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that's now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.

Now, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll admit that for too long, we have not always met these responsibilities - as a government or as a people. I say this not to lay blame or look backwards, but because it is only by understanding how we arrived at this moment that we'll be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament.

The fact is, our economy did not fall into decline overnight. Nor did all of our problems begin when the housing market collapsed or the stock market sank. We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before. The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform. Our children will compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare them for. And though all these challenges went unsolved, we still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before.

In other words, we have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day.

Well that day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here.

Now is the time to act boldly and wisely - to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time to jumpstart job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do, and that's what I'd like to talk to you about tonight.

It's an agenda that begins with jobs.

As soon as I took office, I asked this Congress to send me a recovery plan by President's Day that would put people back to work and put money in their pockets. Not because I believe in bigger government - I don't. Not because I'm not mindful of the massive debt we've inherited - I am. I called for action because the failure to do so would have cost more jobs and caused more hardships. In fact, a failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years. That's why I pushed for quick action. And tonight, I am grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleased to say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law.

Over the next two years, this plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs. More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector - jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.

Because of this plan, there are teachers who can now keep their jobs and educate our kids. Health care professionals can continue caring for our sick. There are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make.

Because of this plan, 95% of the working households in America will receive a tax cut - a tax cut that you will see in your paychecks beginning on April 1st.

Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs will receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college. And Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage to help them weather this storm.

I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we've all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.

That is why I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort - because nobody messes with Joe. I have told each member of my Cabinet as well as mayors and governors across the country that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend. I have appointed a proven and aggressive Inspector General to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud. And we have created a new website called recovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent.

So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.

I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family's well-being. You should also know that the money you've deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.

The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.

You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.

But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or to each other. When there is no lending, families can't afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.

That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.

We will do so in several ways. First, we are creating a new lending fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans, college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.

Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and re-finance their mortgages. It's a plan that won't help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values - Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped bring about. In fact, the average family who re-finances today can save nearly $2000 per year on their mortgage.

Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.

I understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But such an approach won't solve the problem. And our goal is to quicken the day when we re-start lending to the American people and American business and end this crisis once and for all.

I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.

Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federal government - and yes, probably more than we've already set aside. But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen.

I understand that when the last administration asked this Congress to provide assistance for struggling banks, Democrats and Republicans alike were infuriated by the mismanagement and results that followed. So were the American taxpayers. So was I.

So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you - I get it.

But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job - our job - is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility. I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive, but I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can't pay its workers or the family that has saved and still can't get a mortgage.

That's what this is about. It's not about helping banks - it's about helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend, and if they can get a loan too, maybe they'll finally buy that car, or open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and American families will see their retirement secured once more. Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover.

So I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary. Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession. And to ensure that a crisis of this magnitude never happens again, I ask Congress to move quickly on legislation that will finally reform our outdated regulatory system. It is time to put in place tough, new common-sense rules of the road so that our financial market rewards drive and innovation, and punishes short-cuts and abuse.

The recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate steps we're taking to revive our economy in the short-term. But the only way to fully restore America's economic strength is to make the long-term investments that will lead to new jobs, new industries, and a renewed ability to compete with the rest of the world. The only way this century will be another American century is if we confront at last the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care; the schools that aren't preparing our children and the mountain of debt they stand to inherit. That is our responsibility.

In the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we have come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or laundry lists of programs. I see this document differently. I see it as a vision for America - as a blueprint for our future.

My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we've inherited - a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.

Given these realities, everyone in this chamber - Democrats and Republicans - will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me.

But that does not mean we can afford to ignore our long-term challenges. I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.

For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry. From the turmoil of the Industrial Revolution came a system of public high schools that prepared our citizens for a new age. In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle-class in history. And a twilight struggle for freedom led to a nation of highways, an American on the moon, and an explosion of technology that still shapes our world.

In each case, government didn't supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. It created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.

We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity from ordeal. Now we must be that nation again. That is why, even as it cuts back on the programs we don't need, the budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education.

It begins with energy.

We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.

Well I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders - and I know you don't either. It is time for America to lead again.

Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation's supply of renewable energy in the next three years. We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history - an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology.

We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.

But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.

As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.

None of this will come without cost, nor will it be easy. But this is America. We don't do what's easy. We do what is necessary to move this country forward.

For that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care.

This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four times faster than wages. And in each of these years, one million more Americans have lost their health insurance. It is one of the major reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship jobs overseas. And it's one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of our budget.

Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold.

Already, we have done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the last thirty days than we have in the last decade. When it was days old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance for eleven million American children whose parents work full-time. Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives. It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American by seeking a cure for cancer in our time. And it makes the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that is one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.

This budget builds on these reforms. It includes an historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform - a down-payment on the principle that we must have quality, affordable health care for every American. It's a commitment that's paid for in part by efficiencies in our system that are long overdue. And it's a step we must take if we hope to bring down our deficit in the years to come.

Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform, and that is why I'm bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care providers, Democrats and Republicans to begin work on this issue next week.

I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard. But I also know that nearly a century after Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform, the cost of our health care has weighed down our economy and the conscience of our nation long enough. So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.

The third challenge we must address is the urgent need to expand the promise of education in America.

In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a pre-requisite.

Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish.

This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education - from the day they are born to the day they begin a career.

Already, we have made an historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We have dramatically expanded early childhood education and will continue to improve its quality, because we know that the most formative learning comes in those first years of life. We have made college affordable for nearly seven million more students. And we have provided the resources necessary to prevent painful cuts and teacher layoffs that would set back our children's progress.

But we know that our schools don't just need more resources. They need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance; pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We'll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools.

It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country - and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country - Senator Edward Kennedy.

These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home.

There is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children. And that is the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay. With the deficit we inherited, the cost of the crisis we face, and the long-term challenges we must meet, it has never been more important to ensure that as our economy recovers, we do what it takes to bring this deficit down.

I'm proud that we passed the recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.

Yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office. My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and ineffective programs. As you can imagine, this is a process that will take some time. But we're starting with the biggest lines. We have already identified two trillion dollars in savings over the next decade.

In this budget, we will end education programs that don't work and end direct payments to large agribusinesses that don't need them. We'll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use. We will root out the waste, fraud, and abuse in our Medicare program that doesn't make our seniors any healthier, and we will restore a sense of fairness and balance to our tax code by finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.

In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. But let me perfectly clear, because I know you'll hear the same old claims that rolling back these tax breaks means a massive tax increase on the American people: if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime. In fact, the recovery plan provides a tax cut - that's right, a tax cut - for 95% of working families. And these checks are on the way.

To preserve our long-term fiscal health, we must also address the growing costs in Medicare and Social Security. Comprehensive health care reform is the best way to strengthen Medicare for years to come. And we must also begin a conversation on how to do the same for Social Security, while creating tax-free universal savings accounts for all Americans.

Finally, because we're also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget. That is why this budget looks ahead ten years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules - and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.

We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war.

And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism. Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half a world away.

As we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad and more are readying to deploy. To each and every one of them, and to the families who bear the quiet burden of their absence, Americans are united in sending one message: we honor your service, we are inspired by your sacrifice, and you have our unyielding support. To relieve the strain on our forces, my budget increases the number of our soldiers and Marines. And to keep our sacred trust with those who serve, we will raise their pay, and give our veterans the expanded health care and benefits that they have earned.

To overcome extremism, we must also be vigilant in upholding the values our troops defend - because there is no force in the world more powerful than the example of America. That is why I have ordered the closing of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists - because living our values doesn't make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger. And that is why I can stand here tonight and say without exception or equivocation that the United States of America does not torture.

In words and deeds, we are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun. For we know that America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America. We cannot shun the negotiating table, nor ignore the foes or forces that could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense of confidence and candor that serious times demand.

To seek progress toward a secure and lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors, we have appointed an envoy to sustain our effort. To meet the challenges of the 21st century - from terrorism to nuclear proliferation; from pandemic disease to cyber threats to crushing poverty - we will strengthen old alliances, forge new ones, and use all elements of our national power.

And to respond to an economic crisis that is global in scope, we are working with the nations of the G-20 to restore confidence in our financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism, and spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe. For the world depends on us to have a strong economy, just as our economy depends on the strength of the world's.

As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us - watching to see what we do with this moment; waiting for us to lead.

Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege - one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans. For in our hands lies the ability to shape our world for good or for ill.

I know that it is easy to lose sight of this truth - to become cynical and doubtful; consumed with the petty and the trivial.

But in my life, I have also learned that hope is found in unlikely places; that inspiration often comes not from those with the most power or celebrity, but from the dreams and aspirations of Americans who are anything but ordinary.

I think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him. He didn't tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, ''I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn't feel right getting the money myself."

I think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community - how it can bring jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay. "The tragedy was terrible," said one of the men who helped them rebuild. "But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible opportunity."

And I think about Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the young girl from that school I visited in Dillon, South Carolina - a place where the ceilings leak, the paint peels off the walls, and they have to stop teaching six times a day because the train barrels by their classroom. She has been told that her school is hopeless, but the other day after class she went to the public library and typed up a letter to the people sitting in this room. She even asked her principal for the money to buy a stamp. The letter asks us for help, and says, "We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina but also the world. We are not quitters."

We are not quitters.

These words and these stories tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here. They tell us that even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, a resilience, a decency, and a determination that perseveres; a willingness to take responsibility for our future and for posterity.

Their resolve must be our inspiration. Their concerns must be our cause. And we must show them and all our people that we are equal to the task before us.

I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways. But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. That must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months, and where we return after those debates are done. That is the foundation on which the American people expect us to build common ground.

And if we do - if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, "something worthy to be remembered." Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

8:58 Well, it's nice to see Nancy Pelosi and smilin' Joe Biden up there instead of Dick Cheney and creepy Denny Hastert.
9:00 God DAMMIT MSNBC not this terrible CNN "what do ppl think about the words he's saying before they have time to process them" polling thing. Off we go to... CBS?
9:02 Scalia and Stevens are not here! Ruth Bader Ginsburg made it and she has cancer you assholes.
9:05 Brian Williams said something about "the first lady's box." Oh, even more awkward: the President's cabinet is supposed to be there but he is missing a couple of those guys, because no one pays any taxes anymore.
9:08 Sully! Sully's there! Standing O! Hey, the Twitter nerds are "Tweeting" this.
9:10 Here he is! The President of the United States, Barack Obama!
9:11 Hey, we were just sent an advance copy of the entire speech. It's really great. Here's how it opens:

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
Address to Joint Session of Congress
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States:

hey, check out this video http://tinyurl.com/39upj5

9:15 Long handshake round. Those tend to get shorter as the presidency goes on. Here we go!!!!!
9:16 Ha ha ha protocol mixup. Nancy totally interrupted his awesome intro. John Roberts: not to blame for once. MORE APPLAUSE. Almost as much as Sully got!
918 This speech: DOWNER. And Joe Biden JUMPS up for the first applause line of the night, about how we will rebuild everyone that got fired and stuff, into Bionic Americans.
9:20 Here's a picture of what's wrong with all the banks btw:

9:22 Hmm Nancy clapped at an odd non-applause line and Joe didn't. He's got a cheat sheet.
9:24 And your first "mixed applause and boos" line of the night: "And tonight, I am grateful that this Congress delivered, and pleased to say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now law." Hey, Minneapolis shout-out! There are 57 racist cops who weren't laid off, THANKS OBAMA. (Seriously, Minneapolis cops are really racist.)
9:26 Vice President Joe Biden: you are a treat! "No one messes with Joe," Obama says, and how can you not applaud at that, and then he sort of mugs for a bit, like late-period DeNiro sort of but more charming and less sad. Oh, and we should all go to recovery.gov—someone in research track down the first use of a URL in an SOTU (or JOINT ADDRESS OF CONGRESS whatever).
9:27 Here is "why we need to bail out the banks for dummies," by Barack Obama. He should put up that graphic we stole from Krugman. Though it is not very reassuring.
9:30 Sure, stocks would go up if we just gave banks all the money in the world with no strings attached, but dammit, we are going to attach some really really easily snipped strings to all the money in the world! APPLAUSE! (Please don't rise up against us, embittered underclass!)
9:33 He seems to be getting the "tone" exactly right, here, and even though we think his bank "plan" is disastrously vague and possibly stupid, we are still all RIGHT ON YES YOU ARE RIGHT. The "the last administration gave the banks money the wrong way, but don't worry, when we give the banks money we will force them to tar and feather all the executives. And then you can stop only ordering from the dollar menu, I promise" kinda thing is Very Shrewd and clearly the most obvious way to sell this but you tell that to Bush and Paulson.
9:37 Holy shit, there's an American on the moon? Can our bullshit space program get him down without blowing up all the rest of the shuttles? Poor guy :(
9:39 Whops we totally put up the wrong picture back there, sorry. This is the bank thing:

Also there's some applause about fuck Korea and China, we will invent the new oil, whatever it is (it is corn) (which involves a lot of oil, to grow).
9:41 Hey, the auto industry bit. "I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it." Hah, because none of the fatties in America can walk anywhere, that's why we invented the fucking Escalade.
9:43 Oh shit, the stimulus bill cures cancer? Why does Bobby Jindal want Louisiana to get cancer!
9:45 Oh, we have the text of Bobby Jindal's response. Starts off with the life story "hello I'm running for president" bit (children of immigrants, parents' values v v important), then it just descends into pure assholery:

Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us. Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts.

Yes because THE PRIVATE SECTOR really stepped up to the fucking plate on that one, huh! GAH. Well you'll hear it yourselves, or you won't, if you're smart, because it just gets worse from there. So hey, back to Obama. He just said we all have to go back to college??!? No, seriously, Obama is forcing us to go back to college, what the fuck.
9:54 Lusty cheers and boos during the tax bit. Sigh. God Nancy Pelosi settle down you don't need to stand for every line. Though that is a very lovely tunic and we understand why you'd want to show it off.
9:57 Here is the single awkward refence to Iraq:

We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war.

Well, by "I will soon announce" he means "it was announced today that we're staying longer than I promised and leaving 50,000 troops there, whoops." Sigh. Here comes the requisite childish "I hate terrorists" bit. WE KNOW. Also we honor all the troops. WE KNOW THAT TOO. Now it's "shake hands with a soldier" time in the audience!
9:59 Hey, here is one bit that Bush couldn't have gotten away with saying in his otherwise-identical "we'll hunt you down terrorists fuck you guys go America" portion of the speech: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOES NOT TORTURE because of this crazy notion of actually embodying the values we claim to fight for. Ok, we're back on the bandwagon!
10:01 John Kerry: Serious Senator, Serious Face, Serious Address to Congress. And Sully!
10:02 Any minute now we're coming up on the "I know a heroic regular American who happens to be here" bit guys! Get psyched!
10:03 God, remember when Bush's special SOTU guest was the person who invented BABY EINSTEIN? What the hell was that about?
10:04 Obama has a bank president who gave his bonus to his employees, a little girl from a shitty school in South Carolina, and, uh, the entire town of Greensburg, Kansas. Sorry, little girl from the shitty school in South Carolina, your asshole governor doesn't want any of the dirty stimulus money to fix your school. GOVERNMENT IS NOT THE ANSWER.
10:07 "But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed." Except his wife, obv, that Stokely Carmichael in a dress.
10:08 OK AMERICA WE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO. This was a SOBERING speech about HARD TIMES but we will PERSEVERE. Glod bless etc.
10:11 IMPORTANT FACT-CHECKING NOTE: America did not invent the automobile. Obama meant to say we invented the remix.
10:12 Ok that was actually a Very Good Speech, especially for one of these "states of the union" speeches with are always stupid. This one was educational and smart and, as we said, struck the correct tone of not promising anything except that Things Will Eventually Be Better but without being too dour, because Americans like Happy Thoughts. So cheers to our elegant president! Now Jesse Jackson Jr is getting two autographs. Michelle Bachmann will probably not lean in for a kiss.
10:26 HA HA HA listen to Bobby Jindal!! He sounds like he's reading a clue on Jeopardy! This guy is not ready for prime time. He's ready for late-night infomercial. This is maybe worse than Tim Kaine's famous "blinky-blinky weird eyebrow" response. Bobby Jindal knows government isn't the answer. TAKE A LOOK, IT'S IN A BOOK, IT'S READING RAINBOW. Who told him to talk like this?

What to expect? First of all, it's not a State of the Union. Presidents only get to give those when they've been president longer than a month. (Constitutionally they can give them whenever they want, it's just not considered polite.) So instead of a year-in-review, it'll be yet another summary of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, what Obama is doing to fix it, and then what he has planned for the year ahead.

The President is terribly popular still, so his only real hurdle is selling whatever his bank plan is. Take a thousand drinks if you hear the word "nationalization." One shot for "stress test." Then he'll explain his magical plan to cut the deficit in half.

Also there will be stuff about Afghanistan, and how we're done in Iraq so it's time to clean up that other country we're occupying.

And the big news will probably be details on health care reform. Well, either details or vague statements and references to a forthcoming "summit." (Drink every time he says "summit.") Either one is possible.

We'll see you at 9 p.m. Eastern.

The theme of the day among "political types" is this: Obama is bad at PR. Here we are, a couple weeks into this whole Obama administration thing, and where is his Big Speech to rally the country around the need for this stimulus package, or even, we daresay, to stimulate the country, all by itself? National TV networks should all be interrupted on a weekly basis, for an Obama speech. For hope!

Hey: he went and visited all the TV anchors this week to talk this stimulus package up. He even has an op-ed in the Washington Post today, which a nice, fancy, old-fashioned thing to do. In fact Obama is making the points that these same critics want him to make: namely, that the stimulus package is necessary, urgent, and if we don't do it now we are totally fucked, so don't fuck around with this, you Congressional hicks.

But he's doing it in that nice, reasonable Obama way that America came to know and love on the campaign trail. He won by grinding it out after Super Tuesday, retaining his equanimity, and making his opponents look like screechy fools in comparison.

During the campaign, though, if that strategy had failed, we would have just had Hillary Clinton as president. If it fails now our entire economy is shredded for the next decade. Which makes people nervous! Ironically, the most nervous are the fighting liberals who were Obama's biggest supporters when he was running. Now he's acting the same way in the White House. Surprise! Joan Walsh has already declared that he's no Great Communicator. What a disappointment this African-American president idea has been.

But we can all rest assured that Obama and Rahm and co. are breaking balls in their own low-key fashion. He doesn't want to bring the entire nation in front of a TV set to collectively listen to him rip the Senate Republicans in his first month, so they can work for the next four years to roadblock his liberal agenda items such as money for humans, out of spite. So hold off a bit, shouting heads. When this thing finally passes he'll look smart for going the reserved route. And nobody really likes listening to speeches, anyhow.

Maybe we wanted some old-fashioned hope-mongering, today, but Obama sternly shook his head at us and said no, today we deal with the fact that everything in America sucks right now, and it's all of our faults. But, you know, at least Bush is gone.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." That is the line of Obama's speech that most quickly lent itself to headlines, as it was maybe the most direct distinction drawn between the politics of Bush and his preferred method of doing business.

The other headline-ready bit? Our new "era of responsibility." The theme was service, and the speech wasn't flowery. Will it be remembered for generations to come? Will a "ask not what your country can do for you" emerge from the forthcoming 24 hour media postmortem? Who knows. John Dickerson found it impersonal, and the "sober, dealing with a world of shit" reading seems to have taken hold.

But there were important bits. He killed the Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush era of "small government" rhetorically with his line about "the question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works"; also a callback of sorts to what is still his best speech, the 2004 convention address in which he explained that America is not two separate colors.

But it's way too early to pick out the lines that will resonate for years, if any do. At the moment, it's all images. But what images!

I think [a 'government bailout' of newspapers—Ed. note: probably not an imminent threat!]is a terrible idea. What would happen is newspapers would then focus on this ultra-elite point-five-percent and create these papers that are just unreachable to a mass audience...I think for government to come in and force this intellectual thing would be terrible. It'd almost be like in 1950, with rock-n-roll coming, all the sudden the government comes in to support classical music.

Tribune is already taking steps to ensure that its papers don't appeal to the ultra-elites. [via Mixed Media]

Who's Matt Scully? Time explains:

A veteran of the early Bush White House, his specialty was crafting Bush's pro-life message in a way that would not offend soccer moms or mainstream Catholics who get nervous around some of the more extreme Evangelical rhetoric. A former protégé of the late pro-life Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, Scully has a history of finding rhetorical unity for voters on the right and in the center.

They also say Scully wrote the speech largely before Palin was selected. Which makes sense. But the parts that seemed tailored specifically to her? Who wrote those? Specifically, the line about small towns, and how they grow great people? That line, as was revealed this week, was written by a very bigoted columnist named Westbrook Pegler. That line seems like a landmine of unintentional readings: it was written by a racist, about a man who became president when the old man before him died. Not really a single good interpretation there, right?

Well either someone more wacky and right-wing than Scully got a hold of the speech before it was delivered (possible!), or Scully sabotaged her. Hear us out!

Scully left the Bush administration pissed off at his fellow speechwriter Mike Gerson and willing to settle scores in the pages of the liberal Atlantic. He wrote a book about animal rights and how he came to be a fairly militant vegetarian. The book is about how we humans have abused our God-granted "dominion" over the animals. He even opposes many hunting practices! Including, say, hunting wolves from fucking airplanes.

So. Michael Scully either put his party before his sense of morality and wrote a "red meat" speech for a wolf huntress, or someone else got in there and fixed it before Palin delivered it, or Scully bit his tongue and inserted a line by a long-dead far-right extremist that he found in an ancient Pat Buchanan book. Which, from the guy who crafted the "compassionate conservative" "different kind of Republican" message of Bush's 2000 campaign, seems an odd source to borrow from.

Also, when will anyone besides bloggers and Thomas Frank mention the Pegler quote or track down Scully for an interview?