SOTU?

SOSO. (Same ol', same ol').

The speech was fine, President Bush handled Speaker Pelosi perfectly, the delivery was good and...who cares?

Not only did the speech accomplish nothing, there was never a moment in which anyone believed it would. The Bush Presidency is essentially dead. He can veto (will he?), he can deal (will he?), but the idea that a policy like raising taxes on gasoline is suddenly in play because it's been proposed by George Bush is like saying a day care center should expect new business after getting the John Mark Karr seal of approval.

Speaking of policies....was I the only person who found the president's list of priorities eerily familiar? I don't just mean "more of the same" on Iraq. I mean everything.

For example, how many times have I been told in a SOTU that "we must save Social Security." Ronald Reagan talked about that subject in HIS SOTU speeches. So did Bush the Lesser, and President Clinton.

Energy dependency? Balancing the budget? Fixing Medicare? Rescue kids from failing schools? Does the phrase "Been There, Will Never Do That" spring to mind?

My entire adult life, people have been pointing out that Social Security will go broke around 2017. My entire adult life, the obvious solutions have been available: Stop giving retirement welfare to rich people, let young people opt out and invest their own money, tax the opt-outers to keep the retirement welfare system working for those in need. Viola.

Simple. Obvious. Fair. Ever gonna happen? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Same with kids in crappy schools (vouchers), Medicare (give it only to the needy), energy dependency (drill more, raise gas taxes), etc. Knowing what to do is easy. Giving yet another SOTU about it, very easy.

Actually doing something? No chance. Which is why the SOTU is, yet again, NBD.