United States of Denial

While watching the State of the Union address and the subsequent Democratic response, I witnessed two states of denial, united under one roof.

First one, of course, was the president, in denial about the erosion of democracy under his administration, the geopolitics of a Middle East region he doesn't understand (or want to), and the political shitstorm he and his pals face here at home. His overt smugness throughout was an obvious defense mechanism, and he seemed visibly miffed and baffled that his dad's current best friend is the sworn enemy of the party faithful who is really smart. That has to suck. Still, he used this observation to remind the country of his failed Social Security scam, which he's also in denial about.

The second one was the Democratic leadership. Laboring under the illusion that they have their fingers on the pulse of the opposition, they tried to prove it by putting before the camera a rookie governor with scary eyebrows, an ill-defined agenda and the plastic smile of a televangelist, as if they hoped to lure the GOP's base into defecting somehow. Admittedly, it was an improvement over the Republicans' choice of an NFL quarterback and a soccer mom to deliver their response to Bill Clinton's midterm address. Still, I felt almost as physically ill watching such a squandered opportunity as my wife feels whenever she watches the president doing anything.