the Democratic response

Why have we come to the point where the title of a Presidential Address is now: "A Message from the President...and the Democratic Response." "Dah dah dah dah, on tonight's special report with Brian Williams."

Before the President spoke last night, I could not believe the media were advertising the Democratic response. It took away the importance and poignancy of the moment and what the President was actually going to say- before he even had the chance to say it!!

Why, you ask? Because when you anticipate a response by the known opposition, you anticipate that whatever the President says should be and will be countered and therefore loses credibility sheerly by the fact that it is opposed.

Instead, I would prefer the subconscious realization of the Democratic response. We already know they are going to do this- they do it after every speech and Republicans do it as well in response to Democratic officials. But for those of us who do not wish to hear it, I would rather enjoy the Presidential address and follow in his unwavering and allegiant optimism for the troops and the mission in Iraq, and believe things are progressing there.

Even today, the headlines read "Bush Cites 'Success' in Iraq, But Benchmarks Tell a Different Story." This alone immediately discredits everything he said, regardless of the actual truth. "Bush attempts to shore up support?" says one headline? Absolutely he does "attempt," or try to shore up support, but by the nature of that simple word choice, we already know the media believes he has failed in that "attempt."

Please don't believe that I am naive enough to eat everything from President Bush's palm, but I do choose the message of hope and victory in Iraq over cowardly troop withdrawal. And yes, I did listen to the Democratic response. My point is simply, it is no wonder we have such a polarized America, refusing to open their ears and wallowing in defeat. Look at what we're watching and reading!