I’ll be using this thread for updating the liveblog. I’ll be covering what is happening on Fox News because they’ll do the speech with a lot of post-election fallout and analysis coverage. Remember, this is Central/Arizona time!

7:00 – Laura Bush took her seat in the box with a few Iraqi voters. Very cool. And they’re just introducing the cabinet mambers.
7:05 – President Bush was just introduced. Big applause, though I’m guessing a duo of Massachusetts senators aren’t putting their all into it. He’s wearing the red power tie, perfect for what kind of speech this is shaping up to be.
7:09 – Brit Hume notes how amusing it is to see people’s faces cringe on certain sides of the aisle. Heh. Alright, speech is starting.
7:10 – He just rattled off a list of countries. Iraq was there, but also notable to me at the moment was Ukraine!
7:10 – “The state of our union is confident and strong.” Damn right. Keep telling us how cool we are, because it’s true.
7:11 – Watching Cheney’s face while he sits there is pretty funny too.
7:12 – Back on track. The first half of the speech is on domestic policy. He’s starting out with the economy, and just said that “we will make America the strongest economy in the world.” Cut the deficit in half, spending below inflation, tax cuts permanent. Nice place to start.
7:13 – I noticed some people didn’t stand for that. Ha
7:14 – “Taxpayers dollars must be spent wisely… or not at all.”
7:15 – Increasing Pell grants sounds good. Though strengthening community colleges sounds even better.
7:17 – A huge grin as he says people should get more choice on their health decisions. No kidding, everyone stood up. Edit: Until he went into it further. Heh.
7:18 – Haha, nucular energy.
7:20 – Geez. Every special interest is getting their taste here. But I’ve got to say, “four years of debate is enough” is a sting on the Dems and thir filibustering, and the call for less dependence on foreign energy is a good place to start.
7:20 – Immigration… I’m not so sure with him on that one. The fact that he won’t fund more Border Patrol troopers isn’t helping his case. (Remember, I’m in Arizona, this is a huge problem for me.)
7:22 – The Telegraph is already reporting the speech?
7:23 – Ah. I’m glad he’s giving out the basic facts on social security. Most people don’t know these.
7:24 – Booing? Do these people actually believe that Social Security is forever solvent? Are they disagreeing that each year means more debt? Idiots.
7:25 – “It should not be a small matter to Congress.” Some Democrats were clapping, maybe there’s hope.
7:27 – Our children are more important than partisan politics. If only the Democrats grasped that, they’d be a more influential party. “I will embrace anyone that has a good idea to offer.” Yes, everything is open, as long as it will help. Good.
7:28 – I promise I’ll summarize my thoughts when I’m done!
7:30 – Another reason I like the accounts. The government can’t touch it. The system works miraculously in Chile already, why not here? The investor class is real, it just takes time to develop as a culture.
7:31 – Honestly though, I’d just rather not do payroll taxes and just keep my money to do what I want with it. Imagine how that would best the economy!
7:32 – I honestly didn’t think he’d bring up the marriage amendment again. I knew he was going to bring up the “culture of life” stuff, but I thought he’d dropped it after the election. The Democrats stood up for the part about standards for life. They had too, or that would have been a black eye.
7:34 – Heh. What were those jackals screaming?
7:36 – Looks like MSNBC has the full text already. edit: Er. Looks like they’re updating as it goes along.
7:38 – Alright, I think it is getting to foreign policy. Apparently you guys are going to pass onto me “freedom from fear.” This is where I quip with a cool libertarian quote like “What, freedom from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?”
7:40 – Way too many verbs for me to handle.
7:41 – I don’t think he stated enough how much we need to give our military “the tools for victory.” I think we need to undo what Clinton did, and really boost it up.
7:42 – “The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror… is the force of human freedom.” Missed the little part in the middle, but it sounds good anyhow!
7:43 – While ending tyranny in the world sounds idealistic, it is actually really pragmatic.
7:44 – Ukraine mention again. They are definitely becoming a role model for the unfree world.
7:46 – With the new developments in cooperation between Palestine and Israel; President Bush is now sending Secretary Rice over and is requesting $350 million for encouraging the reform. Maybe there is hope? Maybe. They are putting a big bet on it, but that’s what they do.
7:47 – We will confront regimes that CONTINUE to harbor terrorists. That means that if they stop, we let them off..
7:48 – Syrian Accountability Act… alright, I’ll be researching that tonight.
7:49 – “And I say to the Iranian people: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.” Oh my. He looked right into the camera for that. I’ve got gitters!
7:50 – Someone held out their finger with an ink marking on it! Who was it? S/He’s getting a good letter for that.
7:51 – The Iraqis have definitely earned our respect. Whether you think the war is wrong or not… it is turning out fairly well.
7:53 – That lady is definitely a hero. It makes me really proud of what we did.
7:56 – That is NOT John Kerry’s natural tan.
7:57 – Good. Lett them know why we don’t have an exit strategy, finally. It was getting so old.
8:00 – I like it when they do personal anecdotes like this one, and touch the lives of individual people in such a way. Her son is going to be enshrined in American history forever now. There are tears of sadness there, but also tears of pride.
8:02 – And that is all. I can never get enough of hearing about freedom.