The State of the Union as Metaphor

The Prez's State of the Union speech on Tuesday wasn't full of big ideas, but he did have a few attention-getting lines.

Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology.

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Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. (Applause.) By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past. (Applause.)

That is a great goal, but is it one to which the administration actually aspires? Maybe not.

One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.

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"This was purely an example," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said.

If someone could compile a list of all the other "examples" in the State of the Union, I'd greatly appreciate it.