Least Popular Guy on the Continent

I watched the SOTU speech last night on TV. I probably should have gone for a walk or an ice cream (or both), but some perverse sense of obligation to bear witness kept me from leaving the couch where my housemates were watching. It's unfortunate that my president is the most unpopular man on Earth, and thus I'm stuck apologizing for the fact that we didn't get Kerry elected last year. It's weird to have to begin every conversation with, "Soy norteamericano, disculpame, pero no voté para Bush" (I'm from the U.S., forgive me, but I didn't vote for Bush). I say it so much, though, that I'm getting used to it. In fact, it kinda feels nice to ackowledge the fact that I'm an American who can't stand the guy either. It makes for a nice conversation starter. And I have to say it's refreshing to be on another continent, where politics and culture are following a path of their own and Bush is universally reviled as the dangerous, irresponsible, and illegitimate bully that he is.

PS:

If you're interested in reading Cindy Sheehan's description of her arrest last night, look here.

Two smart and funny analyses of Bush's speech are here and here.