I slept hard last night and somewhat regret my earlier posts. I confess, I have only had cable television hooked up in my apartment for approximately three weeks. There is simply no way to adequately prepare for the monstrous shock that cable television (inevitably) delivers to the mind and heart. From a recently published Abstract:

Research examining media effects on political attitudes has put forth broadly conflicting explanations: media use diminishes knowledge and involvement and contributes to political cynicism and declining turnout; media use contributes to learning, political involvement, trust, efficacy, and mobilization. … A dual effects hypothesis is supported: regularly watching television news on the public service channels has positive effects on cognition, efficacy, and turnout, whereas regularly opting for commercial television news has negative effects. Viewing behavior thus separates the more knowledgeable, the efficacious, and the politically involved from those who are not, revealing what might be described as a "virtuous circle" for some and a "spiral of cynicism" for others.

It appears that for some of us, channel-surfing can cause a bi-polar fracturing of mind – not unlike dating. In the calming aftermath of the SOTU, however, I find a great deal to be heartened about. Regardless of what any one person thinks about the candidates, we do have a choice. Bush may live in the White House, but the country does not belong to him. A great many programs he pushed for in his speech have little chance of becoming a reality. The resistance to his moralizing, scolding, pandering and spinning is very much alive. The divisions in the joint session last night (evidenced by the scarcity of universal standing ovations) should give us all hope. Occasionally, a leader rises up in a democracy who earns the respect of a huge plurality. We do not currently have such a leader, and it should reassure us all that this is being recognized. Even the blogosphere's favorite sellout is showing signs of catching on:

To brag about a growing economy without some kind of passage of empathy for those still struggling reveals major political obtuseness. I was also struck by how hard right the president was on social policy. $23 million for drug-testing children in schools? A tirade against steroids? (I'm sure Tom Brady was thrilled by that camera shot.) More public money for religious groups? Abstinence only for prevention of STDs? Whatever else this president is, he is no believer in individuals' running their own lives without government regulation, control or aid. If you're a fiscal conservative or a social liberal, this was a speech that succeeded in making you take a second look at the Democrats. I sure am.

Who knows, maybe he'll be the next David Brock.

Anyway, I apologize for slipping into a miasma of despair. I'll try to invest a little more thought into my discourse forthwith.