Smirk of the Union

[1]Behind President Bush's facial expressions during his final State of the Union speech was a series of dangerous ideas and misleading statements.

• Robert Borosage surveys the wreckage [2] of a presidency in its death throes, and what's missing in the Democrats' response.
• Rick Perlstein delves into the substance [3] of the speech and points out one of its most Orwellian moments [4].
• David Sirota hits Bush on trade [5] and Bill Scher picks apart Bush' insincerity on global warming [6].

By the Numbers [7]

We've counted up the cost of the last seven years of conservative misrule. See the facts in our comprehensive Real State of the Union chart [7]. Plus, watch our video reality check [1] of Bush's past State of the Union fantasies. [6]