Here is Schwarzenegger’s State of the State speech. And this isDaniel Weintraub’s long comment on it. This is Ken Masugi’s shorter comment, which I quote in full: "The Governor blended Progressive measures such as the referendum in March with the political need to blame the Democrats for raising spending and eventually make them pay for it. In this way, his administration will be a fascinating exercise in using (or threatening) Progressive means to curb the worst excesses of left-liberal politics. His ’empire of aspirations’ slogan is completely open-ended and susceptible of interpretation according to everyone’s wishes-- which is why it is a great political slogan.
But I preferred the punch of ’I don’t want to move boxes around; I want to blow them up.’ Good action hero dialogue."
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s State of the Speech is very good indeed. Between the clear-eyed analysis of the state’s problems and the well-taken optimism that animates his decisions for improvement, we’ve got something reminiscent of FDR’s bold assertion that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." The governor inspires both trust and fear--trust (in the heart of Republicans and independents) that he knows what he’s doing and fear (in the heart of Democrats) that he intends to do what he says.