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Joel 9:23 p.m. CST: This probably isn’t the image the Democratic Party really needed to put forward tonight. It sounds more like Gov. Sebelius is beseeching the president for help -- with the "join us, Mr. President" refrain -- instead of offering a challenging alternative. I’m starting to think I don’t have to worry so much about her getting the VP slot on the Democratic ticket.

“God bless and sleep well?” (Sigh.)

I think that's it tonight.

Joel 9:21 p.m. CST: And my governor, Kathleen Sebelius, takes the stage to give the Democratic response.

“The American people, you and me, are not nearly as divided as our rancorous politics might suggest.” Nice line.

Still, I’m remembering why I don’t ever remember Kathleen Sebelius speeches. And I want to like this speech.

Ben 9:19 p.m. CST: Check out the State of the Union tag word slider.

Ben 9:12 p.m. CST: Then again, as Charles Krauthammer just mentioned on Fox News, there wasn't a word about North Korea. For good reason?

Ben 9:09 p.m. CST: Bah, says I to you, friend Joel. But God bless America indeed.

In summary: The domestic stuff is always death, especially the stimulus this year. Although the president is right about making the tax cuts permanent. No Child Left Behind is a disaster. Pell grants for students? Nice euphemism for vouchers. Hope the Democrats don't figure it out.

On the war, I think Bush is basically sound: Fight! Win!

And, again, I loved that Founding flourish at the finish.

Joel 9:02 p.m. CST: $30 billion isn’t quite the same drain on resources that a half-trillion is, Ben.

And: God bless America.

Ben 9:02 p.m. CST: Trust the people, empower the people... just as the Founders did. Not a bad finish.

Ben 8:58 p.m. CST: $30 billion over five years to fight AIDS in Africa. Or should that money be spent on roads, hospitals, and fiberoptic networks in the United States, Senator Obama?

Ben 8:55 p.m. CST: For God's sake, extend the FISA law and without subjecting the telecoms to crippling lawsuits. How difficult is that? Not a bipartisan issue, judging from the reaction, but it should be.

Joel 8:55 p.m. CST: “One of the most important tools we can give them is the ability to monitor terrorist communications. To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning. Last year, the Congress passed legislation to help us do that. Unfortunately, the Congress set the legislation to expire on February 1. This means that if you do not act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger.”

Let’s be very clear here: Democrats were ready to do an extension of the FISA bill. Republicans in the Senate have blocked it because they didn't like it, and they're unwilling to keep negotiating.

Now, the Senate Republicans are now leading a filibuster on a 30-day extension of FISA legislation (and President Bush says even if it did pass he would veto it) knowing full well that this means the current provisions regarding surveillance, enacted in August, will expire on Friday. Republicans are taking this step at the same time, they have repeatedly claimed that without this "critical intelligence tool" the lives of the American people will be in mortal danger.

Ben 8:50 p.m. CST: Me, too. I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone, but it looks like President Bush is going to say some utopian things about Palestinian statehood... whoops! There, he said it!

He's also going to reiterate a hard line on Iran. Come clean on the nukes, or else.

Joel 8:49 p.m. CST: I’m not going to lie: I’m reading ahead.

Ben 8:47 p.m. CST: Now that we have the speech, do we have to keep listening? The suspense is completely gone...

Joel 8:45 p.m. CST: “When we met last year, our troop levels in Iraq were on the rise. Today, because of the progress just described, we are implementing a policy of ‘return on success,’ and the surge forces we sent to Iraq are beginning to come home.” That’s not completely true. It is pretty widely known by now that troops had to start coming home if the Army wasn’t going to be broken outright.

Joel 8:43 p.m. CST: Here’s the full speech, if you want to read along.

Ben 8:43 p.m. CST: State of the applause... half the room supports making the tax cuts permanent and a little more than half supports a ban on cloning. Half the room isn't so hot on fighting and winning in Iraq. It's a cheap and useless measurement, perhaps, but the images are telling in a way.

Joel 8:39 p.m. CST: Yeah… those 3,200 Marines are being sent to Afghanistan because things are very shaky over there. It’s going nearly as well as he just made it sound.

Ben 8:36 p.m. CST: Bush is always so much better on the war. Stay on offense. Do justice. Fight and win the defining ideological struggle of the century.

Joel 8:34 p.m. CST: I had to spend a couple of minutes doing research. As far as I can tell, tonight is the first time that President Bush has mentioned the term “greenhouse gases” in a State of the Union speech. I’ll have to check on the term “emissions” in relation to this topic. He’s talked before about reducing our oil dependence, but has mostly framed it in terms of national security. It’s a tiny step forward, and it comes a bit late. But I suppose we should be grateful.

Ben 8:34 p.m. CST: I'm afraid this president has a better chance of making peace in the Middle East before he gets the kind of entitlement reforms he wants.

Ben 8:32 p.m. CST: A ban on the buying, selling, patenting, cloning of human life? Excellent. Extending charitable choice? Good. Hosting a trade summit in New Orleans? Now he's gone too far!

Ben 8:27 p.m. CST: Should the federal government really be spending more on research and development? Maybe.

Joel 8:23 p.m. CST: The White House has posted its ”State of the Union” policy initiatives document.

Ben 8:22 p.m. CST: What's the Hope Now Alliance? Not to be confused with Apocalypse Now mortgages, evidently.

President Bush is also extolling the virtues of No Child State Behind, and calling for flexibility and extra help. As the years pass, many more local school districts are in danger of going into receivership under the law. I'm afraid the only way to "strengthen" NCLB is to repeal it. But more on that later.

Joel 8:21 p.m. CST: Ah. So President Bush wants you to be able to make your own decisions about your health care. He just doesn’t want you to decide to sue your doctor if the doctor leaves a watch in your spleen?

Joel 8:15 p.m. CST: Bush loves the stimulus agreement that was negotiated with the House, of course. But the Senate got left out of those negotiations, and senators are kind of protective of the prerogatives. The “take it or leave it” approach works a little better if you get the right people to figure out what’s being left and taken in the first place.

I forgot the sentence-cheer-sentence-cheer structure of these things. So slow…

“American families have to balance their budgets. So should the government.” Really? Really? Didn’t you just praise a stimulus package that will be created with deficit spending? Or am I crazy?

Ben 8:14 p.m. CST: I'm happy to see the president take a hard line on taxes and, in particular, tax hikes. I wish he had done so sooner.

"Americans have to balance their budgets, so should their government." True that. But we have to balance our budgets every year, not in 2012.

Joel 8:12 p.m. CST: “Let us show that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time.” Huzzah! But the devil is in the details, isn’t it? If it was that easy, everybody would be in the same party. But not everybody wants the same results, and not everybody agrees on the means to get there.

“Exports are rising.” That’s what happens when the dollar goes soft.

Ben 8:12 p.m. CST: The theme of the evening is trust and empowerment. Be confident, don't panic.

Ben 8:09 p.m. CST: I think we can assume, with good reason, that the state of our union is strong. It will remain strong if Congress can manage to restrain itself from spending too much, or passing an absurd stimulus, or going wobbly on the war.

Joel 8:08 p.m. CST: And here we go…

Ben 8:06 p.m. CST: Sheila Jackson Lee gets her handshake again! It's an annual tradition, like Christmas, or the plunge in the poll ratings the president experiences after every one of these addresses.

Joel 7:45 p.m. CST: My friend and Kansas blogger J.D., whose politics I haven't entirely figured out -- except to know that they're generally right of mine -- has decided to skip tonight's speech rather than be nauseated.

Joel 7:30 p.m. CST: The "State of the Union" coverage starts in about a half-hour. Ben and I will be here giving our takes, because that's how we roll.

And, boy, is it going to be a huuuuuge night for my home state of Kansas. Not only will Gov. Sebelius be giving the Democratic response, but former Sen. Bob Dole and the town of Greensburg -- devastated last year by tornado -- will be recognized.

I feel like I should make some kind of Kansas pride cheer here. But in Kansas, our emotions generally range from a mild inferiority complex to stone-faced modesty. That, also, is how we roll.

Also, the final way we roll: I've got to go pour myself some scotch.