I almost turned the TV off last night after Bush’s State Of The Union address, but I didn’t. If I had I would have missed Jim Webb’s powerful response that is a must see for those who missed it.

Webb, the WaPo reports, “delivered a forceful nine-minute response to President Bush’s State of the Union address last night, promising an aggressive challenge to Bush’s Iraq and economic policies from the newly empowered Democratic majority in Congress.”

Webb accused the president of taking the country into Iraq “recklessly” and forcing it to endure “a mismanaged war for nearly four years.”

“Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary; that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism; and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable,” Webb said.

Webb held up a picture of his father as a young Air Force captain. As a small boy, he said, he took the picture to bed with him to remind him of his father’s sacrifice. Now, Webb’s son is serving in Iraq as a Marine infantryman.

“We need a new direction,” said Webb, a decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War. “Not one step back from the war against international terrorism, not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos, but an immediate shift toward strong, regionally based diplomacy.”

The entire response was magnificent but the closing paragraphs are what really grabbed me:

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves “as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other.” And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. “When comes the end?” asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

Webb’s response is making headlines and has the wingnuts crying foul in full throttle over it. Jonathan Alter noted in NEWSWEEK:

Something unprecedented happened tonight, beyond the doorkeeper announcing, “Madame Speaker.” For the first time ever, the response to the State of the Union Message overshadowed the president’s big speech. For the first time ever, the response to the State of the Union Message overshadowed the president’s big speech.

The full text of Jim Webb’s response to the State Of The Union is here. Hat tip to Taylor Marsh for the YouTube video.

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