Bush's Final SOTU

President Bush stood for the last time before a joint session of Congress (barring another national tragedy) and gave his final State of the Union Address. It was short on bold initiatives given both his short remaining term and political weakness, but he did let Congress know that if they want their earmarks next year they'll have to write them into the bills and vote on them. I wish he'd taken action against this year's earmarks, but he just couldn't bring himself to start that kind of fight.

Bush also made a play for Congress to make his tax cuts permanent and gave the line of the night:

He also pushed Congress to extend his tax cuts, which are to expire in 2010, and said allowing them to lapse would mean higher tax bills for 116 million American taxpayers. For those who say they're willing to pay more, Bush said, "I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders."

Who's going to be standing up there next year?