WEST MEETS EAST

Those of us living in Poland in the 50s, 60s, 70s remember broadcasts on TV where party officials convened and spoke to the public of recent successes and accomplishments. It went something like this:

Party chief (meaning First Secretary of the Polish Communist Party): ..production levels at the steel factories have never been so high [subtext: forced to raise production levels in one or two factories as a result of the frequent closures of antiquated mills and factories].

Room full of party officials and invited representatives from all sectors of society (note representatives from those efficient steel factories and other industrial units) TO MAKE THE POINT, with a few military types thrown in to lend aura of might; all stand and give a round of applause.

Party chief: Our country’s employment picture looks promising, unemployment remains low [subtext: no new jobs are being created, people are working at low wage jobs, contributing to economic inefficiencies and earning just enough to put a dinner on the table once a month]

Room full of party officials (see above) stands up and applause lasts for 9.5 seconds.

Party chief: Our friends abroad welcome the opportunity to increase trade with us [subtext: we wish German and American investors would high tail it over here, but in the mean time we have to be content with the fact that Russians seem to love our perfumes and colorless textiles]

Room full of party officials (see above) stands up and applause lasts for only 8 seconds, but an occasional hoot and cheer is heard as well. Camera pans to members of the military who look tough and in control.

And so on.

Is there a resemblance here, or what?
I have been recently told that my blog at time may make more sense to an American audience than to (the teeny tiny handful of) readers in Poland, and so I will oblige now with an explanation and a comparison.

Yesterday, of course, President Bush addressed the nation. He was dressed in red white and blue (just about) and looked very patriotic. In the audience we saw party officials and a few (color coordinated) members of the military. Bush spoke of accomplishments in a growing economy [unspoken subtext: his economy does not equal the economy of most Americans], encouraging employment statistics [unspoken subtext: at this rate of growth we may earn enough to put dinner on the table once a month], and the many friends America has abroad [unspoken subtext: we wish the French and the Germans would like us, but hey, we’ll make do with Poles and Bulgarians for now. Yes, Bulgarians stand proud: you were part of last night’s Presidential address, though in all honesty it sounded better than it was].

And in the background, '08 Candidate Hilary Clinton (you heard it here) smiled and clapped politely, and Senator Kennedy shook his head is sadness, realizing that George W is in it for FOUR MORE YEARS.