Here I am sipping cocoa and feeling as if I have worked for the day. The paper I am editing is progressing slowly and I may have it ready for publication in time indeed. On the side today was State of the Union day. The one time of the year when the political establishment in Washington practices synchronized applause. Like pioneers in a Maoist parade the two sides of the political divide practice contrapuntal applause and symphonic acclamations in the best tradition of Byzantine court ceremonial. You would be hard pressed to find a democratic spectacle so steeped in fascist ideas of consensus and respect of authority. In any case W's speech was predictably vacuous and meaningless, even as it conveyed the message of a defiant but practically defeated politician. It is those we need to fear most of course. Then Jim Webb, the junior senator from Virginia delivered a speech steeped in old-style Democratic populism that was a joy to follow. I dare not believe that it is genuine. Yet, unlike the cynical lefties I will say that if rhetoric like his starts dominating, soon, one way or another the practice has to follow. Words, even if initially empty, become part of the public discourse. Then suddenly from a republican full spectrum rhetorical domination, with the theory of bad government filling the air like an overweight American fills an economy class seat, we may find ourselves in a very different world where a lefie type of rhetoric becomes the new common sense. Optimistic? Sounds so, yet I hope it is also true. Realistic? I do not know.