Let's talk about keeping it real. Not about being honest, but being true, avoiding all trepidation and inhibition, and shrugging off charges of duplicity because, deep down, when push comes to shove, you really don't give a shit.

Take, for example, George W. Bush. In his State of the Union speech almost two years ago, he discussed important issues with clear optimism, positive that the nation's endeavors were headed towards a successful end. While his assertions were not exactly based on realistic expectations (as a majority of them have yet to come to fruition), that wasn't going to stop him from telling it like it is.

• On the war on terror and democracy in Iraq:
  

  Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer -- so we will act boldly in freedom's cause.
  
  ...
  
  Our work in Iraq is difficult because our enemy is brutal. But that brutality has not stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy. In less than three years, the nation has gone from dictatorship to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections. At the same time, our coalition has been relentless in shutting off terrorist infiltration, clearing out insurgent strongholds, and turning over territory to Iraqi security forces. I am confident in our plan for victory; I am confident in the will of the Iraqi people; I am confident in the skill and spirit of our military. Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning.

  
  Well, not exactly winning. Not only do spy agencies agree that the offensive in Iraq is bolstering the terrorist threat to the United States, but the aforementioned installed government in Iraq has been facing dire hardships as well.




• On the nation's economy:
  

  Our economy is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations.
  
  . . .
  
  Tonight I will set out a better path: an agenda for a nation that competes with confidence; an agenda that will raise standards of living and generate new jobs. Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it.
  
  Keeping America competitive begins with keeping our economy growing. And our economy grows when Americans have more of their own money to spend, save, and invest. In the last five years, the tax relief you passed has left $880 billion in the hands of American workers, investors, small businesses, and families -- and they have used it to help produce more than four years of uninterrupted economic growth. Yet the tax relief is set to expire in the next few years. If we do nothing, American families will face a massive tax increase they do not expect and will not welcome.
  
  Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief. I urge the Congress to act responsibly, and make the tax cuts permanent.

  
  But now, less than two years later, fears of a possible recession have prompted Bush to consider a temporary tax relief.
  

  From CNN:
  
  President Bush on Friday proposed a temporary, broad-based tax relief package aimed at spurring the nation's slowing economy.
  
  During remarks at the White House, Bush, flanked by economic advisers, said the nation's economy is at risk for a downturn and Congress must act to head off trouble.
  
  Existing income tax cuts supported by the Bush administration are due to expire in 2010, and the president called on Congress to make them permanent.
  
  "Unless Congress acts, the American people will face massive tax increases in less than three years," Bush said. "This tax increase would put jobs and economic growth at risk."




• On immigration:
  

  Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values, and serves the interests of our economy. Our nation needs orderly and secure borders. To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection. And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally, and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.

  
  And yet, since then, "arrests and deportations are down almost 30 percent since the Clinton years."
  

  From CNN:
  
  Immigration arrests under President Bush are "stagnant and unimpressive" despite massive increases in Border Patrol agents and other immigration enforcement measures imposed since 2000, a report found.
  
  Bush promoted border enforcement successes this week while pushing Congress for a comprehensive immigration policy overhaul. But the centrist private group Third Way questioned his record in a study released Thursday. It found that arrests and deportations are down almost 30 percent since the Clinton years.
  
  "The decline in immigration enforcement has been steady, dramatic and long-standing," said Jim Kessler, the group's vice president for policy and a co-author of the report. "This may not be the cause of our illegal immigration crisis, but it has certainly contributed to it."
  
  At a news conference Thursday, Bush defended his record.
  
  "There's going to be a doubling of the Border Patrol agents; there's going to be fencing and berms and different types of equipment to help the Border Patrol do its job in a better way," he said.
  
  According to the study, however, it would take more than 100 years to deport all the illegal immigrants in the United States at the current rate of arrests, assuming the flow of migrants across the border completely stopped.

It's not that Bush was being entirely mendacious when he laid out his plan for and preview of the future of numerous United States policies, nor is it plausible that the administration actively employs psychics to confirm their favorable outcome. But it would at least be reasonable provide realistic expectations when outlining the future of important issues.

And, in regards to such an important position as the President of the United States of America, a little integrity wouldn't hurt either.

But Bush keeps it real.

Really real.

Correction: make dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the future.

While it may appear that Bush is backtracking from earlier commitments to decrease dependence on foreign oil in an embarrassing fashion, we have to remember that it's not the promises nor the predictions that matter, but the reaction to the harsh reality of nonfulfillment. How else can Bush respond to the failure of his own policies (including the absence of his briefly touted Advanced Energy Initiative) than proceeding in the opposite direction of the initial measures?

Responding to the current issues quickly, shamefully, and unapologetically with little hindsight or regard for past commitments, Bush shows us what keeping it real is all about.