At tonight's State of the Union address, according to this AP article, there will be "one seat left empty to symbolize 'the empty place many Americans will always have at their tables and in their lives' because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

Is it just me, or is this a cheap, tasteless stunt? The president did nothing to prevent 9/11; sixteen and a half month later he turns to it once again for reflected glory.

Additionally, one of the president's guests at the speech will be "Marine Corps Corp. Michael Vera, of Jersey City, N.J., who was less than 20 yards from the site of impact of a hijacked plane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11 and who, with a fellow Marine, went into the burning building 14 times to rescue people." And as the tears fall, Bush will talk about Iraq, as if al-Qaeda operates out of Baghdad.