“Impeach! Indict! Impeach! Indict!” Members and supporters of CodePINK gathered at Tommy’s Joynt last night to heckle President George W. Bush as he arrived at the U.S. Capitol to deliver his 8th and final “Sorry State of the Union.” Local news reporters chuckled to themselves as the rowdy peace activists booed, hissed, jeered, laughed, and generally derided the President. The tone of the evening was upbeat, in keeping with CodePINK’s emphasis on joy and humor. The activists have, after all, one thing they are far from sorry about: the imminent end to Bush’s presidency.

An annual tradition of CodePINK’s since its inception in 2002, the “Sorry State of the Union” party features festive pink costumes, progressive coalition building, and party games like the Bush Scorecard. CodePINK members tally the frequency with which Bush uses his favorite catch-phrases, real or invented. This year his most oft-cited phrases were extremism, terror, and liberty, which failed to surprise anyone at the event.

The category receiving the highest number of tallies, however, was one that required subjective analysis of his content: “lies.” Despite general anticipation of an economically-oriented speech focusing on domestic issues, the President never once uttered the phrase stock market. His repeated reference to a strong economy garnered him tallies for that phrase specifically, while driving the “lies” count ever upward.

There were few cheers from the CodePINK crowd during the speech, with the notable exception of a positive response to a camera shot of Representative Barbara Lee, and general merriment in reaction to a rather long shot of Senator Ted Kennedy seemingly asleep in his chair. The strongest and most collective negative reaction erupted from the crowd when President Bush made reference to the possibility that adult skin cells might eventually replace embryonic stem cells as a means for medical research that does not “destroy human life.”

CodePINK co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans were on hand to lead the mostly female and Baby Boomer attendants in song, facilitate analysis of the speech at its conclusion, and encourage local participation in CodePINK’s latest campaign. The Ballot Initiative Regulating Military launches 10am Wednesday morning at Berkeley’s Marine Recruiting Center, where Benjamin will debate radio talk-show host Melanie Morgan on military recruiting issues. The ballot initiative seeks restrictive zoning for military recruitment centers, limiting their proximity to residential areas, schools, hospitals, and libraries.

In the post-address analysis, most reflections on the President’s final “Sorry State of the Union” were critical and dismissive. Benjamin, an experienced orator, summed up the sentiment of the crowd when she said, “The current Republican candidates are in disarray, and are trying to distance themselves from the President. This is a failed presidency.”

Only one CodePINK member, a young Organizer named Rae Abileah, had vaguely kind words for Bush. She stood before the crowd and said that she had liked one thing that the President had said, when he spoke to “the pursuit of happiness leading to the path of service.” She scoffed at his context, which had something to do with faith-based education, but acknowledged that these words spoke to her own context. Abileah has found that the only was she can combat her own depression and frustration at the Sorry State of the Union is to organize and to act.

She looked around the room of veteran organizers and activists and told them that she is inspired to “do it creatively, do it passionately, and do it pink!”