OPINION & EDITORIAL
State of the Union full of empty rhetoric
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Also by Rob Deters:
- SUVs and Earth Day do not mix (April 24, 2003)
- Lawlessness reigns in halls of Congress (April 6, 2005)
Related Stories:
- State of the Union disappointing, misses point (January 25, 2007)
- Debates full of 'strategory' (September 27, 2004)
- Life after Bush: Holding candidates to a higher standard of rhetoric (September 20, 2007)
- War expectations irrational, fall short (October 16, 2006)
- Democrats lack specific strategy (February 1, 2007)
by Rob Deters
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
President Bush delivered the State of the Union address Tuesday night and his emphasis was on war.
This is no surprise, since perhaps the most defining act of his presidency has been to go into Iraq and implement an aggressive foreign policy of pre-emption.
It is what President Bush didn’t say that will perhaps resonate the strongest with average Americans.
President Bush didn’t say when we would be able to leave Iraq, or under what circumstances. He mentioned, briefly, the transition of Iraq to full sovereignty by the end of June, but current events in Iraq seem to be derailing that particular timetable.
Bush went right into defending the Patriot Act and noted that certain provisions of it would soon expire. This comment brought a smattering applause from (presumably) Democrats. Bush stressed that there were those who thought terrorism could be dealt with through legal means, but that it had to be dealt with as a matter of war.
This kind of rhetoric is exactly what Democrats have been disagreeing with since 9/11. The “war on terrorism” is a mindset, one of fear and one that is encouraged, if not fostered, by this president.
After 20 minutes of defending the accomplishments of the U.S. military, Bush finally arrived at the topic Americans are the most concerned with: the economy.
Bush’s statements were positive, but his suggestions (or lack thereof) were striking. Bush spent less than five minutes touting the American economy. This is because there aren’t that many uplifting things to say.
While growth in the third quarter of 2003 was the fastest in 20 years, this is because of the recession we are recovering from. A jobless recovery at that — one that produced only 1000 new jobs in the entire country in December. That number doesn’t tell the whole story either. In the month of December, 300,000 Americans stopped looking for work entirely.
After touching briefly on the economy, Bush moved on to what is truly our future, our children. He touted No Child Left Behind, a disastrous program that has so far done little to improve the education of our nation’s children.
Bush did propose that private-sector professionals volunteer in high schools to educate students in high-tech jobs. That’s a great idea, and one that doesn’t cost him a thing. That’s also known as rhetoric, which is generally not as helpful as dollars.
After education, Bush railed about the tax cuts that Republicans have passed, and he urged that they become permanent. This proposal was greeted with divisive applause that clearly showed the split in Congress over these efforts.
Bush next touched on small issues like the energy infrastructure in our country (but didn’t make any direct proposals), the privatization of Social Security, and the limiting of spending by the U.S. government to 4 percent over the next five years to reduce the deficit by half. Note, this won’t eliminate the deficit, because military spending and his tax cuts will not allow it, but is a limited proposal to make the deficit not so stupendously large, just absolutely gigantic.
Toward the end, Bush wrapped up with a call to respect religious institutions that want to help provide social services, and in his biggest numerical proposal, Bush asked for a $300 million prisoner-reentry mentoring and training program. Added to the $23 million he asked for to promote drug testing in schools (for those that want it), Bush made very few concrete proposals.
In the oddest call for moral leadership, Bush called on the professional sports leagues to halt steroid use in professional sports. The reaction shot of New England Patriots Tom Brady afterward was priceless.
Bush tripped over his words six times, referenced 9/11 directly three times and hugged a little black girl. All in all, a decent outing for Bush, one full of the empty rhetoric and useless gestures we’ve all come to know and love.
Rob Deters (rvdeters@wisc.edu) is a second-year law student.
