“The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution
America is at war. The economy is in recession. The entire future of the civilized world is in danger. But the state of the union has never been stronger, said President Bush in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Bush praised Americans for their unity and strong character since the Sept. 11th attacks and challenged the nation to increase volunteerism.
Inciting the theme of national unity typical of State of the Union speeches, Bush said the nation has come together to fight the war on terror.
“In four short months, our nation has comforted victims; begun to rebuild New York and the Pentagon; rallied a great coalition; captured, arrested and rid the world of thousands of terrorists; destroyed Afghanistan’s terrorist training camps; saved a people from starvation; and freed a country from brutal oppression,” Bush said.
He also emphasized the importance of homeland security with the number of terrorists still at large. With security as a priority, Bush said he would ask for the “largest increase in defense spending in two decades.”
The Democrats’ rebuttal by U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Missouri, focused on supporting Bush in a time of international crisis, but held a solid Democratic view on certain domestic issues.
“I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder to shoulder on the war, we should stand toe to toe on the economy,” Gephardt said.
Bush said the money would prevent future terrorist attacks in the United States by focusing on bioterrorism, emergency response, improved intelligence and airport and border security.
Bush also said he would defeat the economic recession with jobs, but added that affordable energy, expanded trade and tax cuts are in the hands of Congress.
UW-Madison agriculture and life sciences professor William Dobson said the president’s address was a thank you and a call to action.
“In some respects it was a pep talk,” Dobson said. “It was pretty inspirational.”
The president’s stance on domestic economy could be summed up in one word: job, said Dobson.
“[The President] talked about cleaner environment and cooperation with Congress but [the speech] was focused on national security,” Dobson said.
David Canon, UW professor of political science said the president split his speech on domestic and foreign affairs but remain very focused on the war against terrorism.
“I thought he stayed pretty focused on the war on terrorism and what remained to be done,” Canon said.
Canon said he thought it was interesting that the loudest applause was following Bush’s call for Congress to not think of themselves as republicans and democrats but to think of themselves as Americans.
President Bush’s State of the Union speech differed from those of past presidents’ in that his focus on broad issues instead of many specific issues.
“He painted in broad strokes rather than specific detail,” Dobson said. “This is very different from the Clinton administration.”
Dobson said the president’s call for an increase in volunteerism was unexpected but consistent with his overall message.
“It is consistent with his call for sacrifice and action,” Dobson said. “A Wisconsin student might give some thought to joining one of the Corps.”
Canon said he thought the president’s call to public responsibility including Peace Corp. and other volunteerism was a good political strategy.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., agreed it is important to stimulate the economy and continue the war against terrorism but said balancing the federal budget must be a priority.
“Unless we once again return to fiscally responsible budgeting, Congress will be saddling our nation’s younger generations — our children and grandchildren — with an enormous financial burden for years to come.”
