Over half of President Bush’s State of the Union Address focused on terrorism, both worldwide and at home, as well as the continuing war efforts in Afghanistan.
“The state of our union has never been stronger,” Bush said to a large crowd of senators, representatives, Supreme Court justices and various others, such as Hamid Karzai, the new interim leader of Afghanistan.
“It was a smart, useful and symbolic gesture for President Bush to have Karzai there,” said William Hixon, assistant professor of political science at The University of Memphis.
Bush delivered a firm message to Americans and a stern warning to enemies. “Terrorists who once occupied Afghanistan now occupy cells at Guantanamo Bay,” Bush said.
Bush also issued a warning to Iran, Iraq and North Korea for collaborating to build weapons of mass destruction. Bush called the three countries the “axis of evil.”
“I think (Bush) was saying that leadership is not about to let its guard down in his warnings to Iran, Iraq and North Korea,” Hixon said.
In the democratic response, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.) commended Bush on what he called “a strong and patriotic message” and voiced a similar threat to terrorists. “Make no mistake about it; we are going to hunt you down and make you pay,” Gephardt said.
Bush also made a proposal to Congress to raise defense spending by $48 billion dollars, which would be the largest increase in two decades. Bush also called for the homeland security funding to be doubled and pay to be raised for teachers and military personnel.
As always the economy was a key focus in this State of the Union address, and Bush said America will defeat the current economic recession.
“My economic security plan can be summed up in one word — jobs,” Bush said.
Bush also laid the groundwork for a new group, the United States Freedom Corps. The Freedom Corps, a combination of the Citizens Corps, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and the Peace Corps, was created to “promote a culture of responsibility, service and citizenship.”
Bush urged every American to give two years of his or her life, or 4,000 hours, to the service of their neighbors.
One issue Bush hinted at but didn’t directly mention was the Enron debacle, the energy powerhouse that collapsed and whose stock plummeted.
Bush did ask Congress for safeguards for 401(k) and retirement plans. Gephardt, however, was not as hesitant to mention Enron, which also contributed money to the Democratic Party.
Overall, most viewers thought Bush’s speech was effective, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll. Of those polled 77 percent said the speech was very positive, 20 percent said it was somewhat positive, and only 6 percent believe the speech was negative.
“I would say it was fairly effective. He got his point across, but I would be surprised if it changed people’s minds,” Hixon said.
