In front of a noticeably divided Congress and a country that is
increasingly dissatisfied with his job performance, President Bush
declared Tuesday that the state of the nation is strong as he
reaffirmed his resolve to bring democracy to Iraq and end American
dependence on Middle Eastern oil.
In a direct challenge to Iraq war critics, Bush used his fifth
State of the Union Address to defend the decision to maintain
heightened troop levels amid calls for troop withdrawal.
“There is no peace in retreat, and there is no honor in
retreat,” Bush said.
Despite a reduction of about 23,000 troops in the past month,
there are still 138,000 troops in Iraq, according to CNN.
“Our work in Iraq is difficult because our enemy is
brutal,” Bush declared. “But that brutality has not
stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy.”
The president also addressed the criticism his administration
has received because no weapons of mass destruction were found in
Iraq ““ one of the administration’s main arguments for
invading the country.
“There is a difference between responsible criticism that
aims for success and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything
but failure,” Bush said.
In defending his controversial approval of a domestic
surveillance program, which he called constitutional, he said,
“This terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent
terrorist attacks. It remains essential to the security of America.
If there are people inside our country who are talking with
al-Qaida, we want to know about it.”
In order to break U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil, Bush
pushed an ambitious proposal called the Advanced Energy
Initiative.
“America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from
unstable parts of the world,” Bush said. His proposal calls
for investment in “zero-emission coal-fired plants,
revolutionary solar and wind technologies, and clean, safe nuclear
energy.”
The president announced a goal of replacing 75 percent of Middle
Eastern oil imports with alternative energy sources by the year
2025.
Joel Aberbach, a UCLA professor of political science, called
this proposal “activist” and said it was likely spurred
by Bush’s sagging poll numbers.
“There is a big energy problem, and this has cut into his
popularity,” Aberbach said. This was a “signal to
people that he is not only well aware of the problem, but that he
has some proposal for dealing with the problem.”
In last year’s address, Bush championed his plan to
overhaul Social Security ““ a plan that met with disfavor from
many Americans and was never brought before Congress.
In a contentious moment, Democrats interrupted Bush with cheers
when he said “Congress did not act last year on my proposal
to save Social Security.” Bush, clearly agitated, continued
with a raised voice when the applause subsided, saying the problems
facing Social Security will not go away.
Throughout the night, the partisan divide was evident in the
applause as Republicans and Democrats disagreed on most major
issues.
As much of his speech focused on the Middle East, Bush made a
broad call for multilateral support in derailing Iran’s
nuclear program.
“The Iranian government is defying the world with its
nuclear ambitions, and the nations of the world must not permit
Iran to gain nuclear weapons,” Bush said.
Shortly after Bush’s 51-minute speech concluded, Virginia
Gov. Timothy Kaine delivered the Democratic response. Kaine
criticized the administration’s handling of Iraq and its slow
rebuilding of the hurricane-hit Gulf Coast region, among other
issues.
“The federal government should serve the American
people,” Kaine said. “But that mission is frustrated by
this administration’s poor choices and bad
management.”
Los Angeles Mayor and UCLA alumnus Antonio Villaraigosa
delivered the Democrats’ Spanish-language response.
Villaraigosa addressed issues relevant to the Hispanic population,
focusing on the issues of education, health care reform and job
creation.