In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, President Bush announced a bipartisan agenda that appeals to domestic policies historically associated with the Democratic Party.
Congress welcomed the president’s proposals regarding immigration and energy-conservation policies with a standing ovation.
But hesitant claps by both parties reflected the doubt and skepticism surrounding Bush’s foreign agenda, especially in light of his recent proposal to increase the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.
With new Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi standing behind his left shoulder, the president began the speech by welcoming her as the first House leader to be called “Madam Speaker,” as well as congratulating the new Democratic majority.
“Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not. Each of us is guided by our own convictions ““ and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards and called to serve the same good purposes.”
The conciliatory tone continued through the remainder of the speech as Bush highlighted a bipartisanship that has not been as evident in his past agendas and speeches, said Mark Peterson, a political science professor.
High on his list of domestic issues, Bush’s energy and health proposals were especially well-received by Democrats.
As part of his plan for health care reform, the president proposed tax breaks for citizens who are independently purchasing their own health insurance, a move which would help make insurance more affordable for certain individuals.
In another proposal to help reform health care, Bush would also seek permission to take existing federal funds and use them as grants for governors who have worked to make basic health insurance accessible to all citizens.
Though highly critical of the president’s reaffirmation of a troop presence abroad, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said in the Democratic response following the State of the Union that he hopes Bush’s words translate into action.
“If he does, we will join him,” Webb said. “If he does not, we will be showing him the way.”
One year after emphasizing the nation’s need to stray away from foreign energy sources, Bush reaffirmed his commitment to search for alternatives to oil, not only for reasons of foreign policy but growing environmental concerns as well.
He vowed to cut gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next years by increasing the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., whose district includes a renewable-energy lab, could receive a portion of the $2.7 billion proposed as a part of the president’s energy plan.
“These are good words; these are good ideas,” Perlmutter said. “Let’s see if he walks the walk.”
Peterson agreed, saying there has been little improvement in energy security since Bush made the original proposal early last year.
“There’s a difference between what one says and what actually happens,” Peterson said.
Peterson attributes this to what he perceives as a credibility problem in the Bush administration.
Bush also proposed an immigration reform which would help to implement an orderly temporary guest-worker program to prevent the entrance of smugglers and criminals, as well as a program to deal with the status of undocumented immigrants currently in the country.
“We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. And we need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country ““ without animosity and without amnesty,” Bush said to thundering applause of mainly Democrats.
But while policies such as immigration reform were more well-received by Democrats than Republicans, Bush’s party members still stood behind him as he reinforced his decision from earlier this month for a troop increase of 21,500 to help train Iraqi troops and contain sectarian violence that has defined Baghdad for the past year.
“This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned and our own security at risk,” Bush said.
Webb critically dissected the president’s stance on the war, a main focus of the Democratic response. Instead he stated the president should shift to a policy that would take “our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.”
But Jennifer Propper, a spokeswoman for Bruin Republicans, said that to pull out of the country would have not only a negative impact on Iraq, but surrounding countries in the Middle East as well.