President Bush delivered a State of the Union Address on Tuesday that was designed to mobilize his political base. As a result, many of the policies and goals outlined in his remarks failed to meet the needs of the average American, let alone the average student at this university.
Granted, the President made several comments that were extremely appropriate and worthy of praise. Mr. Bush has captured an evil dictator and has outlined some good policies such as job retraining.
However, the majority of the speech was met with an imbalance of applause, which highlights the partisan tone in the policies of the President. His failure to articulate an appropriate vision for all of America resulted in half-hearted snickers from soldiers and citizens in the gallery.
Mr. Bush's inability to outline policies had Sen. Edward Kennedy on camera while rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the President. Some may view the senator's reactions as unpatriotic or unsuitable, however it is the role of the Congress to criticize, debate, and improve the policies brought before them.
The State of Union Address focused on the United States' accomplishments in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush spoke of the many leaders and terrorists that have been captured. Notably absent was the mention of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and the reason the war on terror was started.
Notably absent was an explanation of why the United States has not found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Evidence shows that the President misrepresented and falsified intelligence to go to war with Iraq. No effort was undertaken to explain these miscommunications, even with the American people asking the President to be held accountable for growing casualties and misstatements of fact.
While Americans are worried about the unfolding crisis in the Middle East, most Americans and certainly most UConn students are more worried about the domestic agenda. The issue of jobs, the state of the economy and education reform are on the minds of most Americans.
The President gave himself and the majority in Congress high marks for passing tax reform to stimulate the economy. In reality, the economy is nowhere near where it should be. The tax money given to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans has not trickled down. Kennedy's criticisms of Bush are correct: the state of Wall Street is not the state of Main Street.
Trillions of dollars in tax cuts are coupled with the fact that President Bush has promised more funding for proposed programs. Spending increases and tax cuts can only lead to one outcome - a growing federal budget deficit.
The larger issue at hand is that many Americans cannot find jobs. Under this President, nearly three million jobs have been lost overseas. He promised the creation of new jobs, yet the numbers have fallen dramatically short. Average Americans need help to find work rather than Mr. Bush working to help big business and the wealthy. Economically, America is hurting at home.
Over 40 million Americans are without health insurance. While President Bush deserves credit for mentioning this problem in his address, he has failed to create any substantive policy to solve the problem. Most Americans cannot afford health care and tax cuts will not make prescription drugs affordable.
More disheartening to the college generation is the fact that the cost of public college tuition has increased by nearly $600 under the Bush administration, while he has slashed funds for grants and financial aid. No Child Left Behind has become unfunded mandates, as not enough money is being spent where promised.
While these monumental issues confront the United States Congress, the President instead focused his domestic agenda on tidbits championed by the conservative right of his party. A shocking and inappropriate policy was his proposal to create a constitutional amendment, which would stop the improvement of civil rights by preventing specific individuals from having the right to marriage.
"If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people..." the President thundered, attempting to intimidate and threaten the judicial system. According to the Federalist Papers, it is the job of the courts to provide a check on other branches of government by interpreting the laws and their constitutionality. Such threats by a President will only work to undermine our precious system of democracy.
In the world we live in, given the current economy, what America needs are jobs and not just corporate profit. A higher minimum wage should be passed. America needs education funding and not more unfunded mandates creating burdens on local districts. Healthcare reform is essential to prevent the insecurity of Social Security. America wants common goals and not common morals dictated by one man.
Security at home requires the funding of local police and security units, not just military efforts abroad. The War on Terror must be won with a global perspective in mind. Most importantly, the American people must be grateful for those soldiers who risk their lives to further the values of this great country.
The President's words and promises have benefited small parts of America over the last three years. The majority of Americans, including the powerless and the poor, were unfortunately left behind and left out of the policies outlined in the State of the Union Address.
The time is now for politicians to take note of reality and to work to achieve appropriate policies. The State of the Union Address is not a time for partisanship and campaign platforms. Rather, such a formal occasion is a time for true promises to improve America.
This President has been posturing and pontificating to the American public in order to gain political benefits before an election. Unfortunately, many of his promises are simply just words. Over his remaining year in office, the American public will be able to see whether those words become actions. If they do become actions, hopefully the Congress will be willing to debate and ask questions.
Text of President's Speech: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/20/politics/21BUSH-ADVANCE-TEXT.html?8bl Text of Official Democratic Response: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/21/politics/21DTEX.html
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