Editorial: Bush's vision

Wednesday, President George W. Bush gave his third State of the Union address to the nation. Although the speech focused more on what Bush wants to accomplish in the future rather than what his administration has done in the past year, it was nevertheless an encouraging restatement of many of Bush's top priorities, domestic and international.

The second half of Bush's speech focused primarily on international issues such as terrorism and Iraq. One of the most important statements of the night was that Secretary of State Colin Powell will go before the U.N. Security Council to outline the reasons for a war against Iraq. Bush made a convincing case for a war against Iraq last night - especially his argument that it would be foolhardy to wait for the threat to be immanent before eliminating it - and if Powell presents sufficient evidence of Iraq's malfeasance next week, the United States will be justified in going to war, whether as the head of a coalition or alone.

The most damning piece of evidence against Saddam Hussein so far is simple arithmetic: At the end of the Gulf War, the United Nations accounted for all of Hussein's weapons of mass destruction; now, Hussein must be able to account for where all those weapons are or how they were destroyed. So far, he has been unable and unwilling to do this, suggesting that he is most likely hiding weapons of mass destruction. Hopefully, Powell will present more concrete evidence to the Security Council soon.

Also on international policy, Bush proposed a revolutionary humanitarian mission providing $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa. No one should disagree with this use of America's wealth to help the least fortunate of the world. At home, Bush also focused on health care, promising to fix Medicare. Reforming the American health care system is something sorely needed, and it is encouraging that the 40 million Americans without health insurance are foremost in Bush's mind. Two possible ways to make health care more affordable and efficient is to encourage privatization of insurance policies and to cap malpractice suits.

Another major problem facing America is a sluggish economy, which Bush aims to fix through large tax cuts. Bush is right to accelerate the timing of the tax cuts and eliminate dividend taxes, both of which will immediately help the economy and spurn job creation. However, Bush should have discussed the current fiscal crisis many states are in and how the federal government will help rectify that situation. Moreover, Bush should have focused more on specific ideas for job creation. However, it is encouraging that Bush promises fiscal responsibility in the government, since unnecessary government spending in the past has crippled the nation.

Lastly, Bush's most innovative idea is that of funding for hydrogen cars. Bush is right to point out that new technology is the best way to preserve the environment; however, that technology may be several years away. Therefore, Bush should also be focusing on reducing emissions now, both to reduce our dependence on oil and to protect the environment.