In last night's State of the Union speech, President George W. Bush laid out his agenda for the upcoming year. The speech was balanced with 30 minutes devoted to foreign policy and the same to domestic proposals. Overall, the speech had a decidedly conservative tone, perhaps to appeal to his conservative base, which has been at odds with the president regarding his recent immigration proposals.
In what can come as little surprise in an election year, the president offered a number of domestic proposals to appeal to the majority of Americans. Bush restated his commitment to a privately controlled heathcare system and proposed both tax credits for lower income Americans, enabling them to purchase health insurance, and tax-free healthcare savings accounts that would facilitate saving for healthcare costs for all Americans. While both of these proposals are good steps, they are not the ultimate solution to the healthcare problem in America.
Bush also called for increased funding for community colleges and job retraining. This money is particularly important given the loss of American manufacturing jobs and the increasing demand for higher-skilled workers. In a related measure, Bush also pledged increased funding for science and math training in middle and high schools in an effort to better train America's children for the future. With the demand for skilled workers increasing, both of these measures are necessary in order to ensure the future of American workers.
In the foreign policy highlight of the speech, Bush restated his willingness to pursue America's policy goals outside of the United Nations when he declared, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." While we admire Bush's resolve to act where he thinks it necessary, we do not think that he should entirely turn his back on multilateralism.
One of the more controversial moments of the address came when President Bush called for the renewal of the infamous Patriot Act, which is set to expire this year. Despite the potential security benefits that renewal might have, the Patriot Act is not worth the sacrifice of civil liberties upon which the nation was founded. If and when Congress decides to consider renewal, they should seriously consider the civil rights ramifications.
Bush also articulated his opposition to gay marriage. We found his appeal to "moral authority" to be particularly troubling. Aside from gay marriage, we found the president's use of religion to be particularly appropriate. Faith-based groups can play a positive role in building stronger communities, and we see no reason that they should be excluded from government grants solely because of their religious nature.
While the speech contained many important initiatives, we were disappointed that neither the environment nor the Israeli- Palestinian conflict was mentioned in detail.
While it was only an hour long speech, Bush should have restated his and America's commitment to ending the conflict in the Middle East, which is a conflict that has a direct impact on terrorism, an issue often emphasized by the president.
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