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My Fellow Americans....
These words are famous as the opening phrase of the State of the Union Address
by the President of the United States. For those who don't know, this is the
annual report given to Congress on the condition and goals of the nation.
During this speech, which is required by the U.S. Constitution, President
Bush addressed such issues as terrorism, education, healthcare, jobs and
terrorism. (Yes, I did mention it twice -- he mentioned it more.)?? President Bush seemed to
place the issue
of terrorism at the top of his agenda, working the topic into almost every part of his
speech.
One of the marks of approval for a president is how much applause he receives
during his speech, though there is always a LOT of it. President Bush got about 72
rounds of applause from a crowd including both houses of Congress, a Supreme
Court justice, the President's cabinet of advisors, and guests who attended by
special invitation.?? Editor's Note: Anybody know how to find out
how many rounds of applause previous speeches have gotten?
President Bush spent some time on the issues of unemployment and the economy. In
the past couple of years, the U.S. economy has been in a recession, but in the
last year, according to Bush and many experts, the economy has risen out of
recession and is once again healthy. The president
stated that the home ownership rate is at its highest ever and that unemployment
is declining.
President Bush's now famous "No Child Left Behind" education plan was also
mentioned. The President hopes to improve the nation's standards of education
with what he calls "opening the door of opportunity to all of America's
children." For more on this policy, see
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/compassionate/education.html.
The President triumphantly talked of national security and the progress in Iraq,
promising "to prepare for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty by the end of
June." This essentially means that there will be an independent government in
Iraq by summer 2004. This is a bold statement, especially considering the limited
progress toward government in Afghanistan. Anybody remember that place?
Bush has emphasized the international coalition in Iraq in response to comments
that the U.S. has acted alone in its crusade. However, the President appeared to mock
the country's UN
allies when he stated that, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend
the security of our country."
The President also promised that the budget he will send to Congress will
cut down on discretionary spending and that he will "cut the deficit in half
over the next five years." This will be quite a feat, considering that the
current budget deficit is $375 billion, and he wants to keep the latest
tax cuts, not raise taxes.
I felt the President was using the State of the Union Address as a campaign
speech, which it is NOT intended for. While this may just be an assumption on my
part, I think President Bush may be using his position to further
his chances of reelection in November.
Peace out!
-CoolEd17
And remember, support the President by saying "nucular" (a mispronunciation of
nuclear) with great frequency!
Sources:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040120-7.html
http://www.cbpp.org/1-16-04bud.htm
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