Hey all, just thought I found something interesting. I was reading about the State of the Union, right now at 7:23 PM on MOnday night read this article in the News:
State of the Union AP story
What is interseting is that the entire article is in past tense like the speech already occurred. I know I have had trouble with tenses in all of my writing, I remember notes in college from profs and TA's to watch my tenses, but this seems like all past tense to me. (Italics mine)
I did not delete anything from these paragraphs. Finally at the end of my quote, the author indicates he was reading from a prepared text, but that is still irresponsible, since the president, well, dumb as he is, might not read it right. The whole thing seems like a mis-representation that the author in some way watchs the SotU.
This seems like a lack of due professional care. I guess I don't need to watch it tonight.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Bush seeks support on economy, Iraq in State of the Union address
Terence Hunt / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- President Bush, focusing on gnawing recession fears in his final State of the Union address, said Monday that Americans are troubled about their economic future and prodded Congress to urgently approve a $150-billion rescue plan.
On Iraq, always a main topic of his annual addresses to Congress, Bush said his troop buildup is succeeding after five years of a long and costly war that has claimed the lives of 3,940 members of the U.S. military. "Al-Qaida is on the run in Iraq and this enemy will be defeated," Bush said.
With his approval rating near its all-time low and less than a year remaining in his presidency, Bush lacked the political clout to push bold ideas before a hostile, Democratic-led Congress. Offering modest new plans, Bush proposed a $300 million "grants for kids" program to help poor children in struggling public schools pay for the cost of attending a private school or a better public school outside their district.
The White House urged lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, to resist any temptation to enlarge the economic-stimulus plan that he and House leaders agreed on last week. "At kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future," the president said. "In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth."
Excerpts of his prepared text were released in advance by the White House.
On two issues that were centerpieces of State of the Union addresses past -- Social Security and immigration -- Bush passed the buck back to Congress, which had ignored the president's earlier proposals. Contending that entitlement spending is "growing faster than we can afford," he said, "I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and grandchildren."
A major challenge for Bush in his address to Congress was simply being heard when many Americans already are looking beyond him to the next president.
His speech came hours before Florida's presidential primary election and just eight days before Super Tuesday when voters in more than 20 states go to the polls on the biggest day of the primary campaign. Republicans running for president rarely mention Bush, preferring to focus on conservative hero Ronald Reagan instead.
As for the Democrats, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "Tonight is a red-letter night in American history. It is the last time George Bush will give the State of the Union. Next year it will be a Democratic president giving it."
Bush, calling for bipartisan cooperation in Congress, said, "Let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and cooperate for results at the same time."
In Iraq, he said, U.S. adversaries have been hit hard, though "they are not yet defeated and we can still expect tough fighting ahead."
The address came one year after Bush, defying the wishes of Congress and rising anti-war sentiment in the country, ordered a major troop buildup in Iraq. The increase has helped quell violence, but there is no end in sight to the U.S. troop commitment, which Bush says will extend beyond his presidency. There are 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a number that is expected to drop to 135,000 by July. There are 28,000 in Afghanistan, the highest number of the war, which began there in October 2001. The Iraq war began in March 2003.
Bush did not announce any troop withdrawals Monday night. The White House said that would depend on the advice of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad. Congress, despite repeated attempts, has been unable to force troop withdrawals or deadlines for pullbacks, and Iraq has receded as an issue in Washington.
Reviving a theme from his trip to the Mideast this month, Bush called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment that the White House says could easily be transferred to a nuclear weapons program. A recent U.S. intelligence report concluded Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but Bush says it could be restarted easily.
"Come clean about your nuclear intentions and past actions, stop your oppression at home and cease your support for terror abroad," Bush said. "But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops; we will stand by our allies and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf."
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago Bush boasted that unemployment was low and the economy was on the move. Now the jobless rate has climbed to a two-year high and the nation is sagging toward recession amid turmoil in housing and financial markets. The economy is No. 1 on the U.S. worry list.
Bush's top priority was for Congress to swiftly approve an anti-recession package to provide tax rebate checks to 117 million families and give businesses $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment. The program has been endorsed by Democratic and Republican leaders of the House, but the Senate is preparing a package of add-ons. Senate Democrats want more money for senior citizens living off Social Security; they also want an extension of unemployment benefits.
White House officials previewed some of Bush's speech proposals. He was to announce a White House summit on inner-city children and religious schools. The goal is to address the role of religious and other private schools in meeting the needs of poor students in urban areas.
Bush also was to urge elimination of 150 federal programs he considers wasteful.
Often criticized for the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina's devastation, Bush was to announce that his annual meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada will be held this year in New Orleans to show off recovery efforts.
In one new wrinkle, Bush was calling for an effort to crack down on the pork barrel practices of Congress, saying he will veto any spending bill that does not cut in half the number and cost of congressional pet projects, known as earmarks.
The president planned to issue an executive order Tuesday ordering federal agencies to ignore earmarks that aren't explicitly enacted into law, erasing a common practice in which lawmakers' projects are outlined in nonbinding documents that accompany legislation. The move is aimed at making doubly sure that lawmakers have the opportunity to strike earmarks during floor debates.
However, Bush's plan leaves untouched the more than 11,700 earmarks totaling $16.9 billion that Congress approved last year.
The president was expected to press Congress to make permanent the tax cuts that are set to expire in 2010; Democrats are cool to the idea. He will prod Congress to extend a law allowing surveillance on suspected terrorists, renew his education law and approve free-trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
He also was recycling ideas on alternative energy, affordable health care, housing reform and veterans' care. Bush also was renewing his ideas on climate change and stem cell research
Bush will promote the U.S.-backed Middle East peace effort and his administration's efforts to fight disease and hunger, and suggest that the United States fight hunger abroad by buying and distributing crops from developing countries rather than relying on U.S. farmers.
