BUSH USES STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS TO LAUNCH PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Bush uses State of the Union address to launch Presidential campaign

The lines are drawn

By: David Phillips

January 21, 2004

"He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." -- U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section III

President George W. Bush gave the annual State of the Union address last night, which appeared more like a campaign speech than a State of the Union address.

The speech was unmistakably intended to draw a line between Republicans and Democrats. Instead of trying to unite the two parties and the nation together in a show of bipartisanship, his speech was unmistakably meant to launch his Presidential campaign.

The timing of the speech was no accident; White House officials scheduled the speech for Tuesday night, only 24 hours after the Iowa caucus, to draw attention from the Democratic victor, a Republican close to the Bush campaign said.

War in Iraq

Bush began his speech defending his reasons for going to war in Iraq. Bush said that the reason for us going to War was to stop Saddam Hussein from torturing, raping, and killing people who do not have the same beliefs as him, not the Weapons of Mass Destruction and Saddam Husseins link with Al-Qaeda and September 11, 2001 attacks that he said last year as the reason for War.

These two points were clearly omitted from last nights speech, because theyve been proven to be lies.

Bush said that the United States does not need a permission slip to defend its self. What hes really saying is that he will continue his policy of unilateralism, and preemptive Wars, regardless of what are former allies (France, Germany, Russia, and the United Nations) think.

Bush said that the capture of Saddam Hussein has made the United States and the World safer, but just as many U.S. troops are being killed in Iraq as before his capture.

Homeland Security and the Patriot Act

Bush said that the newly created Homeland Security Department, and the Patriot Act, has made us safer now than before the September 11^th attacks.

What a crock of BS, our borders are still flooded with illegal aliens sneaking in, are ports inspectors are still only inspecting 3% of the thousands of containers of shipments from overseas, are Nuclear Plants are still not properly protected, shipments of Nuclear waste are being published in newspapers showing the routes they will take, the protection provided, and the dates of the shipments. These are just a few of the gaping holes that our Homeland Security turns a blind eye too.

The Patriot Act, which was enacted after 9/11 to makes it easer for law enforcement to track and locate terrorists, it is also being used to tract the movements of all American Citizens, regardless of our civil liberties.

Homeland Security has yet to centralize its database of suspects linked to terrorism, so various Law enforcement agencies can look up a name to see if its on the watch list.

The Economy

Bush then started talking about the economy, saying that the tax cuts he gave to the top 5% of the Nations wealthiest, has turned the economy around. While theres no denying that the stock market is on a rebound, it has yet to create any measurable jobs.

Corporations are moving there manufacturing plants overseas, which have resulted in six million manufacturing jobs lost, because the labor is considerably cheaper. Three million people are still unemployed, and the six million manufacturing jobs are gone for good.

Bush said that he wants to create a retraining program for people seeking jobs, which sounds like a good idea, but the reality is that a 50 year old man or women, who has found themselves unemployed from a job that pays 20-30 dollars an hour, will most likely find themselves working at or near minimum wage, with or without retraining because corporations are moving higher paying jobs overseas were the labor is cheaper, which increases there bottom line.

Education

The No Child Left Behind Act The purpose of this act is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

Bush may be taking credit for the new law. But in reality, his administration has failed to provide the resources promised to implement the law, and has crippled its implementation with delayed, contradictory and ideologically driven regulations. As a result, millions of families and schoolchildren across America are left with little hope that their teachers will get trained and their schools will improve.

It's no small wonder, then, that school districts and teachers across the country are crying foul, and presidential candidates are calling for the repeal of these reforms. They blame the president for a failed education agenda. The Bush administration has indeed failed to ensure that no child is left behind.

Other State of the Union Topics

Bush said he has a plan to cut the deficit (that he created) in half in five years. Make us less dependent on foreign Energy. The Marriage Act, regarding same sex couples, the abstinence from sex, among teenagers.

Heroes for kids, saying that pro athletes should refrain from using steroids and should be banned (which they already are) from pro sports.

Well as Bush starts his Presidential campaign with his 200 million in campaign funds from corporations that hes given billions in tax cuts and tax credits to, he should realize that there are a lot more people watching, and speaking their minds, because if hes re-elected you can count on more U.S. troops being killed around the world, and more unemployment.