Tuesday night, as President Bush delivered his State of the Union address, the nation listened with more interest and attention than ever before. Although Bush showed that he has become an eloquent speaker and has matured as a leader in the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the content of his speech was disappointing.
On the surface, the speech was powerful. Bush used strong words, playing on the emotions of a country still coping with unparalleled grief. But if one reads between the lines, the speech was reminiscent of Ronald Reagan-era rhetoric, charged with buzz words cleverly strung together without any real substance.
Bush’s speech was overly concerned with foreign affairs rather than important domestic issues. His references to “terrorist countries,” such as Iraq and North Korea, were abstract. The president’s condemnation of entire nations he believes are linked to terrorism blurred the line between the definition of war on terrorism and war between the United States and a specific country. The broad focus of the speech was on finding terrorists and bringing them to justice. While this topic is certainly important, the terrorist threat is no longer as immediate as it was a few months or even weeks ago. Bush overlooked many issues currently plaguing our nation, such as the current recession and rising unemployment.
When the president did mention domestic affairs, the details of his plans were vague. He briefly mentioned education, welfare and the environment, citing a need for improvement, and stressed the need for a homeland security bill, but he offered no concrete plan of action for any of these topics. Even when discussing the recession, the president simply said, “My economic security plan can be summed up in one word: Jobs.” What president’s economic stimulus package isn’t going to focus on jobs?
Bush’s speech was built on promises and political rhetoric, which is usually expected from a State of the Union address. However, Bush should have concentrated less on the elusive “evils” of terrorism and more on solutions for economic problems at home. Americans were looking for reassurance from our nation’s leader that we will emerge from the current economic recession, but Bush simply offered more questions than answers.
Bush’s speech lacks specifics, comes up short
Daily Emerald
January 30, 2002
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