CSU reacts to Bush’s address
The war on terrorism, the economy, moral values and jobs were on
the agenda Tuesday night for President Bush’s annual State of the
Union address to both houses of Congress.
Up for reelection in November, Bush outlined the accomplishments
and future political plans of his administration during his third
State of the Union address.
An estimated 60 million people nationwide listened to Bush’s
address, according to CNN. This included some students and faculty
here at CSU.
“(The State of the Union) is an opportunity for Bush to do
several things at one time,” said Sandra Davis, an associate
professor in the political science department at CSU.
The State of the Union is a chance for any sitting president to
lay out the policies he feels are important to the United States
and, in an election year, a chance for him to campaign issues to
the American public.
“He is telling us what he thinks is important (in American
policy),” Davis said.
The Constitution requires the president to report to Congress
the state of the union and any measures he feels are important for
consideration.
“(Presidents) choose the areas that they have the most support
for and the areas that he wants to persuade people on,” Davis
said.
Josh Metten, the vice president of the CSU Democrats, an
organization in the process of restructuring, and a member of the
CSU Students for Howard Dean, found many issues about Bush’s speech
troubling.
“We need to see what Bush does, not what he says,” said Metten,
referencing Sen. Edward Kennedy’s remarks to reporters following
the address. “President Bush is asking for way too much in terms of
policy. He wants to make the tax cuts permanent and cut the deficit
in five years, but that will be impossible with all of his
programs.”
Not all CSU students agree with Metten though. Robert Lee, a
senior political science major at CSU and the state vice chairman
of College Republicans, said Bush’s comments on the relative
strength of the economy are important.
“He was especially good when he was talking about how the
economy is rebounding and how the tax cuts are working,” Lee said,
adding that Democrat attacks on Bush are more “nit-picking” than
anything else. “(The Democrats) have no real firepower against this
administration.”
Metten worries the Bush administration does not focus enough on
domestic security and believes there are critical issues that can
be dangerous to Americans being ignored domestically.
“Only 3 percent of all the cargo ships that enter into American
ports every day are being (checked). That is not very much and (is
leaving us vulnerable)” Metten said. “We should be more worried
about that than spying on people’s library records, which is in the
PATRIOT Act.”
Metten also found it interesting that Bush made no mention of
Osama Bin Laden in his speech, despite devoting such a large
portion of his speech to the war on terrorism.
“Osama Bin Laden is the main reason this war on terrorism began
and yet (there is no focus on him by the administration),” Metten
said.
Lee viewed the speech differently.
“I thought it was a pretty good speech all the way through,” Lee
said. “I especially liked when (Bush) spoke about America not
seeking permission to protect itself against the terrorists. Those
and others were very powerful quotes.”
Lee agrees that Bush did not mention Osama Bin Laden in his
address, but said that does not take away from this
administration’s dedication to the war on terrorism.
“Bush may not have mentioned Osama Bin Laden by name, but the
very nature of his speech mentions (him) in spirit,” Lee said. “He
did mention that 2/3 of the Taliban have been captured or killed
since the war began.”
Despite the difference of opinion among students and Americans
to the State of the Union address, staying active in the political
process is important for all, Davis said.
“I encourage all students to go and register, and to vote.
Students are certainly going to be affected by the (political
policies passed) whether they follow them and vote, or not.”
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