A Final Speech

President Bush delivers his last State of the Union

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Campaigning slowed a bit on Monday night despite the fact that a major primary election was slated for the next day in Florida. Two of the major candidates stopped running for President for one evening to attend the current President's final State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. A third sitting Senator also running for President stayed in Miami but watched from there.

In his final year in office, President George W. Bush addressed both the House of Representatives and the Senate on January 28. The Constitution requires the President to report to Congress once a year. Since 1913, Presidents have given a State of the Union speech, usually in January.

Senators Barack Obama of Illinois, and Hillary Clinton of New York, rivals for the Democratic nomination, attended and sat near each other but did not speak to each other. They were joined by two former presidential contenders who are also Senators, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, both Democrats. The pair walked in with Clinton.

The front-runner for the Republican nomination, John McCain, remained in Florida, where he planned to visit polling places the next morning before holding an election night party in Miami Tuesday night.

The Issues

Bush began his final report to Congress by calling for quick approval of the economic stimulus plan approved by the House of Representatives this week. The bipartisan bill is waiting approval by the Senate. (Several influential Senators said they will seek a vote on a Senate version of the stimulus package that includes provisions such as job training programs.) The President also called on Congress to make certain tax cuts permanent. He implemented the cuts early in his first four-year term of office.

Bush then sounded a theme often heard in Republican campaign speeches by McCain. The Arizona Senator has strongly asserted that as President, he would veto any bill loaded with congressional earmarks. Earmarks are special interest or "pork barrel" items added onto the budget. Bush declared in his State of the Union speech that he will veto the next budget if it contains more than one half the usual special-interest earmarks.

"Last year, I asked you [Congress] to voluntarily cut the number and cost of earmarks in half," he said. "I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. Unfortunately, neither goal was met."

McCain has promised that as President, he would veto any bill with earmarks.

In addressing education, Bush said his No Child Left Behind legislation is working. "Today no one can deny its results," he said, noting that fifth and eighth-graders achieved the highest scores ever on achievement tests this year. "We owe it to Americans to strengthen this good law," he said.

"Americans must reduce their dependence on foreign oil," Bush continued. He called for research in new clean coal technology, emissions-free nuclear power, and renewable power. "We must slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases," he said.

Another pressing challenge is immigration, Bush said. He noted that the government has doubled the number of border patrols and is erecting a wall along the Mexican border.

"We will never fully secure our borders until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and help our economy," he said.

The troop surge in Iraq is working, Bush said, to a standing ovation by the Republicans. Democrats stayed in their seats.

"I ask Congress to support these brave men and women by fully funding our troops," he said, to full applause with everyone on their feet. "Our enemies in Iraq have been hit hard. They have not yet been defeated." He noted that the mission in Iraq has been difficult and trying. "We will not rest until this enemy has been defeated."

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius gave the Democratic response to the President's State of the Union address. She said her response was not partisan. "I hope to offer you something more," she said. "An American response."

She called the economic stimulus package good, but temporary. She called for an end to partisan politics.

"These are uncertain times, but with strength and determination, we can meet the challenges together," she said. "If Washington can work together, so quickly, on a short-term fix for families caught in the financial squeeze, then we can work together to transform America."

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