Facebook Twitter Email
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2002

He talked about terrorism. He talked about the war. He talked about the economy. He talked about the war some more.

In short, President Bush's first State of the Union contained few surprises. But for a leader who -- with his popularity soaring and his international clout growing -- sits on top the world, last night wasn't about making bold new statements that would spur the nation into action.

It wasn't even about bipartisanship, even though he did encourage Congress to work together and pass some bills. And it definitely wasn't about Enron, although he did call for greater corporate responsibility to protect hard-working Americans.

No, the address to a joint session of Congress was all about sticking together, forging ahead, staying safe and adhering to what Bush called a brand new way of living.

"For too long our culture has said, 'If it feels good, do it,'" Bush remarked. "Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: 'Let's roll.'"

But if Bush reminded anyone of that familiar "stay the course" mantra of a very recent past, there was enough to show otherwise. Four months ago, Americans were in a state of "shock and suffering," he said, still reacting to terrorist attacks on home soil.

Now, as he continued, the nation has managed to rout the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network from Afghanistan. World leaders have joined to denounce and fight terror and, in a warning to those who won't, he said: "If they do not act, America will."

Pointing his hand at three nations in particular, Bush called Iran, Iraq and North Korea an "axis of evil." And dozens more countries were hiding "tens of thousands" of "ticking time bombs" with maps to nuclear plants, American cities and other targets, ready to strike at any moment.

The images conjured fear of the unknown and was Bush's justification for a prolonged and rather expensive war abroad. On the domestic side, though, he laid out so many priorities that could easily scare Americans into wondering how it will all get done, and who will foot the bill.

A short list: beefing up the economy, creating more jobs, developing domestic energy resources, securing a patients' bill of rights, even more education reform, a "sound" tax policy, more funding for veterans' health and senior care, safeguards for employees, more corporate accountability, increased minority home ownership and faith-based initiatives.

And as for the new creed, Bush encouraged every American to spend two years, or 4,000 hours, over the course of his or her lifetime to community service. The goal, he said, was three-fold: "responding in case of crisis at home, rebuilding our communities and extending American compassion throughout the world."

Bush was joined in his address by guests of First Lady Laura Bush. Included were two members of the interim Afghan government: Chairman Hamid Karzai and Minister of Women's Affairs Sima Samar.

Not in the audience, for national security reasons, was Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. Per Cabinet policy, she was the one member in the line of presidential succession who held tight at an undisclosed location.

For her, press secretary Mark Pfeifle provided a dispatch. "Secretary Norton watched the State of the Union address from a television in what they call a 'secure location,'" he said. "The Secretary was heartened by the President's message of protecting our homeland, reviving our economy and winning the war on terrorism. "

"In the coming days, the Secretary will also be highlighting good news in the President Bush's budget that will help to improve Indian Country," Pfeifle added.

Bush will release his budget next Monday*.

* - Ed. Note: The budget is being released Monday, not Tuesday as had originally been stated.

More on the State of the Union:
Transcript | Video | Distinguished Guests

Media Analyses:
Bush Lays Down A Marker for 3 'Evil' States (The Washington Post 1/30)
Red Ink May Last a Decade (The Los Angeles Times 1/30)
Surer Voice, Wider Vision (The New York Times 1/30)
You may have to register to read New York Times stories. If you do not wish to register, login with username indianz.com and password indianz.com

Political Responses:
House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt | Democrat National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe | Republican National Committee Chairman Marc Racicot

Relevant Links:
The White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov
State of the Union, C-Span - http://www.c-span.org/executive/stateoftheunion.asp