State of the Union Thoughts

Last night was the annual speech by the President to Congress regarding the state of the Union. President Bush had, for the first time, a "hostile" audience, with Democrats in the majority of both Houses of Congress. Bush, the "compassionate conservative" talked like a bleeding hearted liberal hawk. Talked of funding health care yet balancing the budget, ending earmarks but staying in Iraq, how can he be talking out of both sides of his mouth??

President Bush did bring up some good points, such as ending earmarks, balancing the budget, and ending dependence on foreign oil, developing alternative energy sources, tax code reform.

Some points I don't like were staying in Iraq, asking for 92,000 more military personnel (sounds like a veiled inference to a draft), federal funding of health care, and expanding No Child Left Behind (my wife, a second grade teacher, wholeheartedly agrees with me on that).

I think the President makes a good case for a lot of points, but many "conservative" principles were abandoned. The education and health care initiatives especially made Speaker Pelosi jump out of her chair with glee while VP Cheney begrudgingly applauded. Likewise, when the topic of conversation moved towards the military and the war in Iraq, it was the exact opposite.

The state of the Union is strong, the President said, and I agree on some counts. A growing economy, more jobs created, more money in pockets are all proof of this. Reducing wasteful spending, restoring individuals' rights, and more governmental transparency will make it even stronger.