State of the Union reflects new presidential focus after Sept. 11

In his third address to a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush pledged last week in his State of the Union address to continue to fight the war on terrorism, protect national security, defeat the recession and create a new national spirit of volunteerism.

The issues brought up in his speech reflected the universally recognized transformation of the Bush presidency in its first year. The president's reinvigorated commitment to the war demonstrated how his presidency has mostly taken on a singular focus since Sept. 11.

Declaring that the union "has never been stronger," Bush emphasized that the war on terrorism has just begun.

"What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that — far from ending there — our war against terror is only the beginning," he said.

In the most recognized phrase of the evening, Bush identified Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil," which would have to be prevented from developing weapons of mass destruction.

Bush said fighting terror would require major increases in defense spending, a sentiment he followed up yesterday with his budget, allocating $48 billion more to the defense department.

But keeping America safe would also require funding of new homeland security programs, he said. The president's budget proposes $38 billion for homeland defense.

Fighting the recession and instilling a new sprit of volunteerism were also priorities, Bush said.

Reminiscent of former President John F. Kennedy '39's call to public service more than four decades ago, President Bush encouraged all Americans during the 48-minute speech to commit two years to volunteerism under the new program "USA Freedom Corps."

Though Bush said his administration would pursue new regulations to protect retirement accounts, he did not explicate his administration's specific views on the collapse of the energy giant Enron.

In the Democratic response, House minority leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., praised the way Bush handled the war on terror and thanked the military. However, he mentioned Enron by name and called for a pension protection program. Standing together on the war does not require capitulation, Gephardt added.

"I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder to shoulder on the war, we should stand toe to toe on the economy," Gephardt said.

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What both Republicans and Democrats could not deny by the end of the speech was that Bush had changed since Sept. 11. Bush came into office in January 2001 wanting to reduce taxes, increase defense spending and improve education. These ideas were largely addressed in legislation passed last year; by mid 2001, Bush seemed to be out of issues.

On Sept. 20, when Bush addressed a joint session to outline his program for commencing the war on terror, he transformed from a president who was searching for his way to a president with a clear and defined purpose: to defeat terror wherever it existed. Whether his policies are best or whether he will succeed is not known, but that the Bush presidency has changed is clear.

Analysts around the country and at the University have recognized this change as well. Former Clinton speechwriter Jeff Shesol, who is teaching AMS 344: Behind the Bully Pulpit, called the address a "successful speech on its own terms."

The speech had just a few goals, Shesol said, primarily encouraging the American people to prepare for the newest challenges that may come in the war on terrorism. He said Bush intended to "rally the people and give them a real sense of confidence" that the United States will succeed.

Though Bush no longer exudes a "tentative quality" and feels "much more confident as a president," Shesol said Bush mostly ignored domestic issues in the speech. He also expressed concern over the "axis of evil" comment. It was "deliberate but unwisely chosen," he said.

Politics professor Fred Greenstein said in an e-mail that Bush's speech "was a strong presentation, one of the strongest of his presidency, which in itself was transformed" after Sept. 11.

Greenstein also said the "axis of evil" comment was a major weakness of the speech because it might aggravate foreign allies and provide false expectations to domestic "hawks."

On Sunday administration officials backed the president. "It's a good, powerful, strong line that makes the case that these three nations are representative of a group of nations that . . . are hindering our campaign against terrorism," Secretary of State Colin Powell said on CBS's "Face the Nation."