No one expected more than the rehearsed political event they received Tuesday evening. In a world where President Bush's speech is available on the Internet instantly, along with millions of other bits of information detailing the present condition of the country, there was little ground to be broken.
Though the State of the Union may be an antiquated ritual, it is worth taking account of where our nation could be headed. The remaining three years present the President with an opportunity to tie up remaining reforms on the agenda as well as further shift the face of American politics.
The primary concern for a business-minded leader has to be economic. From a budgetary perspective, there is little wiggle room. Just as corporations and consumers continuously mount their debt, so Bush has done with our budget.
Running so many different foreign campaigns, while at the same time providing bread and circus at home, the administration has been forced to dredge the coffers.
This type of budgetary excess has put severe restrictions on potential future spending and the success of individual projects. And not only is the federal budget in disarray, but the economy as a whole has barely stumbled along.
After a slight patch of sunshine in economic data, things have taken a turn for the worse, with the GDP growing at its slowest rate in three years in the fourth quarter.
Furthermore, many of the large problems that Bush is allegedly tackling - such as healthcare and social security - require significant spending. Any further work on these issues will be expensive and time-consuming for an administration that lacks both money and time.
With his hands tied completely behind his back, Bush had little option but to play the dove offering an olive branch. The President came back around to a favorite subject of his since the beginning of the presidency - energy - and added the right amount of political spin for the current situation.
Bush has set out to lower the price of fuel, improve the environment and liberate the U.S. from Middle East oil dependence.
All of these individual tasks have their own set of necessary sacrifices, which are often conflicting. Environmental reforms are naturally juxtaposed to cheaper production.
Using a confused logic of perpetual cash flow, Bush has chosen to solve current problems with potential future solutions.
High fuel prices will not be solved by reducing tension in the Middle East; biotechnology will develop a new form of ethanol cells.
Though all of these proposals require funding, there is still some quack left in this president. Bush has already shown that while his other projects are bogged down, there is significant political maneuvering to be done in Washington.
With the recent confirmation of Samuel Alito, as well as the other rookie on the bench, John Roberts, the president has changed the face of the judiciary. A recent conservative trend in the American legal system is unlikely to reverse itself in the near future.
Bush may have little wiggle room in maneuvering his current agenda due to financial restraints, but there are plenty of opportunities left. One cannot rule out the possibility of increasing our budget deficit beyond $400 billion. There is also plenty of politicking left to be done in Washington over the next three years.
