Last night President George W. Bush addressed the newly assembled Democratic Congress for the first time in his State of the Union remarks.
The economy, fuel efficiency, terrorism and the war in Iraq were among the topics covered in the approximately 48-minute speech.
But first Bush acknowledged that for the first time in his time in office, he is facing an opposition-controlled Congress.
"I congratulate the Democratic majority," he said. In a call for cooperation, he added, "Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not ... Like many before us, we can work through our differences and achieve big things for the American people."
Next, Bush turned to the economy and called for a balanced federal budget and a reduction in abusive earmarks for special interest spending. He also discussed the need for successful Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs, which he called "commitments of conscience."
Later he turned to health care, saying that the "government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled and poor children," but that private health insurance is the best solution for everybody else.
To facilitate his goal, he called for a tax deduction for people with health care coverage. Under the plan, families with health care would not pay income or payroll taxes on the first $15,000 of their income. Single Americans would get the same break on the first $7,500.
He also suggested the need for "innovative ways to cover the uninsured," such as the use of "Affordable Choice" grants to help more people get private health insurance.
On energy, Bush said that there is a need to set "a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017."
"Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will not eliminate it," he said.
It wasn't until the middle of his speech that Bush turned to the two subjects that have defined his term in office: terrorism and the war in Iraq.
Addressing terrorism, he praised the country's ability to avoid another attack after Sept. 11, 2001. "Our success in this war is often measured by the things that did not happen," he said.
Turning to Iraq, he noted that current conditions do not conform to the expectations that the administration had entering the war. "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," he said.
Acknowledging that, he still called for persistence. "It would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk," he said.
He also called for support for his plan to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq.
Reaction to the speech was split among partisan lines. Vice President of the Tufts Democrats Mickey Leibner said that it did not accomplish very much. "I thought it wasn't a lot of new information. I was kind of disappointed in that," he said.
Much of the criticism from Democrats was focused on Bush's plan for Iraq. "I don't know how he can honestly stand there and say that, 'If I drop another 20,000 troops that we're going to win the Iraq war,'" said Michael Goldman of the political science department.
In his rebuttal speech, freshman Senator James Webb (D-VA) pressured Bush to create "a formula" for promptly ending the war.
On the other end of the aisle, many Republicans reacted positively to the speech.
"I thought it was a great speech. I think he definitely tried to unify both sides and did a great job of explaining how vital the war on terror is right now and the threat that it poses to our country," Vice President of the Tufts Republicans Daniel Hartman said.
On domestic issues, Hartman was also happy with Bush's remarks. He said the plan for private health insurance is in line with Massachusetts' universal health care plan.
"I think Bush is trying to follow that mold," Hartman said.
Leibner disagreed with the need for private health care. "I think that instead of going away from public health care, we should be moving in that direction," he said.
There was also disagreement on Bush's approach to energy use. Hartman feels that the president suggested the right course of action in his speech.
"He pleased those that are concerned about global warming ... but he also pleased those that are worried about the rise of Middle Eastern power," he said, referring to the region's clout stemming from its oil reserves.
Goldman wasn't impressed, though. "There's zero chance that the energy policy will go through," he said.
The speech came in the midst of low confidence levels for President Bush's performance in office. His approval rating has sunk to 33 percent, according to an ABC News-Post poll.
According to Leibner, the speech will not do much to change this negative perception of his administration.
"I don't think that in the long run any of what he said tonight is going to change the way people view him," he said.
Kat Schmidt contributed reporting to this article.
