An Audience Of Presidential Hopefuls

Whenever a president's words wash over a crowd in Congress, it's a safe bet many in the chamber picture themselves in his position and think they could do better if only they had the chance.

What distinguished the crowd assembled for President Bush on Tuesday night was the sheer number of lawmakers reaching for that chance.

Not willing to let Mr. Bush have the first word and then gamely react, the presidential candidates were in motion all day, playing off his State of the Union themes in their own "I-can-do-better" way.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York discussed health care, Iraq and more on a day packed with four TV interviews, a news conference, a Web cast and a forceful appearance at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing where she appealed for better equipment and security for troops.

"The Humvees are turning into death traps," she complained.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona commanded attention in that hearing room, too. The 2008 GOP presidential prospect, a supporter of Mr. Bush's troop increase in Iraq, explored the consequences of pulling out.

"It took us a long time to recover from losing a war," he said in a reference to Vietnam, where he spent five years as a prisoner.

Democratic Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware led a Foreign Relations Committee hearing rich with presidential prospects, including him.

After a day of hearings and more, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama arranged a last word of sorts, a late-night TV news interview after Mr. Bush's speech and the formal Democratic response to it.

Together in the House chamber for the speech, the candidates paired off in groups.

Obama took a seat directly in front of Clinton, underlining his copy of the speech with a fine-tipped marker as Mr. Bush spoke. Clinton appeared to listen intently, hands folded in her lap. She sat one seat away from Biden, who was in the same row and several seats away from Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, another candidate for the Democratic nomination.

Republican Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska sat together on the opposite side of the chamber, behind McCain.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who is making his second presidential bid, paid good attention, underlining passages of his paper copy of the speech.

Non-lawmaker candidates joined the buzz of the wannabes. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former House member and energy secretary, participated in a telephone briefing to discuss climate change and energy issues in advance of Mr. Bush's remarks on those topics.

Democratic candidate Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor, didn't wait to hear Mr. Bush's speech before criticizing it in a "pre-buttal," and Al Gore, who has not ruled out running again, saw his film on global warming earn two Oscar nominations.

The speech was the first in years with so many serious presidential contenders in the House chamber, hearing the dramatic introduction they hope will someday be for them.

The phrase that is used to usher Mr. Bush inside was amended to account for California Rep. Nancy Pelosi's historic rise as the first woman to lead the House, and Mr. Bush himself took note.

"Tonight," Mr. Bush said, "I have the high privilege and distinct honor of my own, as the first president to begin the State of the Union message with these words: 'Madam Speaker.'"

Pelosi took her place on the rostrum behind Mr. Bush and alongside Vice President Dick Cheney, who also is leader of the Senate. She blinked noticeably throughout the speech, a habit that perhaps was exacerbated by all the attention and bright TV lights inside the chamber.

Ten senators and members of Congress are vying for the presidency, including such top-tier prospects as Clinton, McCain and Obama, and more might enter the race. Except for the near-rookie Obama, many of them have sat through this ritual again and again.

Clinton sat through two State of the Union speeches shadowed by the Monica Lewinsky scandal that led to her husband's impeachment.

The chamber always has plenty of people in the audience with the potential to be president someday. But not since 1976 have there been more senators running, said Senate historian Donald Ritchie.

Then, there were eight, he said. Now there are six: Democrats Clinton, Obama, Biden and Dodd, and Republicans McCain and Brownback. Two more might join the field: Hagel for the GOP and 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry of Massachusetts.

The race includes four House members and several former senators, most prominently Democrat John Edwards.

Afterwards, Sen. McCain complimented Mr. Bush on starting out the evening on a gracious note with his acknowledgement of a new era in the person of the first woman Speaker. "Maybe one of the lessons of this last election is maybe [the voters] want us to be a little more polite to each other, and a little more respectful," he told CBS Early Show anchor Harry Smith.

He thought that immigration reform has a chance in the new Congress. "It's time we can come together on that issue," he said.

Sen. Obama was optimistic about some of Mr. Bush's references to domestic issues, like health care and energy. "Although the approach he takes is different from the one I would take, I think Democrats have to engage him in that." He also gave credit to the president for work he has done on AIDS and malaria, particularly in Africa.

But as he told Smith on The Early Show, the dynamic in Washington between the executive and legislature needs to be altered if the country is to move forward.

"The American people are hungry for change," he said, "very eager for ideas on how we can move forward on issues like health care, retirement security. And they really want to see us regain leadership in the world, something that we've lost in the last six years. So they're looking for some concrete, practical, common-sense solutions to the problems we face."

After the speech, in which Mr. Bush tried to sell his plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, Obama reiterated his opposition to the buildup, arguing that Mr. Bush had not made his case.

"There's no doubt there are risks whatever we do at this point," he said. "What is clear is that we can't impose a military solution on Shia, Sunni and Kurds who are unwilling to come together and accommodate themselves. And if that's the case, what we have to do is change the dynamic by de-escalating, by bringing some of our troops home and forcing them to the table."