Bush Takes Message On Road
President Bush embarked Wednesday on a two-day tour to three Southern states to promote his State of the Union proposals, including an expanded war on terrorism and economic stimulus legislation.
A State of the Union sales trip is a presidential tradition, reports CBS News Correspondent Peter Maer. Starting with a visit to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the president will restate his warnings about a prolonged war, but he'll focus on new volunteerism initiatives including a new Citizen Corps for homeland security and a doubling of the Peace Corps.
Mr. Bush's trip also includes stops in Florida and Georgia. As the president travels, Health Secretary Tommy Thompson will outline proposed tax credits to help people buy health insurance.
Congress, meanwhile, is expressing solidarity with Mr. Bush on his call to press the war on terrorism on new fronts, even if it means ultimately confronting the states the president named as the "axis of evil."
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Wednesday that Democrats are inclined to endorse whatever military action Mr. Bush might deem necessary against Iraq, Iran or North Korea as long as he works with Congress.
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"But obviously we want more details, we want to be included, we want to be consulted and we want to work with the administration."
House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt was supportive as well, if guarded. "Ultimately you might have to use military action," he said on NBC's "Today" show. Right now, he said, that would be premature.
Mr. Bush summoned Congress in his address Tuesday night to fight the "grave and growig danger" of terrorism. Democrats joined Republicans in rallying behind that call while parting ways on the economy.
Since Sept. 11, "there has been no daylight between us in this war on terrorism," Gephardt said in his party's response to Mr. Bush's speech.
But when it comes to joblessness, the Missouri Democrat said, "Our values call for helping the unemployed, not just large corporations and the most fortunate."
And when it comes to health care, he added, "our values call for helping patients and older Americans, not just big HMOs and pharmaceutical companies."
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Mr. Bush got a welcome fit for a hero Tuesday night as he entered a packed House chamber to deliver his speech. Amid the applause, lawmakers gravitated to the center aisle to shake his hand as he made his way to the podium.
"Our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers," he said in a bluntly worded beginning. Then, making a fist and tapping lightly on the podium for emphasis, he quickly added — "Yet the state of our union has never been stronger."
Moments later, to more applause, he added, "We will prevail in the war, and we will defeat this recession."
The president used his speech to recount accomplishments since terrorists struck on Sept. 11 and to sketch the challenge ahead in combatting terrorism abroad and the recession at home.
"Our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun," he said. "We cannot stop short."
He said all nations should work to "eliminate the terrorist parasites who threaten their countries, and our own." And yet, he added, "some governments will be timid in the face of terror. And make no mistake: If they do not act, America will."
He listed three nations in particular, North Korea, Iran and Iraq, as members of an "axis of evil. ... By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger," he said.
A CBS News poll conducted immediately after the speech showed that while viewers overwhelmingly approve of the proposals outlined by the president, many have doubts about whether those goals will be achieved.
Daschle gave the address a good review. "The president is very popular and he probably got more popular last night," he said.
And few Democrats seemed eager to speak dismissively of the president. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was one, declaring, "basically, he's played the war for whatever it's worth."
Others challenged him directly on the economy. "We need a recovery package that is a real stimulus, not just another round of irresponsible tax breaks for spcial interests and the wealthy," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
But not surprisingly, Gephardt's tempered remarks set the tone for most members of his party.
Daschle, who sets the Senate agenda, pledged the "same cooperative, bipartisan spirit to addressing our domestic needs," at the same time he outlined elements of a Democratic agenda.
"We need to move forward with help for unemployed workers, affordable prescription drugs for our seniors, greater protections against employer mismanagement of employee pensions," and more, he said.
While Mr. Bush had made a reference to the need for more accountable behavior by corporate leaders, Gephardt mentioned Enron by name and called for the president to sign legislation curtailing the role of money in political campaigns.
For their part, Democrats arranged a meeting Wednesday in the Capitol with former Enron Corp. employees — men and women who suffered catastrophic losses in their retirement accounts when the giant energy company collapsed.
Republicans chorused approval for Mr. Bush's speech. "I look forward to working with him to carry out his common sense agenda," said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., the president's close ally in Congress.
Mr. Bush said he was asking Congress for the largest increase in defense spending in two decades, and requesting that spending be nearly doubled on key areas of domestic security. These include bioterrorism, emergency response, airport and border security and improved intelligence.
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