Tepid State Of Union Address Begets A Tepid Audience
"Madam Speaker." And with those words came the loudest booming applause for the president in the State of the Union address.
Bush's sixth address was billed as an epic struggle between a president with Watergate-like approval ratings and a newly empowered Democratic House. With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi perched above his left shoulder and Democrats in control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years, Bush had to recalibrate his message just a bit.
His domestic agenda was anemic compared with any of his previous addresses. There was a proposal to reform healthcare insurance and another to slash gas consumption by 20 percent in a decade. There was some talk of Social Security and Medicare but not in any sweeping way. Missing: any mention of Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding in New Orleans, "compassionate conservatism," gay marriage, and stem cell research.
And when he came to the biggest issue of all, Iraq, his message was for Congress to give his plan to increase troops a "chance to work."
It wasn't so much that Democrats took to hissing and boos--none were heard or bellowed in the chamber, in fact. (They didn't want to appear too churlish.) And the president didn't exactly backpedal on much, especially not on Iraq, even if he toned down the cowboy "dead or alive" rhetoric just a notch and appeared a little more empathetic.
But the response on the whole was tepid and evident of the political morass facing Bush. Dutiful Republicans tried their best to stand behind the president. "This is a guy who didn't trim the sails one bit," said Rep. Adam Putnam, Republican of Florida. No evidence there, he said, of that evil "triangulation." Republicans feared that Bush would take after President Clinton and try to appease Democrats.
It doesn't appear that way. Where, Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland wondered, was any mention of the Democrats' 100-hours plan or all that legislation they passed this month? "He failed to acknowledge the work Congress has done," Van Hollen complained. Standing next to Putnam, Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York said the parties were, indeed, "miles apart" on issues like the environment.
"He recognized a thing called global warming," deadpanned Rep. Jim Moran, Democrat of Virginia.
Despite their best efforts, Republicans were not exactly their lock-step selves of two years ago. Nothing seemed to unite Republicans more than Bush's call for a "prompt up-or-down vote" on judicial nominees. They leapt up in unison, led by Cheney.
But not so on the president's call for "comprehensive immigration reform." Democratic Rep. Jane Harman of California bounded up in applause, but that line left Republicans in a bit of dilemma--right where they have been over the past year between those who think granting some sort of path to citizenship is amnesty and those who want a broader approach.
"It's clearly amnesty," said GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who was with the president on most everything but immigration policy. Half the members remained on their backsides during Bush's comments on immigration. As did Speaker Pelosi during at least half of the speech.
By Silla Brush