Bush's speech detached from reality

George W. Bush's rhetoric in his final State of the Union speech didn't match the reality of the past seven years. One of his best lines was this one: "History will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose." If it were so, four out of five Americans wouldn't believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. If it were so, the candidates of change and bipartisanship (Barack Obama and John McCain) might not be gaining so much traction in the presidential primaries.

Actually, there was little inspired rhetoric in Bush's speech. After a laundry list of initiatives that won't get done in his final months in office, Bush finally spoke with some genuine feeling on the Iraq war. Yet his assessment of how that fight is going doesn't match the judgment of the American people.

He spoke of "political reconciliation" among Iraqi factions, of declining violence and increasing responsibility taken by the Iraqi army and police. Such signs of progress are not so clear to others. His enthusiastic conclusion, that "the Iraqi people are taking control of their future," isn't shared by a majority of Americans.

On the economy, which is showing signs of strain that could lead to recession, Bush had no fresh ideas. The one thing that he and members of Congress can actually accomplish - an economic stimulus package - threatens to bog down as the Senate tries to add elements to the House bill that Bush says are unacceptable.

Then there were the dead issues that Bush continued to flog: extending his tax cuts even in the face of a growing budget deficit; fixing Social Security, probably through an alternative savings plan that Americans already have rejected; demanding that the rest of the world lead the way on climate change before the United States acts. Even on illegal immigration, the one issue on which Bush has offered a sensible middle ground that includes earned citizenship, his fellow Republicans have stopped following his lead.

His final flourish was hardly one for the ages. "So tonight, with confidence in freedom's power and trust in the people, let us set forth to do their business."

It's too late for this president to do the people's business. One got the feeling that even Bush was eager to close this show and await history's judgment.

As for Americans newly energized by the competitive and vigorous presidential primaries, it is time to look forward to the 2009 State of the Union speech. Then, a new president will have a chance to deliver where Bush has not, and to act with purpose despite our differences.

[Last modified January 30, 2008, 22:25:59]