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 News from Around the Americas | January 2007 
Bush Challenges Foes of Iraq Troop Plan
 Terence Hunt - Associated Press
| | Bush sought to revive his troubled presidency with proposals to expand health insurance coverage and to slash gasoline consumption by 20 percent in a decade. (AP/Ron Edmonds) |
President Bush, politically weakened and increasingly isolated, confronted the first Democratic-ruled Congress in a dozen years Tuesday and struck back at opponents of his troop buildup in Iraq. "Let us find our resolve and turn events toward victory," he said.
Facing a political showdown with Democrats and Republicans alike, Bush was unyielding on Iraq in his annual State of the Union address. He also sought to revive his troubled presidency with proposals to expand health insurance coverage and to slash gasoline consumption by 20 percent in a decade.
But the war was issue No. 1.
"Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq and I ask you to give it a chance to work," Bush said in remarks prepared for a joint meeting of the House and Senate. "And I ask you to support our troops in the field and those on their way."
Democrats — and even some Republicans — scoffed at his policy.
"We need a new direction," said freshman Sen. Jim Webb, picked by the Democrats to deliver their response to Bush. "The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military," said Webb, a Vietnam veteran opposed to Bush's invasion of Iraq, in his prepared remarks.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record) of Minnesota, also took issue with Bush. "I can't tell you what the path to success is, but it's not what the president has put on the table," he said.
Bush devoted half of his speech to domestic issues and half to foreign problems. He described the war in Iraq as part of the larger battle against Islamic extremists.
He said the Iraq war had changed dramatically with the outbreak of sectarian warfare and reprisals.
"This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," the president said. "Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned and our own security at risk."
"Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle," the president said. "So let us find our resolve and turn events toward victory."
It was a night of high political drama as Bush went before lawmakers hampered by his lowest approval ratings in polls.
Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) of California, the first woman to lead the House, was to sit over Bush's shoulder, next to Vice President Dick Cheney. The audience included up to a dozen House and Senate members who have announced they are running for president or are considered possible contenders.
In his address, Bush reached out to Democrats, saying, "Congress has changed but our responsibilities have not. We are not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our differences and achieve big things for the American people."
Key Republicans have joined Democrats in drafting resolutions of opposition to the plans he announced two weeks ago to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. Bush said his approach had the best chance to succeed, but clearly many lawmakers — and overwhelming majority of Americans — disagreed.
"Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching," the president said. "If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides."
In such a case, he forecast "an epic battle," Shiite extremists backed by Iran against Sunni extremists aided by al-Qaida and supporters of Saddam Hussein's government, leading to violence that could spread across the Middle East. "For America, this is a nightmare scenario," Bush said.
Unlike the friendly Republican-dominated Senate and House of the past six years, the new Congress has not shied from challenging the president.
"Our citizens don't care much which side of the aisle we sit on — as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done," said Bush, who for six years ignored Democrats' demands to be included in decisions.
He pressed Congress to help find ways to overhaul entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid before they impose huge problems for future generations.
"Somehow we have not found it in ourselves to act," he said. "So let us work together and do it now."
On immigration, too, the president made a plea to lawmakers that he has made before. Members of his own party were the main obstacle to success in that area — a fact Bush acknowledged even as he pressed for a better result now than Capitol Hill is run by Democrats more amenable to his ideas.
"Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration," he said. "Let us have a serious, civil and conclusive debate."
Bush said his energy proposals would cut American imports by the equivalent of 75 percent of the oil coming from the Middle East. His prescription, as always, relied primarily on market incentives and technological advances — not government mandates.
"America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil," he said. "These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment — and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change."
Bush called for changing the tax code to encourage more people not covered by medical insurance to buy a plan, and to discourage others from keeping the most costly health care plans.
Under Bush's proposal, employer-financed health care benefits would be considered taxable income after a deduction of $15,000 for families and $7,500 for individuals. Those buying their own plan would get the same deductions on their taxes.
The White House said 80 percent of workers with health insurance through their jobs would see a tax cut as a result of the change. But about 20 percent would see a tax increase — those workers whose health insurance cost more than the standard deduction.
"With this reform, more than 100 million men, women and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills," Bush said. "At the same time, this reform will level the playing field for those who do not get health insurance through their job." |
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