State of DisUnion

The following are excerpts from GW Bush's State of the Union address along with some personal commentary.

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. Our citizens don't much care 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. Our job is to make life better for our fellow Americans, and help them to build a future of hope and opportunity - and this is the business before us tonight.

Yeah, now let's work together. When the Repubicans controlled Congress it was a different matter. The Republicans all but ignored their Democratic counterparts. At some meetings the Republicans would actually get up and leave when the Democrats came in. Or tell them the wrong times for committee meetings. There was great article in a recent issue of Rollling Stone on this subject.

Spreading opportunity and hope in America also requires public schools that give children the knowledge and character they need in life. Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No Child Left Behind Act - preserving local control, raising standards in public schools, and holding those schools accountable for results. And because we acted, students are performing better in reading and math, and minority students are closing the achievement gap.

How well has the No Child Left Behind actually worked? Yeah, that's what I thought.

A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available healthcare. When it comes to healthcare, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs. But many Americans cannot afford a health insurance policy.

Health care plan? Did Canada succeed with this? A tax cut? Is the answer to all the problems a tax cut? That seems to be his cure all for everything. Especially when 98% of U.S. Employers deduct our healthcare payroll deductions pretax already, leaving a tax cut useless to most employed. With healthcare rising at 12 to 18% each year, wouldn't it be more prudent to look at the root cause?

Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America- with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country. To secure our border, we are doubling the size of the Border Patrol - and funding new infrastructure and technology.

Are people really banging to get in? If so, then are we becoming the land of opporutnity with too many rules. Let them come in...but let them pay taxes and be like the rest of us.

Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America's economy running and America's environment clean. For too long our Nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists - who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments .... raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy.

Quite humorous....Worrying about America's enviroment from a President that has voted down most laws having to do with any type of enviromental safeguards and who thinks Global Warming a fantasy.

This war is more than a clash of arms - it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our Nation is in the balance. To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19 men to get onto airplanes and come to kill us.

I agree with that statement, the problem is that we are creating the conditions that inspire blind hatred and will drive millions more men to try and come up with new ways to kill us. It is no wonder most of the world hates us.