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Bush, in his Energizer Bunny mode, will declare that It’s Gangbusters,
of course! He will ignore what
non-Bush payroll economists refer to as the Two Economies of America. And his
privatizing health savings accounts will only making the banks and finance
institutions richer, just as his proposal to privatize Social Security would. Bush to use his 5th
SofU speech to recharge his presidency
Excerts
from tonight’s speech, where the failed oil man practically wedded to Saudi
Arabia will tell Americans we are addicted to oil and must change our ways,
after years of denial. Do we see the pattern here? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11110276/ CBS/NYT poll Jan. 26 2006 51% of Americans give him a negative job
approval rating. It's
the first time in his presidency he'll give a State of the Union speech with a majority
of the residents of the country saying they disapprove of the job he's
doing…While most Americans believe Mr. Bush displays strong leadership
qualities, when it comes to helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, just 25
percent of those polled think the Bush administration has a clear plan. The
public is divided over Mr. Bush's secret domestic surveillance program, with
just more than half saying they approve of his authorization of wiretaps
without warrants to fight terrorism. At the same time, a clear majority, 64%, is concerned that
the Bush administration’s anti-terrorism measures could threaten their civil
liberties. A third are "very concerned." Presidential Approval Ratings During Second
Terms http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/26/opinion/polls/main1243679.shtml NBC/Wall Street Journal poll Jan. 26 –29: Bush’s approval rating at 39%, which is unchanged from last month’s
NBC/Journal poll. (Other recent national surveys have shown his approval rating
to be slightly higher, in the low 40s.) In addition, only 25% say they
want to see Bush take the lead role in setting policy for the country, while
49% say they prefer Congress. “He’s off track,” says Hart, who wonders if Bush will use
his State of the Union address to strike a more conciliatory tone with his political opponents. “If
it is ‘our way or the highway,’ it will be a very long year for the president.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11103804/ Spinning the State of the Union By Robert Kuttner,
American Prospect, Web Exclusive: 01.30.06 Here are a few things
to watch for in President Bush's first big election-year speech Tuesday: Mission
Accomplished?
On Iraq, look for rhetoric of steady resolve, coupled with promises to limit
American exposure. Bush could offer a partial reduction of US combat troops
during 2006 (in time for the mid-term election) -- but without any realistic
prospect of a stable Iraqi government to fill the vacuum. One idea: a
''garrison strategy" of keeping most US forces safely inside bases. This
might cut American combat losses, but cede the countryside to guerrilla
fighters and anarchy. The
Boy Who Cried Nukes.
On Iran, watch for stern saber-rattling without a realistic plan to contain
Iran's alarming nuclear ambitions. As former senior national security official
Flynt Leverett wrote in a brilliant New York Times piece last week, it's clear
that Bush targeted the wrong member of the ''axis of evil" (Iraq) and the
wrong strategy to contain it. In 2002-03, the Iranians, then under more
moderate leadership, wanted to constructively engage with the United States to
resolve differences. Bush blew them off and focused obsessively on Iraq, which
turned out not to have nuclear capabilities. The Iranians, who really do have
the ability to build nukes, then elected a truly dangerous radical who is
expanding his nation's nuclear program. Having bogged down in Iraq, Bush has
neither the forces nor the strategy to deal with a real menace partly of his
own making in Iran. Last
Refuge of a Scoundrel.
Bush will demand that Congress extend the so-called USA Patriot Act, even
though he insists that he doesn't need it in order to spy on Americans and
conduct searches without warrants. Which is it, Mr. President? Bad law, or bad
lawlessness? Kinder,
Gentler, More Deceptive.
Expect purely symbolic election-year feints reverting to the rhetoric of the
uniter-Bush of 2000, coupled with coded boasting to the Republican base, say,
on abortion and the Supreme Court. Hazardous
to Your Health.
Very likely: more bad policy ideas that are mainly subsidies to special
interests. One really awful proposal likely to be touted is Medical Savings
Accounts. With more people losing decent employer-provided insurance, Bush
would cut people loose and offer tax incentives to put money into special
savings accounts to pay for ''high-deductible" individual policies. These
are highly lucrative for the insurance industry, onerous for moderate-income
families and people with expensive medical conditions, and the least
cost-effective way to provide insurance. If you like the Bush drug plan, you'll
love this. Bragging
Rights on Jobs?
Bush will emphasize the number of jobs that have been created -- about 2
million in five years (compared with 2 million a year in the 1990s.) He will
not emphasize the fact that the median worker has had no net income growth.
Real median income fell 1.3 percent last year, Aliens
at our Gates.
Having had five years to deal with rising levels of illegal immigration, Bush
will flag this as a newly discovered menace. However, he is whipsawed between
heartland Republicans who want much tougher policies including a border wall,
better ID, and penalties for employers of illegals -- and a corporate community
that just loves low-wage, low-benefit, low-rights ''guest-workers." Lots
More Red Ink.
Many of Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire in 2010. The latest
Congressional Budget Office report projects that if Bush's tax cuts are
permitted to expire, the budget will return to surplus but if they are extended
the deficit will stay in excess of $340 billion a year. Bush wants to make the
tax cuts permanent and add new ones. One high priority for the right: complete
elimination of the estate tax, which already has been cut to the point where
less than 1 percent of estates pay any tax. Cost to the Treasury of total
elimination: $745 billion over a decade. This is enough money to restore all
cuts in federal aid to education and to extend Head-Start to all families who
qualify. Based on his record of
the past five years, Bush has a pretty weak hand to play. Thanks to a brilliant
team of speechwriters and spinmeisters, he is likely to play it well. But the
routine is wearing thin. Robert
Kuttner is co-editor of The
American Prospect. This column originally
appeared in The Boston Globe. http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10972 |
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percent 
58
percent 
65
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26
percent 
58
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