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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (25503)	1/21/2004 10:18:52 AM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793809

State of the Platform Wednesday, January 21, 2004; Page A26 PRESIDENT BUSH offered less a description of the state of the union last night than an opening pitch for reelection. The president claimed progress in combating terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, pledged to stay the course in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said his tax cuts and new spending programs had helped revive the economy and address urgent social problems. He disparaged unnamed opponents who had opposed the war or played down the terrorist threat. "We have not come all this way -- through tragedy, and trial, and war -- only to falter and leave our work unfinished," he said. He was speaking of his policies and programs, but the larger message was about his presidency. Mr. Bush took due credit for removing the regime of Saddam Hussein and for an ambitious agenda to transform the greater Middle East. Yet as often before, Mr. Bush skated past the challenges that lie ahead in Iraq and made no mention of the likely cost of overcoming them. And, as before, he proposed to spend still more and tax still less despite the government's rapidly mounting debts. It was hard not to be struck by the small-bore nature of some of Mr. Bush's proposals, by the clear political cast of others and, most of all, by the failure to grapple with some of the serious issues facing the country. Mr. Bush offered deserved tribute to the sacrifices of U.S. servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq. But he provided no accounting of his mistaken or exaggerated allegations about Iraq's weapons in his State of the Union address one year ago. Instead he tried to cover the gap between what he described and what has been found with a brief and tortured reference to "weapons-of-mass-destruction-related program activities." He underlined his intention to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi administration by the end of June, but he failed to explain how he will overcome political obstacles to that plan or how many troops and how much spending may be needed in Iraq beyond this year. In the face of record deficits, a costly new prescription drug program, and mounting costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was as breathtaking as it was unsurprising that Mr. Bush repeated his call to make the tax cuts permanent. We would welcome a responsible national debate about putting Social Security on a sustainable financial path, but Mr. Bush's breezy revival of his 2000 campaign push for private accounts failed to confront the complexities and costs of such a change. He devoted twice as much time to rallying professional athletes to "get rid of steroids now" as he did to Social Security reform. To his supporters, Mr. Bush proffered political bouquets -- doubled funding for teenage abstinence programs, a nod to the possible need for a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. To his opponents, Mr. Bush signaled that he is not about to cede any campaign ground. Whatever the Democratic candidates for president have seen as potential fodder -- the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, the No Child Left Behind legislation, even his controversial visit to an aircraft carrier -- Mr. Bush defended and embraced. Making the rounds of fundraisers in recent months, Mr. Bush has been fond of saying that the "political season is going to come in its own time." That time, it would seem, arrived last night. Post Editorial.