Bush’s Final State of the Union Address
January 28, 2008
In the middle of one of the most heated presidential campaigns in recent history, President Bush delivers his final State of the Union Address. Normally presidents take this opportunity to look back on their terms, but White House Press Secretary Dana Perino says this will not be one of those occasions: “I can understand how many people, especially those that cover the president in the press, could see that the president would approach this as his legacy speech. But no, not at all. This is a very forward-looking speech” (Fox News).
The President is expected to address the economy, the war in Iraq, and his warrantless surveillance program, among other topics. One major issue will be the bipartisan economic stimulus package, which is currently being debated in the Senate. He also plans to discuss housing reform, better care for veterans, development of alternative energy sources, renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law, and making certain tax cuts permanent.
Turning to foreign affairs, he is expected to speak about progress in Iraq, and to repeat that he will not set a date for troop withdrawal. He will also likely discuss relations with Iran, his goal of establishing peace between Israel and Palestine, and foreign aid programs directed at fighting disease and hunger in poorer countries.
One new issue he is expected to bring up involves congressional earmarks – he will “announce ‘unprecedented changes’ in the way lawmakers earmark money for special projects that benefit their districts or campaign contributors,” which will include “directing agencies to ignore any future earmarks included in report language, but not in the legislation,” said White House spokesman Tony Fratto, “The president will say that if these spending items are worthy, Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote” (CNN).
One of President Bush’s biggest challenges, however, is getting people to listen. With the ’08 campaign running as heated as ever, and being just one week away from Super Tuesday, the attention of the media, Congress, the American people, and the world may quickly turn back to the candidates and not to the sitting president, who still has 12 months left in office.
