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President Bush gives his annual State of the Union address Monday and today offered his radio audience a glimpse into the priorities he will discuss in the speech.

Those priorities are economic growth and national security. Here are excerpts of Bush’s radio address:

• “You should know that while economic growth has slowed in recent months, the foundation for long-term growth remains solid. And I believe that with swift action, we can give our economy the boost it needs to continue expanding and creating new jobs for our citizens.”
• “In August, Congress passed a bill that strengthened our ability to monitor terrorist communications. The problem is that Congress set this law to expire on February 1st. That is next Friday. If this law expires, it will become harder to figure out what our enemies are doing to infiltrate our country, harder for us to uncover terrorist plots, and harder to prevent attacks on the American people.”

In this week’s Democratic address, Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota emphasized efforts to boost the economy but also suggested a negative link between economic woes and national security. While praising bipartisan work by Congress and Bush to aid the economy, he also took partisan shots at Bush.

“President Bush has given us a fiscal policy that has piled up mountains of debt by insisting we fight the war in Iraq with borrowed money,” Dorgan said. “Even as his policies have escalated this unbelievable federal debt load, he continues to insist on giving more tax breaks to the super wealthy. Now, the American people know that doesn’t add up. That has to change.”

Categories: Podcast of the Week, Security, Weekly Radio Address, State Of The Union, Economy

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Challenging period. Downturn. Continued instability. Jeopardy. Presidents don’t use those kinds of words willingly to describe the American economy, but President Bush did in his weekly radio address today. Bush said the economy is in such bad shape that it needs an artificial boost from the government.

“After careful consideration, and discussion with members of Congress, I have concluded that additional action is needed to keep our economy growing and creating jobs,” Bush said. “Congress and my Administration need to work together to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible.” He said enactment of a stimulus package is “our most pressing economic priority.”

Bush’s goals for the stimulus package are for it to equal about 1 percent of gross domestic product, to encompass broad-based tax relief, and to be immediate and temporary. He said it should be aimed at boosting both business investment and consumer spending.

Separate from the short-term economic stimulus package, Bush urged Congress to make previous tax cuts permanent. “Unless Congress acts,” he said, “the marriage penalty will make a comeback, the child tax credit will be cut in half, the death tax will come back to life, and tax rates will go up on regular income, capital gains, and dividends.”

Democrats also emphasized America’s economic woes in a weekly radio address delivered by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts. He agreed with Bush that “the need for action is now undisputed, so we should act together and we should act quickly.”

“Democrats stand ready to work with the president and congressional Republicans to put together a bipartisan package, including tax rebates for most Americans and one-time increases in programs directed at those who are bearing the heaviest burdens in this economy,” Frank said. Democrats are “guided by the need for increased assistance to those who are unemployed, to those hit hardest by the increases in food and energy costs, and, importantly, to those who have lost their homes or are struggling to avoid foreclosure.”

Categories: Podcast of the Week, Weekly Radio Address, Taxes, Economy

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President Bush is currently touring countries in the Middle East, so the topic understandably has been on his mind of late. It has been the subject of his first two weekly radio addresses for 2008. Here are excerpts from them, with the audio below:

• “I came away encouraged by my meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Each side understands that the key to achieving its own goals is helping the other side achieve its goals. … In plain language, the result must be the establishment of a free and democratic homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a free and democratic homeland for the Jewish people.”
• “I believe that a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that defines a Palestinian state is possible this year. … The United States cannot impose an agreement on the Israelis and Palestinians — that is something they must work out themselves. But with hard work and good will on both sides, they can make it happen.”
• “A democratic Palestinian state is in the interests of the Palestinians. It is in the long-term security interests of Israel. And it is in the interests of a world at war with terrorists and extremists trying to impose their brutal vision on the Middle East.”
• “I know it is not always obvious why events in the nations of the Middle East should matter to the American people. But in the 21st century, developments there have a direct impact on our lives here.”
• “At its core, the battle unfolding in the Middle East is more than a clash of arms. It is an ideological struggle. On one side are the forces of terror and death. On the other are tens of millions of ordinary people who want a free and peaceful life for their children.”

Jan. 12

Jan. 5

Categories: Podcast of the Week, Weekly Radio Address, Foreign Affairs

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It’s time for those New Year’s resolutions and both President Bush and Democrats in Congress have a few to share with the American people. What better way to do it than their weekly radio addresses.

Bush, for instance, has resolved to do something about “wasteful earmark spending.” “In the last election, congressional leaders ran on a promise that they would reform earmarks,” he said. “They made some progress but not nearly enough.” He said he is reviewing options he can take as president to curtail “special-interest items that are slipped into big spending bills like … often at the last hour, without discussion or debate.”

Bush also vowed to submit a budget in February that will restrain spending, keep taxes low and move the nation toward a balanced budget.

On the Democratic side, freshman Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York outlined “a vision to build America’s greatness.” Among other things, the agenda includes a push toward energy independence, advancements in technology that can create jobs, economic policies aimed at helping the middle class, changes to the education and healthcare systems, and efforts to secure the nation against attacks.

“I truly believe that all good things are possible when the American people are heard,” she said.

Categories: New York, Democrats, Health, Technology, Kirsten Gillibrand, Weekly Radio Address, Energy, Budget, Education, Economy

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President Bush revived his message of Christmases past in his radio address this week by recognizing the sacrifices made by U.S. troops serving abroad and away from their families during the holidays.

“The husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters of those in the military serve our country as well,” Bush said. “For many of them, service means packing up their belongings and moving on short notice, or living in a different country for a time, or missing a family member as he or she serves overseas. And this Christmas, many will sit down for dinner thinking of their loved ones half a world away.”

Democrats, meanwhile, focused on their accomplishments after one year in the majority of Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada boasted that “Democrats have put working families first, given our troops the care and support they deserve, and made our country safer.”

He also didn’t exactly evoke a holiday spirit of peace and good will toward Bush and Republicans in Congress. Reid blamed them for standing in the way of the Democratic agenda.

“We tried to give health care to 10 million poor children, but Republicans sided with tobacco companies,” he said. “We tried to promote cleaner energy sources … but Republicans sided with the big oil companies. We chose to invest in priorities here at home, but Republicans chose to send billions more of your taxpayer dollars to Iraq.”

Categories: Military, Nevada, Harry Reid, Weekly Radio Address

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