Democrats on Bush: 'There Is a Better Way' ( Response to SOTU Speech)

Democrats, who hope to regain control of the House and Senate this year, countered President Bush's take on the state of the nation, saying "there is a better way" to govern.

"The federal government should serve the American people. But that mission is frustrated by this administration's poor choices and bad management," Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Tuesday.

"Families in the Gulf Coast see that as they wait to rebuild their lives. Americans who lose their jobs see that as they look to rebuild their careers. And our soldiers in Iraq see that as they try to rebuild a nation," said Kaine, a Democrat tapped to deliver the minority party's official response to the State of the Union.

"As Americans, we do great things when we work together. Some of our leaders in Washington seem to have forgotten that," he said in remarks following Bush's evening speech before a joint session of Congress. "There is a better way."

Kaine, a rising star in the party who has been on the job just weeks after winning election in a state that Bush won comfortably in 2004, delivered the Democratic Party's rebuttal from the governor's mansion in Richmond, Va.

The president's fifth State of the Union address comes during tumultuous times for the scandal-plagued Republican Party. Democrats are seeking to regain power in Congress by emphasizing GOP woes.

Ten months before Election Day, support for Bush has soured and public sentiment favors Democrats.

"There is no more important task in Washington than cleaning up the culture of corruption. Yet the president _ whose White House has become the cradle of Republican corruption _ is not taking responsibility for the costs of that corruption," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said.

His counterpart in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, aligned the president with "his oil and gas company cronies."

"The president told the American people that when America leads, America wins. Unfortunately, when President Bush and the Republican Congress have led, the special interests have won and the American people have lost," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "That is the cost of the Republican culture of corruption."

Although Democratic aides said Kaine's speech was not overtly political, the Virginia governor sought to offer a sharp contrast between two different visions for the United States and suggested that the country can be stronger than it's been under Republican leadership.

Kaine criticized Bush on a host of issues, deriding the president for a "failure to manage our staggering national debt" and accusing the administration of "reckless spending." The governor bemoaned soaring health care costs and Medicare changes under Bush. And Kaine said Bush's education reform law is "wreaking havoc" on school districts while his immigration policies have created "a confusing patchwork of state and local efforts."

On Iraq, Kaine said the administration gave the public inaccurate information about the reasons for invading Iraq and then failed to give troops the best intelligence or body armor. Now, he said, Bush wants to decrease National Guard and Reserve troop levels and further reduce military and veterans' benefits.

"Our commitment to winning the war on terrorism compels us to ask this question: Are the president's policies the best way to win this war?" Kaine asked.

Assailing what he called a culture of partisanship and cronyism, Kaine also seized on the corruption investigations that have befallen Republicans.

"If we want to replace the division that grips our nation's capital, we need a change," he said. "Democrats are leading that reform effort."

"Democrats claim that 'there's a better way.' But what is it?" he said. "The Democrats have offered only obstruction and partisan attacks."

I have a plan to bring gravitas to the miserable failure that is the Republican culture of corruption because there is a better way to mislead the American people about the rush to war in Iraq after we failed to put enough boots on the ground to capture Osama Bin Laden.

"A better way", brought to you by the DNC. Where no cliche is too trite or tired to drag out.

Because then they would have to commit themselves and may loose their popularity in the process.

Let me guess -- their "solutions" are very similar to what the Conservatives are offering.

They must think Americans are idiots. Then again, maybe we are.

Dems solutions (even though they wont admit it):

- Capturing OBL. What is their solution? More troops in Afghanistan? That wont do much good since OBL is in Pakistan. So, are they going to have our military cross the border in mass? Not a good idea if they want to keep the casualties down and don't want to anger the leadership in Pakistan or force a coup. Pakistan have been very helpful in capturing Al Qaeda.

- In Iraq. What is their plan here? Cut and run? That would be a disaster and the Dems know it. Would precipitate a Civil War and leave a power void in the Middle East that will be quickly filled by Iran. Iran, the same country that is trying to develop nukes so that they can give them to terrorists and kill Americans. Yeah, right!

- Social Security. Status quo is their solution. Which, as everyone knows including them, is not a solution.

- Corruption. And the Democrats are not corrupt?

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