Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

As Bush outlines 2nd term, question arises: How well did he meet goals of first?
AP ^ | 1/18/5 | DEB RIECHMANN

Posted on 01/18/2005 10:52:09 PM PST by SmithL

WASHINGTON -- President Bush will spend 17 minutes sketching overarching goals for his second term Thursday even as debate still swirls over how he fulfilled promises made in his first inaugural address.

Former President George H.W. Bush gave his son an "A" for the Inauguration Day speech he delivered in a bone-chilling drizzle four years ago. The president's critics, however, still are challenging the first-term actions that grew out of that address.

Seasoned by two wars and a terror attack that ravaged symbols of American power, the Texas governor who catapulted to power after a hair's-breadth election victory in 2000 feels emboldened by his re-election.

Midway through his presidency, though, Bush's job approval ratings are in the high 40s or low 50s. That's as poor a rating at the start of a second term as any re-elected president's in more than 50 years. With deep deficits, a lackluster job market, no exit strategy from Iraq and skepticism of the United States abroad, Democrats say they will be listening for humility in Bush's speech.

Bush was humble in his first inaugural address when he said, "We'll show purpose without arrogance."

Nevertheless, that's not the impression Bush has conveyed around the world. Since the United States led the mission to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with relatively little international support, the president's reputation in some countries, including many in Europe, is one of brashness and inflexibility.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: mediabias; sourgrapes
AP also doesn't have the bias that cBS doesn't have.
1 posted on 01/18/2005 10:52:09 PM PST by SmithL
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SmithL
I would ask AP this one simple question. Why was Bus re-elected by the largest number of votes in American history?
2 posted on 01/18/2005 10:54:43 PM PST by Texasforever (It's hard to kiss the lips at night that chew your butt out all day long.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

Presidency of George W. Bush -- the first 48 months

 


President Bush signing a federal ban on Partial Birth Abortion

Banned Partial Birth Abortion

Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy

Stopped foreign aid that would be used to fund abortions.

Supported and upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals

Signed E.O. reversing Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act

Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty

Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court

Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California

Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules that would have shut down every home business in America


First Missile is Installed For NMD on July 23, 2004

Killed the U.S. - CCCP ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses


Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first ten ABM silos in Alaska and California so that America has a defense against North Korean nukes

The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act (less romantically known as H.R. 5382) ultimately allows average Americans to hitch a ride on a civilian space craft at their own risk. The federal ban on such citizen travel was repealed by HR 5382 in 2004. The President signed that bill into law two days before Christmas.

President Bush pledged to Israel on 4/14/2004 that it could keep parts of the West Bank, giving international legitimacy to Jewish settlements there

Denied Palestinian refugees any right of return to what is now Israel, saying they should be resettled in a future Palestinian state instead

Part of coalition (Russia, Israel, EU, Palestine, USA) for Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace"

Pushed through THREE raises for our military

Increased Defense Dept funding which had deteriorated during the previous 8 years

President Bush's Grand Strategy (click here)

President Bush's Environmental Record - 2004 (click here)

Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit

Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers

Ordered Attorney-General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, NOT a leftist-imagined *collective* right


Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e. the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty)

Signed the 2004 Omnibus Budget 1/26/2004 that now MANDATES that gun buyers' background check information be fully and permanently destroyed within 24 hours of the completion of the check, no matter what.

Repealed Gun Controls Against Active, Retired, and Off-Duty Law Enforcement Personnel Carrying Weapons Into Local and State Prohibited Zones (7/28/2004)


Disarmed Libya of its Chemical, Nuclear, and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed

Won an agreement that U.S. Navy sailors may now freely board thousands of commercial ships in international waters to search for weapons of mass destruction under a landmark pact between the United States and Liberia, the world's No. 2 shipping registry (signed Feb 11, 2004), and Panama 5/10/2004 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/11/international/americas/11ship.html).

Successfully executed 2 wars: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom

 

Executed a WAR ON TERROR by getting world-wide cooperation to track funds/terrorists (has cut off much of the terrorist's funding and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network)

Bush Administration diplomacy led to the 5/25/2004 peace accord that ended a massive 20-year civil war between Sudan's Islamic north and Christian south after two million deaths Click Here

 

Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed

Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ.

Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia

Initiated comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE was critical.
Created NATO's Rapid Response Force

Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the Presidency

Reorganized bureaucracy...after 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency: the Department of Homeland Security.

Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts.

Improving govt. efficiency with .8 million jobs put up for bid...weakening unions and cutting undeserved pay raises. Wants merit based promotions/raises only.

Orchestrated Republican control of the White House, the House AND the Senate.

Killed the liberal ABA's role in vetting federal judges for Congress.

GWB signed an executive order enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision (re: union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes)

Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession.

Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals.

Signed 2 income tax cuts ---- 1 of which was the largest Dollar-value tax cut in world history

Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains

In process of eliminating IRS marriage penalty.

Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people

Eliminated the Estate Tax (AKA "Death Tax") that was taking small farms and businesses from families


Signed into law the No Child Left Behind legislation delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations)

Reorganized the INS in an attempt to safeguard the borders and ports of America and to eliminate bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability.

Signed trade promotion authority

Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men and women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa

Passed Medicare Reform (authorized $39.5 Billion per year for preventive medicine such as drugs and doctor visits as well as included a ten year Privatization option)

Urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits

Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims


Submitted comprehensive Energy Plan--awaits Congressional action (works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc.)

Endorses and promotes The Responsibility Era ("In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else -- to one in which every single American understands that he or she are responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself. " -----this quote was too good to leave out)

Started the USA Freedom Corps

Initiated review of all federal agencies with a goal to eliminate federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of federal gov while increasing private sector jobs.

Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become The League of Nations ( in other words, completely irrelevant)

Nominated strong, conservative judges to the judiciary.


President Bush opened up an additional part of Alaska for domestic oil drilling. In 2004, the National Petroleum Reserve, an area west of the existing Prudhoe Bay field, was approved for new energy exploration and production.

Increased U.S. Oil Drilling Permits 70% Above Clinton-era

Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary clean-up of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger.

As part of the national forests clean-up, the President restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges) and removed the need for an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger.
New Forest Rules Gives States Power Over Federal Forests Inside Their Borders
Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.

President Bush signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal Aliens
S. 1685, the Basic Pilot Extension Act of 2003, was signed by President Bush on December 3, 2003.
It extends for five years the workplace employment eligibility authorization pilot programs created in 1996. It expands the pilot programs from the original five states to all 50 states.


U.S. Forces In Baghdad

3 posted on 01/18/2005 10:56:07 PM PST by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SmithL

AP, and all the maindream media like them, continue to amaze me. I would love to put some of these media elites into an oval office simulator, then hit them with just SOME of what this President has been hit with in reality, and in real time. They'd be crying for mommy!


4 posted on 01/18/2005 11:02:51 PM PST by Just Lori (There! I said it!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Southack

Southack:

YOU are a GREAT AMERICAN!


5 posted on 01/18/2005 11:04:49 PM PST by Just Lori (There! I said it!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: SmithL
even as debate still swirls over how he fulfilled promises made in his first inaugural address.

That debate ended last Nov.

6 posted on 01/18/2005 11:08:27 PM PST by Once-Ler (Beating a dead horse for NeoCon America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SmithL
That's as poor a rating at the start of a second term as any re-elected president's in more than 50 years.

It's a mite bit better than Presidents who were not re-elected. There have only been 6 Presidents re-elected in the last 50 years, and some of them didn't face a constant barrage of lies from the press. A press that doesn't know that President's should be capitalized.

7 posted on 01/18/2005 11:14:40 PM PST by Once-Ler (Beating a dead horse for NeoCon America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Southack

Beautiful.


8 posted on 01/18/2005 11:15:25 PM PST by Once-Ler (Beating a dead horse for NeoCon America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Southack

Thank you for a great summary on all the things President Bush has done. Now I have more ammo against my liberal friends and family. God Bless you.


9 posted on 01/18/2005 11:30:30 PM PST by johncua02
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson