[Aussie Dasher]

On the whole, we have to give the President a pass mark.

[One Proud Dad]

He passes with high marks, but will not be valedictorian until he closes the borders.

[EagleUSA]

And a reminder of what conservatives need to look for in a new presidential candidate in 2008.
------
Absolutely. We need a conservative, a patriot, a leader, and a person WITHOUT an elitist agenda...international, or otherwise.

[GianniV]

This guy thinks EXACTLY what I have been thinking for years. Bush would be a great President if he had the stones Reagan had on domestic issues.

He will never be great because of his fiscal liberalism.

[dfwgator]

Still too much spending, but it beats the alternative.

[TChris]

<$0.02 worth>
<Grammar Police>
The president clearly was trying to infer that anyone who opposed ILLEGAL immigration is ipso facto anti-immigrant.

"Infer" should have been "imply". The hearer/reader infers; the speaker/writer implies.

</Grammar Police>
</$0.02 worth>

On the balance, it was a very good SOTU. IMO.

[adam_az]

"Bush Offers Conservatives a Reminder "

Yes, a reminder that he's not all that conservative.

[Tarkin]

True, that's why we need a fiscal conservative in 2008.

[dirtboy]

"And we can tackle this problem together, if you pass the line-item veto.

Uh, Bush, they tried that during the Clinton years and SCOTUS shot it down.

But you do have that veto pen, if it hasn't dried up like an Egyptian mummy by now from lack of use. Gerald Ford, for all we like to bash on him, vetoed the crap out of spending bills.

[curiosity]

My sentiments exactly. Good article.

[kerryusama04]

Muth in 08

[edsheppa]

"We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy," the president said. Bull! This is a dishonest cheap shot at opponents of his amnesty proposal. No one has said that immigrants are bad for the economy.

I don't think that's a cheap shot at all. For example, it is my impression that many FR posters are opposed not just to illegal immigration but to nearly all immigration. Consequently there are many threads bashing H1B even though these immigrants are legal. Many other threads bemoan perceived cultural threats of immigrants regardless of their legality.

[jackbenimble]

Bull! This is a dishonest cheap shot at opponents of his amnesty proposal. No one has said that immigrants are bad for the economy. However, quite a few folks have said that ILLEGAL immigrants are a drain on local, state and the national economies. And they are. That one word makes a BIG difference. The president clearly was trying to infer that anyone who opposed ILLEGAL immigration is ipso facto anti-immigrant. That kind of false statement and tactic should be below the President of the United States. But it wasn't. How disappointing.

Wow! I must have made this point in at least three threads on Free Republic, two threads over at GOPUSA and one at FAIR before I saw this article. This article even repeats a few of my exact words. I'm wondering if I should be flattered?

[manwiththehands]

"If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone."
"There is no peace in retreat. And there is no honor in retreat."
"Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning."
"The road to victory is the road that will take our troops home."
"(Decision to) decrease our troop levels (in Iraq)...will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, DC."
"Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy."
".(O)ur nation has only one option: We must keep our word, defeat our enemies, and stand behind the American military in its vital mission."
"If there are people inside our country who are talking with al-Qaeda, we want to know about it -- because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again."

President Bush was in rare form last night. I was almost proud again that I voted for him twice.

But this is an election year ...

[Jedidah]

"But does he really believe our government-run public schools can accomplish that?"

Probably not.

But neither can schools whose academic standards are set by local or even state leadership.

I've watched to many of my kids' friends get hanked out of the tough math and science classes by parents who want them to have more time for extracurricular activities or so they will "enjoy being a kid."

I've also watched the improvement in Texas school standards over the past 15 years or so, since "no-pass, no-play" and mandatory testing were enacted. Bush's "No Child" ideas came from what was being done here, and I've seen first-hand, from the inside, how much better our schools are now.

I speak as the parent of three kids who either have, or soon will, degrees in engineering from top-notch university. The youngest will get his degree this year and continue graduate studies in quantum optics.

And he'll be doing with as a minority, his white ancestors on these shores since the 1600s, his classmates from nations who are overtaking us in technology.

Folks, this is important. Literacy and competence in math and science is vital to our nation's economic security, much as is energy independence.

Get behind the President on this. The guy's a visionary, he's right on this, and he only has a few years remaining to do what he can. Don't slow him down.