State of the Union Address LIVE THREAD 9:01pm EST.

White House .gov ^

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

President Bush will deliver the annual State of the Union this evening at 9:01pm (Eastern Time). The speech will be webcast live on the White House web site. The President will discuss the extraordinary challenges our country has faced and the historic achievements we have made. Yet he will also stress that there.s much more for our country to do: "America this evening is a Nation called to great responsibilities. And we are rising to meet them…" "We have not come all this way – through tragedy, and trial, and war – only to falter and leave our work unfinished. Americans are rising to the tasks of history, and they expect the same of us." He will also remind the American people that we are a Nation still at war, and our government is meeting its responsibility to protect the American people: "Our greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people. Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11, 2001 – over two years without an attack on American soil – and it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting – and false." "...America is on the offensive against the terrorists..." "As part of the offensive against terror, we are also confronting the regimes that harbor and support terrorists, and could supply them with nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons…" "...Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better…" He will discuss the progress we’re making in Afghanistan and Iraq, and renew our commitment to ensuring those countries are free and peaceful: "The men and women of Afghanistan are building a nation that is free, and proud, and fighting terror…" "The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right." On priorities here at home, the President will discuss why he’s optimistic about our growing economy, and call on Congress to take action that will help turn our economic recovery into a lasting recovery. He will call on them to help train Americans for the jobs of the 21st Century: "America’s growing economy is also a changing economy. As technology transforms the way almost every job is done, America becomes more productive, and workers need new skills… We must respond by helping more Americans gain the skills to find good jobs in our new economy." President Bush will also discuss the importance of health care and the major cause for why Americans lack health insurance: the rising costs of health care. "On the critical issue of health care, our goal is to ensure that Americans can choose and afford private health care coverage that best fits their individual needs. To make insurance more affordable, Congress must act to address rapidly rising health care costs." Finally, the President will argue that in a time of great change in our country and world, the things that make our country strong should never change: "We are living in a time of great change… Yet some things endure – courage and compassion, reverence and integrity, respect for differences of faith and race. The values we try to live by never change. And they are instilled in us by fundamental institutions, such as families, and schools, and religious congregations. These institutions – the unseen pillars of civilization – must remain strong in America…" "All of us – parents, schools, government – must work together to counter the negative influence of the culture, and to send the right messages to our children."

"The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution • History • State of the Union History Quiz • State of the Union - 2003 • State of the Union - 2002 Q1. What President delivered the first State of the Union Address?  George Washington  John Adams  Thomas Jefferson  James Madison  Franco Harris

January 20, 2004
Communications Director Dan Bartlett discussed this year's State of the Union.

January 19, 2004
Author/Historian Richard Norton Smith discussed the history of the State of the Union address.

[Ciexyz]

I think John Kerry looks like he could be Lyle Lovett's brother.

[dagnabbit]

Maybe you should check with Tancredo. I don't think he plans to run for president. Actually I'm sure he's not. Tancredo is, I'm 99.9% sure, voting for President George W. Bush. Call his office and ask :)

It's irrelevant whether Tancredo is running for President. His name is synonymous with border and immigration control, and when voted, shows the Bush administration why they've lost a vote.

BTW: I'm only a certain Tancredo voter in the Primary. There's a slim chance Dubya could earn my vote back in the next 9 months.

[geopyg]

I haven't read this whole thread yet - but I LOVED W's "Dean Moment" when he talked about criticism of Iraq not involving the world community and he said something like "Well I'm not sure how some of our partners will take that, Like Great Britain.. and Spain, and Australia, and Belgium and Morrocco, etc. etc. (probably said 10 more), then Applasue. Applause stops and he continues naming 5 or 6 more countries and says "plus seventeen other nations". I wonder if a speech writer put this in at the last moment, or if W did it himself? Glad George didn't freak out in the delivery like Dean did. :-)

[Petronski]

ATI is the gold standard of tv cards. I'm sorry you didn't have very good luck with your card, but it sounds like a bad river. I've captured hundreds of thousands, or millions, of frames with no problems whatsoever. All the frames I wanted burned to DVD play just fine.

ATI is the best there is.

[Fledermaus]

Course, now we have to worry about inspecting them offshore to prevent the wmds from getting offloaded AT the port.

We currently are doing that.

[dennisw]

Even if less qualified? But I have a fiduciary duty to the company to hire the best talent that will do the best job............

That's a pant load. Hire an American. You are an Ameircan so hire an American, not an H1-B. It's tough job market and he will be most appreciative.

[Ophiucus]

I'd hope for those things myself, but I am far to busy fawning over him because he has an (R) by his name.

Gag.

A little cheese with that whine, Frenchie?

[maica]

He IS a sincere man, isn't he? And that alone is a miracle in the world of politics.

&&&

The Dems even complained that he came to Washington and actually tried to DO what he said he would do during his campaign. They obviously can listen to their own politicians calmly, since they know they are hearing total bs, and can just disregard it all.

[nuffsenuff]

Dean is finished...

I think everyone on the fence realized that the guy is not playing with a full deck lastnight.

I was hoping he would keep up the charade until after the convention. He would have gotten the nomination and then blown up like that?

Oh how sweet would THAT have been?

[BigSkyFreeper]

State Of The Union Speech

[FreeReign]

TAX CUTS SHOULD BE PERMENANT!

Looky here. A little incrementalism in the positive direction.

[jwalsh07]

A good speech and optimistic when compared to the Woe is Me twins, Tommy the Undertaker and Nancy Botox. I would have liked to see him whack the left upside the head with vouchers and PBA but he did whack the judicial activists whch is a big plus in my book.

Bush gets my vote based on his performance as CIC. I sent him a check a while ago and I will send more if the need arises.

regards,

John

PS: I type about 10 words a minute with an error rate of 2 typos/minute and 3 misspells/sentence. But I can still hit a 90 mph fastball in a batting cage. Go figure.{-:

[primeval patriot]

"the folks hidden away who are in an underground economy afraid to become more visible in our society"

Not much hiding going on that I can see.

A dozen or more day laborers swarm a van, seeking work from the driver, outside the entrance to a Home Depot store, an area where undocumented immigrants are among those who gather for potential employers, in Los Angeles' Hollywood district Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004.

Men gather around a pickup truck in hopes of finding work at an area where undocumented immigrants gather for potential employers in Dallas, Wednesday, Jan 7, 2004.

Men gather around a pickup truck in hopes of finding work at an area where undocumented immigrants gather for potential employers in Dallas, Wednesday, Jan 7, 2004.

Leonardo Vasquez Cruz, of Palenque, Mexico, left, and Alejandro Badillo, of Mexico City, stand on a corner after a Dallas Police officer told them to leave the area where undocumented immigrants gather for potential employers in Dallas, Wednesday, Jan 7, 2004. According to the men, they would not leave as the police cannot keep them off a public sidewalk. The officer soon left the area.

[JulieRNR21]

Actually that makes four of us....also decided to watch without freeping....wanted to be sure I heard every word...I thought the speech was great!

GWB laid out his accomplishments; and responded forcefully to the Dem's bashing of his foreign & domestic policies without even mentioning the any of them! It was like a campaign speech in some respects!

However, hedid remind them that Clinton signed the defense of marriage act........and that he did little to prevent further terrorism after the WTC bombing in 1993.

[Will_Zurmacht]

we could scan every package entering the US looking for a bomb....

or we could simply kill the people who wanna bring bombs into the US...

[rwfromkansas]

Uh......where did he say impeach them?

[Jorge]

We're doing all that can be done with the limitation set upon us. Again, your ignorance shows.

Anybody knows that. (speaking of ignorance).

The fact remains that without effective border control there isn't much Bush can do, unless of course you are suggesting MASS deportations, which would be political suicide for ANY politician.

[RasterMaster]

I guess he would know about that from first hand experience, eh? I wanna be the one with a widely-visibe "Just ask Mary Jo" sign.

Anyone capture a pic from the State of the Union speech where Fat-@$$ Teddy was diggin for nose gold?

[rwfromkansas]

He has done it before, and the PBA ban has been signed. No real need to do so.

[ican'tbelieveit]

The police couldn't arrest them for loitering? That is pretty scary.