Posted by DEAN SKIP RUTHERFORD – Clinton School Students watched on television as President Bush delivered the State of the Union Monday night. Here are excerpts from the papers they wrote analyzing his speech:
Sarah Argue: “This largely symbolic exercise could be put to real use. It is disappointing that a speech that takes over network television in order to bring it to the people of America is really just a ‘ra-ra’ for the President.”
Lukman Arsalan: “One thing I should give credit to President Bush is that he mentioned Jordan as one of the countries that was a victim of terrorist Al-Qaeda attacks. This made me think how terrorism has no boundaries.”
Sharon Bailey: “He used the word ‘compassionate’ only twice, but not in proximity to words that are most often associated with compassion, such as health care, doctors, schools, volunteers, children or even tax relief. Instead the word ‘compassionate’ was used twice in a passage that described soldiers on active duty in a war zone.”
Carly Benkov: “He seemed to be self-assured, and the camera even caught him displaying a huge smile that often overflowed into laughter. This made it even harder for us to take him seriously, as we kept wondering what it was he thought was so funny.”
Molly Brunkow: “I wonder if the president actually sees his past seven years as securing what he calls a ‘more freer, more helpful and compassionate world.’
Lindsey Clark: “The speech lacked passion, only offering moments of emotion when he spoke of the military and when he vehemently defended his polices in Iraq.”
Emily English: “He used graphic images only when discussing the war and moved quickly through global poverty issues to bring us back to our veterans of war.”
Tim Giattina: “Realizing it unlikely that Congress would usher through any major legislative proposals in the final year of his presidency, his final address lacked any of the grand, sweeping proposals of previous years.”
Jose Guzzardi: “In regarding to foreign trade in general, I think Bush did a good job in advocating for free trade agreements with Latin American countries as a way to stop ‘false populism.’”
Amanda Harris: “It seems as though those in Washington have done a lot of talking about bipartisanship but are just as quick to polarize issues and sides as soon as something controversial arises.”
Sara Himelfarb: “I was pleased see the President honor Donna Shalala and Bob Dole for their work on relief efforts for veterans, and I very much appreciated the idea to allow soldiers to transfer their educational awards to their children or spouses.”
Sanford Johnson: “Considering the severity of the housing crisis, I expected him to spend more time on it. He did offer tax free bonds to help people refinance mortgages, as well as increased funding for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While this is a start, what about the predatory lenders that got us into this mess in the first place?”
Erin Jones: “What I did like seeing was the overwhelming support of funding the military. While I am not in favor of the war, I am also not in favor of sending troops out who are unprepared and ill equipped.”
Geoff Kearney: “Though he was more tempered in many ways than he was in previous States of the Union, President Bush is still very much a tough-talker. He made a point of threatening to use the veto pen multiple times.”
Ryan Lewis: “Nothing permeated from my TV screen more clearly than the tension in the chamber.”
Marquita Little: “President Bush’s overall presentation and delivery was good….The address was well organized and he spoke at a pace that made him easy to follow.”
J.D. Lowery: “His rhetoric was an odd mix of partisan defiance and modesty in acknowledgment of his now limited influence with Congress.”
James Mitchell: “Bush made so little departure from his scripted ideological positions that I began to wonder if he and I are looking at the same country.”
Jonathan Mwaba: “Bush used the stage to allay some fears that has hit the American economy and stock market by focusing on finances, which was a good move on his part I thought. This classical move would qualify for what people back in Africa would term as ‘political engineering.’”
Hunter Riley: “One of the most interesting comments of the night when the President mentioned the Gulf Coast (what I feel was specifically because he left it out of his speech last year).”
Joe Schafer: “While I disagree with the call for extremes in border security, I do feel his ideas on the need for a feasible guest worker program should be given some attention.”
Penelope Sur: “Sometimes it seems that this President’s lack of curiosity about the concerns, beliefs and priorities of his constituents creates an inevitable disconnect between his policies and our country’s needs.”
Russ Swearingen: “In a very real sense, his presidency is a ‘lame duck.’ However, he remained vocal about his branch’s superiority over the Congress; seemingly bullying the Congress by stating multiple times that is up to Congress to do the business of the people.”
James Szenher: “The President made it clear that his intentions were to continue the fight in Iraq ‘until our enemies are defeated.’ Since the terms of defeat are undefined and the enemy is a loose organization of cells which constantly recruit new members, it’s difficult to guess about when the President thinks this end will come, if ever.”
Jay Thompson: “Every time I watch a State of the Union I am amazed by just how much silly, partisan showmanship is involved. It always resembles a highly choreographed play more than a political event that has implications worldwide.”
Tina Tian: “The situation in Kenya today is threatening the world democracy. When President Bush named several other countries, like Sudan about world security and peace, I had an expectation from him and his opinion on Kenya. However, I did not hear that.”
Idonia Trotter: “Overall President George Bush comes across as friendly, but armed with strong beliefs and convictions. People tend to not like his politics, but they like him as a person who was evident in the hand shakes and hugs, patting of the head of rival democrats.”
Loan Truong: “Even though he (Bush) tried to touch on issues concerning many people in the country, he diminishes the severity of these problems.”
Julie West: “Americans really want to know if the stimulus package will provide them with greater economic security at the kitchen tables, the mortgage crisis can be managed and healthcare costs can be controlled.”
Chance Williams: “I was relieved to hear that the President is finally taking an aggressive stance on the deficit, but it begs the question: Where have you been?”
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