President Bush's State of the Union speech: 51 minutes
Longest State of the Union speech: Harry Truman, 1946. 25,000 words. Not given orally
Shortest State of the Union speech: George Washington. 833 words. Would take 4-7 minutes to present. Congressional Research Service
"Our offensive against terror involves more than military action. Ultimately, the only way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their dark vision of hatred and fear by offering the hopeful alternative of political freedom and peaceful change." - "In less than three years, (Iraq) has gone from dictatorship to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections." - "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." - Honorable people in both parties are working on reforms to strengthen the ethical standards of Washington -- I support your efforts. - America rejects the false comfort of isolationism.
Kim Hudson SIS, 2007
With problems multiplying, it is easy to understand how some think that America is in decline. If we believe in the inevitability of our own defeat, then we have already given other forces the future win. I didn't have much hope that the President would be able to lift this mood at all but was more than pleasantly surprised when President Bush not only addressed this mood head on but also braced the nation against it. By decrying uncivil partisanship, the president sought to put those who would let vicious infighting continue to tire the citizens of the US, in their place. I was excited to hear the President be so candid about this overtone that the nation has been sliding into. The US will only win in the year to come if its citizens believe in it and in progress. The president's affirmation of the US in this trying time lent itself to memories of Presidents Reagan and Kennedy during the Cold War and gave me hope.
Michael Borja SIS, 2007
I think Bush's "Advanced Energy Initiative" would better serve America's strategic interests better and would better benefit society as a whole.ÿ Hopefully the initiative won't be subject to bi-partisan bickering on both sides. It'll make geo-political head butting over energy resources easier. ÿ Additionally, I hope Bush also doesn't withdraw from engaging with the new Hamas government of Palestine.ÿ Bush touted much about democracy in his speech, and I hope he realizes that democratic dialogue with the new Palestinian government is important, since it sprouted fromÿa democratic process.ÿÿIf Bush warns of a shrinking US role in the world,ÿhe should make sure we are constantly engaged.ÿ He'll definitely get the worst desiredÿend-result if he doesn't.ÿ The same goes with Iran and its nuclear program.ÿ
ÿBush warns of isolationism, but the country will be just as isolationist if it is too hardline.
Jordan Haverly SPA, 2009
For years now, public schools in the United States have been falling behind the rest of the world in education. While the No Child Left Behind program has made some progress, its focus has been primarily on underachievers. In my hometown, NCLB held the intelligent students back while those with special needs caught up. The school-wide scores went up, but the top scores came down. Before the speech, I thought the government should do more to help bright students excel; affording themwith the opportunities to become leading engineers, doctors, and scientists. I think the President's "American CompetitivenessInitiative" will do just that by bringing 100,000 new AP teachers, as well as math and science professionals, into public school classrooms. It seems President Bush has seen the shortcomings of NCLB and is now working to fix them.
Miriam Wood SIS, 2007
Students for Justice in Palestine does take a political stance, we are only concerned with the human rights abuses that are occurring in the Occupied Territories. In response to President Bush?s State of the Union speech, SJP would like to urge the President to start providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, instead of focusing solely on the actions of Hamas.
Alexander Hastie SIS, 2007
I'm not particularly fond of either party, but I thought it was interesting how during the entire speech they didn't show Ted Kennedy. It may be because he spent the last State of the Union making faces at the President.
As for the President's remarks, I liked his energy initiative, but wasn't particularly wild about him asking for the Patriot Act to be reinstated, especially in the wake of the domestic spying controversy.
Jordan Segall SPA, 2008
The most important issue for me before the speech was the dependence of the United States on Middle Eastern Oil. This oil dependence has led us to become involved in a destabilized region of the world for over a decade now. The U.S. is at the mercy of corrupt leaders in the Middle East who sell us oil while at the same time selling terrorists arms. Yet we cannot do anything because they will cut off our oil supply and an energy crisis will ensue.
I believed before the speech it was essential that the U.S. increase funds and pressure for alternative energy programs including clean coal and hybrid cars. The President in his speech proposed to increase funding for these programs as well as nuclear energy and cars fueled by ethanol. However, the President made these same sorts of pledges a few years ago in a previous State of the Union. Since then, Japanese car companies are developing hybrid cars and putting them on the market, (Toyota, Lexus, and Honda) and American car companies have developed none.
If the U.S. is to truly become independent of foreign oil, American companies must step up and stop developing gas guzzling SUVs. If Japanese car companies can develop hybrids, so can American. The, "addiction to foreign oil," must become more than a catch phrase, but a catalyst for the Federal government to force American energy and automobile companies into action.
