President Bush's State of the Union Address

President George Bush might be reaching out to a new audience when he delivers his State of the Union address on the 23^rd of January. Tony Snow, White House spokesman, stated that Bush would be reflecting the political change from the November elections. Oat the top of Tuesday night's address, of course, is Iraq. Bush will, once again, try to explain his viewpoint that an additional 20,000 troops are needed in Iraq. The addition of troops have come under scrutiny from both sides of the political arena. He will also be asking Congress to make sure the funding for more troops will be in the upcoming budget.

Snow has also stated that the address to the nation will also be more about the issues most Americans are concerned about rather than just topics of discussion. Along with the war in Iraq, another issue Bush will address will be that of health care and energy issues. Snow had indicated that this will be Bush "reaching out" to the newly empowered Democrats. Snow also indicted that Bush understands that the American people want change, considering how the November elections went, and wants to find common ground with the Democrats.

As Bush has done before, a focal point of his upcoming speech will be American dependency on oil. He wants the auto makers to make more fuel efficient cars and will express his support for other forms of fuel. Bush maybe asking Congress to raise the fuel standards for passenger cars, like they did for the SUV and trucks.

Another focal point of his address will be that of health care. He will be seeking a change in policy in several ways. He will be asking for more tax breaks be extended to those Americans who seek coverage on their own. In sense, it will be the workers getting the tax breaks and not the companies. The ideal is to have more people invest in their own health coverage than having the employers do it for them.

There are other issues Bush will be addressing as well. One is education. He would like to see Congress re-approve his bill of No Child Is Left Behind. Another will be that of Social Security. He will be challenging Congress to not only fix Social Security and its problems but also the fixes long term. Meaning that, more generations will be able to enjoy Social Security. He will also be asking Congress to work with him on making permanent tax cuts and balancing the budget.

Bush it seems has learned from past address to the Union and will be making an address to the entire American public. Before address seemed more centered on war and tax cuts. But now, Bush is including a lot more issues Americans want address.