George Bush’s attempt to revive his presidency with his state of the union address was swiftly torpedoed by the Democratic majority in Congress, which called on a Vietnam vet to deliver a merciless critique of the decision to go to war in Iraq.
In his indictment of the president’s leadership, the freshman Democratic senator from Virginia, Jim Webb, put Bush on notice that, for all the talk of bipartisanship in recent days, there would be no let-up in the party’s opposition to the president on the war.
”The president took us into this war recklessly,” said Webb, a former marine who campaigned wearing the combat boots of his son serving in Iraq. ”We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed.”
The decision by Democratic leadership to have Webb deliver their official response to Bush’s speech was hardly intended to be a friendly act. Webb, a onetime Republican who defected because of his opposition to the war, created a small furore last year when he refused to pose for a photograph with Bush at a White House reception for new senators. He then entered into a testy exchange with Bush over his son in Iraq.
Webb spoke only moments after Bush pleaded with Congress to give him a last chance to try to turn the situation around in Iraq by supporting his plan to send in 21 500 additional troops. ”This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in,” the president said.
But Webb was unwilling to give any ground, saying the war had taken an intolerable toll on the US.
”The war’s costs to our nation have been staggering,” he said. ”Financially. The damage to our reputation around the world. The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism, and especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.”
Then Webb went for the jugular, calling on Bush to embark on a new programme of diplomacy to try to bring the war to an end. ”The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military,” he said. ”We need a new direction.”
The ferocity of Webb’s response to the speech was yet another reminder to Bush of the immense difficulties he faces in trying to set the agenda at a time when his approval ratings are in the low thirties. Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Bush’s opponents, and within a matter of days are expected to vote on resolutions condemning the war.
Tuesday night’s sombre performance was in stark contrast to Bush’s address in 2002, when his approval ratings stood above 80%, and the reaction from Congress was equally muted. The president’s call for a civilian reserve corps to beef up the military got virtually no reaction, even from the army chiefs seated in the front rows.
Although the White House had been saying for days that the speech would concentrate on Bush’s domestic platform — energy conservation, healthcare, and education — the focus stayed firmly on Iraq. Iraq and Middle East policy accounted for nearly half of his 12-page speech. ”It is the issue and he can’t escape that,” the newly elected Democratic senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, told MSNBC television. Even so, Webb accused Bush of deepening economic inequality.
Other Democratic leaders dismissed the president’s proposals on alternative energy and conservation as recycled ideas, and his suggestions on healthcare as deeply flawed. ”The problem is he is talking about small incremental steps on issues that require bold moves,” John Edwards, who is running for the Democratic leadership in 2008, told CNN.
Then Democrats returned to the war in Iraq. ”Unfortunately, tonight the president demonstrated he has not listened to Americans’ single greatest concern: the war in Iraq,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, and the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said in a joint statement. ”We will continue to hold him accountable for changing course in Iraq.”
The sole bright spot for the president was his call for immigration reform. That brought Pelosi to her feet in appreciation, but there was markedly less applause from Bush’s fellow Republicans. – Guardian Unlimited Â