 PresidentGeorge W. Bush during the speech, with Vice PresidentDick Cheney and House SpeakerDennis Hastert behind him | |
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| Date | January 31, 2006 (2006-01-31) |
|---|---|
| Time | 9:00 p.m.EST |
| Duration | 51 minutes |
| Venue | House Chamber,United States Capitol |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′19.8″N77°00′32.8″W / 38.888833°N 77.009111°W /38.888833; -77.009111 |
| Type | State of the Union Address |
| Participants | |
| Previous | 2005 State of the Union Address |
| Next | 2007 State of the Union Address |
The2006 State of the Union Address was given by the 43rdpresident of the United States,George W. Bush, on January 31, 2006, at 9:00 p.m.EST, in the chamber of theUnited States House of Representatives to the109th United States Congress. It was Bush's fifthState of the Union Address and hissixth speech to ajoint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was theHouse speaker,Dennis Hastert, accompanied byDick Cheney, thevice president, in his capacity as thepresident of the Senate.
The address outlined the President's legislative proposals for the upcoming year and referenced thebudget deficit,health care reform, thewar on terror, theOccupation of Iraq,Iran's nuclear program, the rising price ofgasoline and the transfer to independent sources ofalternative energy,illegal immigration,Hurricane Katrina and the federal response tonatural disasters,Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak, theAbramoff scandal and corruption within the government, theNSA spying controversy, the successful nomination ofSupreme Court JusticeSamuel Alito, and the Administration's proposed ban onsame-sex marriage.
Newly electedGovernor of VirginiaTim Kaine gave theDemocratic response inEnglish andMayor of Los AngelesAntonio Villaraigosa did so inSpanish.
President Bush began hisState of the Union Address for the year by reflecting on the memory ofCoretta Scott King, who died earlier that day, andMartin Luther King Jr., "the husband who wastaken so long ago".[1] Bush then paralleled "moments of national mourning," an indirect reference to theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks with "national achievement." When discussing the American political system, Bush usedanaphora, repeating "two" at the beginning of each clause, "two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches."
Bush shifted his tense from thepast to thefuture while emphasizing the need for civility andbipartisanship among legislators during debate. Echoing his2005 State of the Union address, he stated "Tonight the state of our Union is strong – and together we will make it stronger."
He again used anaphora by repeating "We will choose," paralleling "pursuing the enemies of freedom," applicable to both theAxis of Evil andterrorists in general, with "Retreating "from our duties in the hope of an easier life," a direct attack onCriticism of the Iraq War, which particularly calls for withdrawal. He paralleled choosing "to build our prosperity by leading theworld economy" with the alternative "shut[ting] ourselves off from trade and opportunity," a warning againstprotectionism andisolationism.
The President cited a foiled terror plot in Los Angeles, where terrorists supposedly planned to hijack a plane and fly it into the Liberty Tower.
Bush stated that America's involvement inAfghanistan is a necessity, part of an overall historical goal of trying to endtyranny worldwide, because "problems originating in a failed andoppressive state seven thousand miles away" orchestrated theSeptember 11th attacks and continue to "shelter terrorists, feed resentment andradicalism, and seekweapons of mass destruction" whereasDemocracies give hope and "respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors."
The president pointed out that there are 98 more Democratic countries in 2006 than there were in 1945, in addition toWomen's suffrage inAfghanistan, thePurple Revolution inIraq, and political discourse inLebanon andEgypt, as evidence that Democracy, freedom, and self-governance have grown throughout the world. Although many social and political analysts would agree that more people live in free and fair societies than at the end ofWorld War II, all of the examples Bush provided lay in theMiddle East.
He went on to say that the "demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require... freedom" for the citizens of nations in theAxis of Evil;Syria,Burma,Zimbabwe,North Korea, andIran.
Shifting away from the comparison ofdemocracy and dictatorship during the Cold War andpost-9/11 America, Bush outlined the major opposition to freedom asradical Islam, which he defines as "the perversion by a few of a noblefaith into anideology of terror and death."See also:Religion of Peace
He stressed that "bin Laden [is] serious aboutmass murder" and wants to "impose...totalitarian control throughout the Middle East, and arm [al Qaeda] withweapons of mass murder. Their aim is toseize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven... When theymurder children at a school inBeslan, orblow up commuters in London, orbehead a bound captive, the terrorists hope these horrors will break our will."
He indirectly referenced theBeatitudes by saying the terrorists hope that breaking the will of the U.S. will allow "the violent to inherit the Earth."
In a verbal attack on "isolationist" and "appeasing" sentiments, Bush condemned "the false comfort of isolationism" for sending the "signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage."
Bush stated that America is addicted tooil often originating from unstable parts of the world.[2] He announced increased funding in clean-energy research:renewable energy, for instancebiofuels andnuclear energy. He also stated the goal of 75% oil import replacement by 2025 based on new technologies.
February 1, 2006 atWikinews| Preceded by | State of the Union addresses 2006 | Succeeded by |
