Bush speech draws mixed local reviews

Deepa Bharath

Local officials said they saw President Bush set the stage for his

re-election campaign during his State of the Union address on Tuesday

by strongly asserting that the nation is succeeding in its war

against terrorism and strengthening its economy.

The president also proposed a 36% increase in funding for schools,

job training for high school graduates, support for community

colleges and a rehabilitation program for prisoners. He urged

Congress to make tax cuts permanent.

Bush also touched on sensitive issues, stating clearly his

opposition to same-sex marriage and that he is against granting

asylum to illegal immigrants.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher called the president’s speech “finely

crafted.”

“The speech reflected the two sides of George Bush,” he said. “It

showed his tough side, when he exhibited a firm stand against

terrorism, clearly jabbing some of the Democrats who had been

backbiting and nitpicking about some of those issues. He was able to

do all that while maintaining his presidential aura.”

Bush also showed a “softer, caring side” when he talked about

protecting young people from drugs and sexually transmitted diseases,

Rohrabacher said.

“I was particularly impressed with his proposal to put programs in

place to rehabilitate released prisoners,” he said.

A large portion of Bush’s speech, however, was dedicated to issues

of national security. Bush emphasized that it would be unwise to

believe that the nation is immune from terrorist attacks.

“Our greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American

people,” he said. “Twenty-eight months have passed since Sept. 11,

2001 -- over two years without an attack on American soil -- and it

is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is

understandable, comforting and false.”

Addressing soldiers who were watching a broadcast of the speech,

he said, “My administration and this Congress will give you the

resources to fight this war on terror.”

It’s not enough “to serve our enemies with legal papers,” the

president said.

Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway said he would have liked to see

Bush cut short his repetitive remarks about the war on terrorism and

devote more time to issues such as the economy and education.

“He said the same thing over and over again,” he said. “He

could’ve moved on at some point.”

Although Ridgeway said he was happy to hear about more funds for

education, he does not support the proposed tax cuts.

“It’s all nice talk during election, but when the tire hits the

road, it’s a different story,” he said. “I don’t want to bankrupt the

country.”

Rep. Chris Cox said Bush made it clear that “domestically, his

first priority is to [ward off] the biggest tax increase in the

nation’s history.”

“If Congress does nothing, we’ll have the largest tax increase

ever,” he said.

Cox said he believed the president “took the opportunity to speak

not only to the nation but the world.”

“I don’t think it was a campaign speech,” he said. “If it were, he

would’ve focused on our current economic growth, which is the best it

has been in 20 years.”

Cox said he was also impressed with the president’s leadership in

the area of lawsuit reform.

“He’s not choosing an easy fight there,” he said.

Doing away with frivolous lawsuits is important to maintain the

integrity of the country’s healthcare system, Cox said.

Newport-Mesa School Board President Martha Fluor said she thought

the president’s speech was “terrific.”

“I’m very happy to hear about the funding for schools,” she said.

“I would like to see the president support local control of those

funds, so we get what we’re promised and we make sure nothing gets

lost in the bureaucracy.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.