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Tuesday,
January 27, 2004 |
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Bush
lays out bold agenda to solve American problems
Tyler Fultz is a freshman history and political science
major from Indianapolis, Ind.
Gone
are the days of the Clinton administration — when
government was the least exciting part of the evening
news and politics was reduced to sex scandals.
Today we have a different kind of president. Regardless
of your political views, it is not unreasonable to say
that George W. Bush is charting America’s destiny
with clear-cut views and confident decisions. It is no
surprise that in his State of the Union address, he described
America as “confident and strong” with every
intention of making that label accurate. During his speech
he set up an aggressive foreign and domestic agenda, jam-packed
with controversy yet filled with promise for our great
nation and the rest of the world.
The president emphasized America’s unique and special
role in the world. After the fall of the Soviet Union,
the world expected America to shrink into the fabric of
the international community, but instead Bush has moved
to grasp America’s opportunity. We are asserting
our power across the globe to rid the world of tyranny
and oppression.
Regardless of your opinion on weapons of mass destruction,
it has been good for Iraqis and Afghans to gain freedom,
and as Bush said, “We will no longer live in fear
of rogue nations.”
The world should be supporting us in this quest, but many
countries lack the backbone for the hard work America
has undertaken. According to the president, “America
will never seek a permission slip to defend the security
of our country.” Many fear this will lead to American
imperialism, but this is not what Bush seeks. “We
have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our
aim is a democratic peace — This great republic will
lead the cause of freedom,” he said.
Domestically, the president reinforced things that have
been the emphasis of his administration: choice and accountability.
The Bush tax cuts are designed to allow people easier
access to the stock market and simplified retirement savings.
Allowing people to invest (half of American households
do on their own enables people to determine their own
destiny instead of depending on the decrepit Social Security
system.
These concepts of choice and accountability have also
inspired Bush’s healthcare agenda, which has more
options in Medicare. He has also campaigned to let small
businesses form innovative shared-insurance plans, and
create a tax-credit that would allow millions to buy their
own health insurance. These programs allow Americans to
do what they do best: Solve their own problems. Bush knows
that the easiest and most efficient way to solve our domestic
problems is to encourage American ingenuity. Handouts
and government programs are not the answer.
In his State of the Union speech the president challenged
the nation to follow him. America has responded. The economy
is on the rise, American diplomacy is bearing fruit. Citizens
are being given the choices they ought to have about their
economic futures. I can see another four years of excellent
Bush leadership down the road. |
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