Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300406
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BUSH'S UNHELPFUL STATE OF THE UNION
AFTER an extraordinary buildup orchestrated by the White House itself ("The defining event of the Bush presidency" said a campaign memo), Tuesday night's State of the Union address proved a rehash of a hodgepodge, a grab-bag of little substance or insight - a fizzle. If this was the defining moment, Bush's remains a very vague presidency.It was a long speech, punctuated by perfunctory applause. (One of the biggest applause lines to move the congressional chamber's sea of blue suits: Bush's proposal to "modify the Passive Loss Rule for active real estate investors.")
It was a speech in which Bush tried to regain the mantle of the warrior president, talking tough at times, recalling the glory of Desert Storm, and saying of the recession - as he did a year ago of the occupation of Kuwait - "This will not stand."
Alas, it was a speech in which Bush showed precious little of the leadership with which he prosecuted a war. His offers of a little something for everyone left an impression not of priority-setting, but of political pandering.
Bush tried hard, but it was ultimately an unserious speech, going all over the place, outlining an election-year cornucopia of minor goodies and giveaways, and sternly drawing fake battle lines with a Congress he would blame for all America's ills. (Never mind that Bush and Reagan have led the nation for the past 11 years.)
The only really good part of the address, predictably, was about foreign affairs. Bush began eloquently, reminding Americans of the importance of the Cold War's end. And he was right to do this: We shouldn't be so distracted by our problems that we fail to recognize the most amazing event of our times, a turning point in history.
The problem is with the things Bush proposes to do at this turning point. They were a long letdown, like his speech, a laundry list of warmed-over old-fangled GOP ideas, such as a capital gains tax cut serving primarily the wealthy - with a few extra tidbits thrown to middle-class voters in view of the approaching election.
Bush's insulting insistence that Congress pass his program by March 20 looked less like a show of determination than a preparation for finger-pointing. This is a president who for a long time refused even to recognize trouble in this economy, and who has dithered in his response despite a chorus of concern in Congress and elsewhere.
(Why, for instance, has Bush waited three years into his presidency to propose a national health plan? He still wasn't ready with details Tuesday night.)
Speaking from the "heart" he referred to several times, Bush said he remains the patriotic president he was in wartime, a man of "principle." Which presumably leaves unpatriotic and unprincipled partisans to question his proposals.
They should be questioned. His announced reductions in unneeded weapons programs would total $50 billion over six years - helpful cuts, to be sure, but not deep enough to have much impact on the deficit.
The quick-fix tax shuffles, such as an executive order to reduce income-tax withholding, will do little to revive the economy. And Bush has offered no specifics on how to pay for his giveaways to home buyers, health-insurance purchasers, parents and anyone else likely to vote in November.
The president's delivery Tuesday night was forceful and assured. But what he delivered lacked clarity and understanding. The "vision thing" is still missing in action.