The Nation
Another Thousand Points of Light
Few presidents in the history of the United States have been given the opportunity handed George W. Bush to lead the nation to higher ground.
No president, with the possible exception of the current chief executive's father, has ever blown so great an opportunity so completely.
Maintaining an approval rating that "popular" presidents such as Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton would have gladly traded a vice president to register, Bush could have used last week's State of the Union address to turn a moment of rare national unity and resolve into the stuff of greatness.
What's This About "Accountability."
George W. Bush could not bring himself to mention the name "Enron" inhis State of the Union address. But no one doubted that, when thepresident spoke of the need for greater corporate accountability Tuesdaynight, he was refering to the economic and political scandals that havearisen in the aftermath of the collapse of Houston-based Enron Corp.
Credit Bush with a few calming lines in response to mounting concernsregarding the behavior not just of Enron executives but of members ofhis own administration with close ties to the bankrupt energyconglomerate. It was good to hear the most corporate president inAmerican history tell Congress that, "Through stricter accountingstandards and tougher disclosure requirements, corporate America must bemade more accountable to employees and shareholders and held to thehighest standards of conduct."
But, as Bill Clinton illustrated year after year, State of the Uniontalk comes cheap.
Bush's Untouchable State of the Union
He sure didn't leave the Democrats much room to maneuver. When George W. Bush delivered his first State of the Union address--a two-ply speech divided between a so-called war on terrorism and a supposed war on the recession--he depicted himself as a Rooseveltian president, as in both (Republican) Teddy and (Democrat) Franklin Delano.
In Speech One, Bush warned the war on terrorism--now targeting "tens of thousands of trained terrorists" throughout the world, in jungles and in cities--has only just begun and may extend for years beyond his time in office, and he declared himself a roughrider ready to take this war to nations that are "threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction." Never referring to Osama bin Laden by name, he announced that North Korea, Iran and Iraq--especially Iraq--were in his crosshairs and noted, "I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer." In other words, if those wimpy coalition partners don't have the stomach for this, if Americans, as heroic as they were on and after September 11, are not be ready to invade Baghdad, none of that will matter. Bush will still lead the charge.
In Speech Two, he came across as a New Dealer. Without providing details, he called for extending unemployment benefits and direct assistance for health care coverage, for strengthening Head Start and early child development programs, for enhanced teacher training and recruitment, for a Patient's Bill of Rights, for extending Medicare to include coverage of prescription drugs, for protection of 401(k) plans and pension fund protection (without mentioning a certain belly-up energy company), for greater accountability within corporate America. He said he was in full favor of "jobs." There was no standard-fare GOP rhetoric about the need to limit big-government or the wonders of unfettered, entrepreneurial capitalism.
A Bipartisan Scandal
Members of Congress return to Washington this week. After afall in which their tenure was characterized by unprecedentedinaction, politicians who occupy positions of public trust willattempt once more to act as public servants.
Unfortunately, the track record on which Congress returnscannot inspire confidence.
Consider the dramatic failure of federal officials to doanything that might merit their $12,500-a-month salaries during thelast months of 2001. A war was launched after four hours ofcongressional debate, civil liberties were undermined with just onedissenting vote in the Senate, and billions in corporate welfarepayouts were approved while laid-off workers were denied basicprotections.
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