The Free Zone Board

[Meme]

mikkj - Time to have fun with the President Select

Excerpts from ABCnews.com on the upcoming speech, and my interjections:

Moving to take the spotlight back from his predecessor, who still dominates the news more than a month after leaving office, Bush will tell Americans that in an age of blossoming surpluses, they can have it all: $2 trillion in debt reduction, stronger Social Security, more education funding, and a $1.6 trillion tax cut.

Bush also will call for creation of a $1 trillion "contingency fund," to cover what the White House calls "unexpected needs."

Gee, sounds just like the failed program of Reagan to reduce taxes, and balance the budget, while increasing military spending.

In brief advance excerpts of the speech, the president's first to a joint session of Congress, Bush vows to deliver a budget that will ensure "excellent schools, quality health care, a secure retirement, a cleaner environment, and a stronger defense."

Be interesting to see how he creates a cleaner environment considering this part of the article:

But other programs will face actual cuts. The Energy Department's efficiency and renewable fuels program will be cut by up to 22 percent; the Fish and Wildlife Service by 9 percent.

I especially love this. Deficit reduction is America's top priority, but we're annoying him. LOL:

Among Bush's priorities is one he rarely talked about during the campaign: Reducing the national debt, an idea that has enjoyed surprisingly widespread public support ever since President Clinton made it a centerpiece of his final year in office.

Clinton called on Congress to "pay down the debt entirely in just 13 years." Bush, while supporting a reduction in the debt, has scaled back Clinton's goal. He says foreign governments hold much of the debt and will only sell it back to the United States early only at inflated prices.

"It does not make sense to pay down debt prematurely and, therefore, have to pay a premium on the debt that you repay," Bush says.

The overriding message of the president's speech will be conservative gospel: Cut taxes and hold down spending. Bush says he's not worried about Democratic rejection of his tax-cut plan because "I'm really speaking to the American people." But a new new ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll shows only 22 percent of those people think cutting taxes should be his top priority for spending the surplus.

Bush seemed annoyed with the polls, saying, "I'm going to be making the case that, with the right leadership, the right priorities and the right focus, that we will fund important programs and have money left over for tax relief."

And, but of course:

The plan may be his own, but Bush's words will have been written largely by Michael Gerson, the same wordsmith who wrote his inaugural address and his convention acceptance speech. Bush also spent much of the weekend at Camp David working on the speech with communications czarina Karen Hughes.

Yeah, to practice pronouncing all the big words. <G>

Earlier today, Bush previewed the speech.

Here's the link, FWIW:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/bush_pm010227.html

See, mikkj, we'll have lots of good material once they grow tired of following Clinton around to make sure he doesn't jay walk or spit in the subway. LOL

Meme