President firm on Iraq, terror, urges more action on economy

WASHINGTON -- President Bush laid out the broad themes of his reelection campaign last night during his State of the Union address, touting the capture of Saddam Hussein as proof of progress in Iraq and calling for more to be done to advance an economic recovery that has not replaced the millions of jobs lost during his administration.

Declaring the state of the union to be "confident and strong," Bush noted his administration's plan to begin handing Iraqis more control over their country this summer and outlined several initiatives designed to control the rising cost of health care and stimulate job growth. He praised Congress for passing the tax cuts that have been his administration's chief response to recession and a so-far unsteady recovery.

"In these last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths of the American economy," Bush said. "We have come through recession and terrorist attack, and corporate scandals and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to stimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong and growing stronger."

Bush called on Congress to make those tax cuts permanent and asked members to re-authorize the Patriot Act, policies many Democrats strongly oppose -- and which several lawmakers in the chamber jeered.

With Iraqi leaders looking on as guests, Bush also mounted a robust defense of his decision to topple Hussein's regime, altering his assertion that the dictator had weapons of mass destruction to say that "mass destruction-related program activities" would still be in place if the United States had not moved against him.

And in comments that are certain to be echoed as this year's election campaign goes on, Bush suggested the country is stronger and safer in his hands.

"We have serious challenges together, and now we face a choice," Bush said. "We can go forward with confidence and resolve or we can turn back to the dangerous illusion that terrorists are not plotting and outlaw regimes are no threat to us."

He defended the invasion of Iraq, which has energized his political opponents this election year, noting that "the once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. Of the top 55 officials of the former regime, we have captured or killed 45."

Even with that tough talk, Bush sought to strike a more positive, uplifting tone in last night's speech, compared with the foreboding addresses he gave in 2002, when the nation was still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and in 2003, when the president outlined the case for war against Iraq.

"Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better," Bush said.

The speech offered Bush the dual benefits of commanding the attention of millions of American television viewers and deflecting media coverage from Senators John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina after their strong showings in the Democratic caucuses in Iowa Monday. But bowing to the twin realities of a federal budget

deficit surging toward $500 billion and a Congress that is unlikely to tackle thorny issues during an election year, the legislative wish list Bush detailed was long but modest. He asked Congress to make permanent the tax cuts he pushed through. He repeated a call to change the Social Security system to allow Americans to put some of their payroll taxes into private accounts. He unveiled a new initiative to provide job-training grants through community colleges to help Americans cope with a changing economy.

He made another plug for changing the nation's immigration laws to allow undocumented workers to get guest-worker cards and stay for at least three years. Bush asked Congress to establish refundable tax credits of up to $1,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families to help low-income workers buy private health insurance. He called on professional sports team owners and union leaders to ban steroids. And his budget will include a request for an increase of $23 million to pay for student drug-testing program grants.

Republicans declared themselves pleased.

"Tonight, President Bush outlined a compelling agenda to enhance the security and economic prosperity of the United States," said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas.

Democrats said they were underwhelmed, and criticized the president's domestic and foreign policies.

"He has pursued a go-it-alone foreign policy that leaves us isolated abroad and that steals the resources we need for education and health care here at home," said House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said that while Bush "continues to put the best face he can on the war in Iraq, the evidence is clear that the administration distorted, misrepresented, and manipulated the intelligence to make its case for war."

The Senate's minority leader, Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota, attacked the president's efforts to make the tax cuts permanent. "America can't afford to keep rewarding the accumulation of wealth over the dignity of work," he said.

Even with the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, polls have shown that Americans remain more concerned about domestic issues such as the economy and health care. One poll, conducted for the Washington Post and ABC, showed that Americans trust Democrats on those issues more than Republicans, despite Bush's success in cutting push taxes and establishing a prescription drug benefit in Medicare.

Against that backdrop, Bush closed out his speech with a focus on domestic issues, reversing the structure he used last year.

He has long pushed for a cap on jury damage awards in malpractice suits, and he repeated that call. He criticized "activist" judges who he said would redefine marriage, a jab at the recent ruling of the Massachusetts Supreme Court that some believe opens the door for gay marriage in the Bay State.

The job-training initiative grew out of a visit last June to Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va., where he learned that a new facility to train 3,000 nurses, respiratory therapists, and other health workers was operating below capacity because the college could not afford to hire more faculty.

Representative John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat, was critical of the proposal, arguing that it comes only after the president has reduced the federal commitment to job training.

Distracted by their reelection campaigns and worried about the burgeoning budget deficit, many lawmakers said they expected Congress would achieve little of the president's ambitious agenda.

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa, said Congress was not likely to approve an extension of Bush's tax cuts, which are set to expire in 2011 and 2013.

(Mary Leonard and Susan Milligan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.)

(Wayne Washington can be reached at wwashington@globe.com.)