Toning down the rhetoric

WASHINGTON -- The State of the Union address, with its dramatic setting amid overflowing balconies filled with American heroes, has become one of the great trappings of the modern presidency. And George W. Bush tried to use it last night to dress his faltering presidency in a cloak of statesmanship.

Starting with a plea to Democrats and Republicans to work together to "make life better for our fellow Americans" and continuing through a series of initiatives aimed at making Democratic issues his own, Bush seemed to be reading from former president Bill Clinton's script from 1995.

Back then, Clinton faced a Congress run by the opposing party and joined it in embracing some popular initiatives that might not have survived under his own party. More important , Clinton used the trappings of his office to remind the nation that it had only one president and to make Republican leaders seem presumptuous for trying to seize the mantle of leadership for themselves.

Bush, who prides himself on a tell-it-like-it-is manner that seemingly brooks no dissent, isn't ideally suited to be president of a divided government. But last night he tried to remind Americans that he's the only president the country has and that only he can truly speak for the national interest.

This required him to tone down his rhetoric and to use the great platform of the State of the Union address to implicitly contrast his reasonableness with the increasingly outspoken attacks by Democrats -- personified by their own choice of a rebuttal speaker, the blunt-talking Senator James Webb of Virginia.

Thus, the first half of Bush's speech was devoted entirely to domestic issues that Democrats have tried to make their own. On issue after issue -- from curbing congressional "earmarks" to increasing fuel economy to reducing the cost of health insurance -- Bush took pages out of the Democratic playbook in trying to stake a new claim on mainstream America, without going nearly as far as the Democrats would.

"A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available healthcare," Bush declared in extolling his new proposal to make health insurance premiums tax deductible, mimicking a familiar Democratic phrase.

When he finally got around to talking about Iraq, he did so in measured tones. In past speeches, Bush has aimed for Churchillian levels of resolve to describe his commitment to the Iraq war. But last night he made a more subtle plea that emphasized his willingness to listen -- and reminded many members of Congress that they, too, had favored targeting Iraq.

"I have spoken with many of you in person," he told the assembled lawmakers. "I respect you and the arguments you have made. We went into this largely united -- in our assumptions and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq -- and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field -- and those on their way."

The troops on the way are the "surge" of 21,500 additional forces intended to secure Baghdad, a plan Bush unveiled two weeks ago and one which Democrats have become increasingly bold in rejecting. Many Democrats want their leaders to try to pull funds for the "surge" even before it crests.

And even as Bush stressed the benefits of his domestic proposals, Democrats were rushing ahead on their own plans for these issues, setting up a possible confrontation.

In 1995, Clinton worked his way through a blizzard of Republican legislation, signing some and vetoing others. Meanwhile, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich grew bolder and bolder. Finally he overreached, shutting down the federal government in a misguided attempt to force spending cuts.

Clearly, Bush is hoping that the new Democratic majority follows the same path. And that the American people remember this moderate-sounding, statesmanlike speech when they grow tired of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fervent Democratic critics like Webb.