Tom Vilsack Speaks on the State of the Union

When previous presidents gave their State of the Union speeches, things happened. Presidents, of course, don't always get everything they ask for and that's the way it should be. But the State of the Union has always been a chance to show leadership and a president was expected to follow through on his ideas. Oh, and by the way, a president was supposed to be truthful about the state of the nation though admittedly many presidents managed to avoid things they didn't want to talk about. But Bush will always be tainted for saying things his administration knew were not true.

After six years in office, Bush is notorious for not following through on his speeches. Presidential candidate, Tom Vilsack, has some thoughts on Bush and where we are; here's the story from Darwin Danielson of Radio Iowa:

Former Iowa governor turned presidential candidate, Tom Vilsack, today issued what he called a "pre-buttal" to President Bush's State of the Union address tomorrow night. Vilsack, a democrat, criticized Bush based on reports of what the president is expected to say. Vilsack says the president is going to propose raising taxes on the middle class in order to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.

"It's hard to conceive of an administration that continues to advocate for reduced taxes for the wealthiest Americans, and continues to fund billions of dollars to reconstruct Iraq, and then simply asks middle class families to pay more in order to ensure the birthright that every American ought to have, which is affordable insurance coverage," Vilsack says. Vilsack is also critical of President Bush's actions after Bush called in last year's address for the U.S. to become more energy independent.

Vilsack says Bush's energy proposals "were weak and failed to deliver." Vilsack says he expects to hear the president make a similar call this year. Vilsack says the president has been spending time and energy on fighting the war in Iraq "instead of focusing on expanding the economy here in America so the middle class can grow instead of shrink."

For the record, I believe Bush is calling for a tax deduction for health care rather than a tax increase, and the way the deduction is framed, it'll probably just add more red ink to Bush's dismal budget.

Vilsack offers some minor praise for Bush's health care proposals but I think he needs to be careful about trying to appear bipartisan with somebody as partisan as Bush (even if Bush may be trying to steal an idea or two from Iowa). Bipartisanship can be a good idea if somebody like Bush has some good ideas and is serious about implementing them, but Bush's proposals so far sound more like an attempt to play more tax games while helping his friends in the insurance business. Until more Republicans recognize the need to reform their party, I believe Democrats should talk quietly behind the scenes with their partners across the aisle until they're clear on what Republicans are proposing and why—and then talk about bipartisanship if they like what they see.

Tom Vilsack is a thoughtful man and I appreciate his focus on the economy and health care. Unlike a number of presidential candidates, he has a record of actually accomplishing things while governor of Iowa. I look forward to hearing what he has to say in the first Democratic debate where some of these issues will be discussed. Except for those with deep pockets, Bush doesn't appear to have given the economy much thought in the last six years, except when he's trying to help those whose pockets are already deep. Come to think of it, Bush hasn't appeared to have given much thought to anything else in his presidency. And that is a major reason for his failures.