January 23, 2007 10:46 PM
EDWARDS STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT BUSH’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement in response to President Bush’s State of the Union address.
 
“President Bush’s address tonight was heavy on rhetoric, but light on everything else. The American people said they wanted change and what they got was more of the same - small ideas that won’t make a difference in the lives of working Americans.
 
They said they wanted straight talk and a vision for the future, what they got was a rationalization for the failed policies of the past.

The next President will have to do more than just undo this President’s mistakes – the next President must offer a vision for fundamental change that will transform America and ensure our greatness in the 21st century.
 
America needs leaders who will do more than propose half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold change.
 
And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush’s decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war. Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving.  Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war. Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on Congress to stop President Bush’s misguided plan to escalate the war. Congress has the power to stop this escalation - they should use it.
 
We also need real leadership to address the health care crisis in our country.  Since President Bush took office in 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by 8 million.  While it is nice that he is finally talking about America’s health care crisis, President Bush’s proposal will do little to help working Americans, and is it unlikely to reduce the number of uninsured because it encourages companies to drop coverage, but does nothing to help people buy their own insurance. President Bush’s proposal offers much more help to a family making $300,000 than one making $30,000. The time for patching up our health care system has ended. We need universal health care in this country and we need it now.
 
Finally, America will never break its dependence on foreign oil without bold leadership.  After years of catering to the oil industry, President Bush says he is finally ready to take action and curb our dependence on foreign oil.  But neither his actions nor his proposals match his rhetoric. The President has the authority now to raise fuel economy standards if he wants to, but the standard has been at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1985. Under his leadership, we are now importing 60 percent of our oil, up from 53 percent in 2000.  In order to curb our dependence on foreign oil and address global warming, the United States needs a major investment in energy innovation, on a scale that this President isn’t talking about. We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war and involve everyone – government, industry, and individuals – in the solution.
 
Tonight, the president once again made it clear that we cannot count on him to be honest about our challenges or offer the bold solutions we need to meet them.
 
But we know that the great power of America lies in the hands of the people of America. If we take responsibility and take action together, we can build a nation lives up to the greatness of America's promise.”
 
 

January 23, 2007 9:21 PM
Obama Response to the President’s State of the Union Address

“The President offered some serious proposals tonight on two issues – energy and health care – that we all agree must be addressed.  I’m glad he did and I think it’s important to respond in a constructive way.  But the last election proved that politics-by-slogan and poll-tested sound bites aren’t going to cut it with the American people anymore, and that’s why the real test of leadership is not what the President said to Congress tonight, but how he works with Congress to find real solutions to the problems we face.

“The good news is that in the halls of Congress and across the nation, there is widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans on how to meet the major challenges facing America.

“Most Americans believe that escalation will not bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end, and that’s why I’ve proposed not just a troop cap, but a phased redeployment that will start bringing our troops home.  Most Americans believe that energy independence will come from using more biofuels like ethanol and making cars that actually use less oil, which is why I proposed a bipartisan plan that would raise fuel economy standards for the first time in decades.  Most Americans believe that the biggest domestic challenge facing the country is the high cost of health care, and that’s why incremental plans that do nothing to bring down costs or guarantee coverage are simply no longer sufficient.

“The American people have been waiting for leadership commensurate to the challenges we face, and they’ll be watching to see if bold rhetoric is followed by bold action in the months to come.”
 
 

January 23, 2007  10:46 PM
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Calls the State of the Union “More Promises, When America Needs Action”

SANTA FE, NM- Governor Bill Richardson tonight called on President Bush to take meaningful action to help middle-class Americans and attack the serious problems facing the country.  Governor Richardson, who on Monday filed the paperwork creating a Presidential campaign exploratory committee, was responding to the President’s State of the Union Address and specifically pointed to three critical areas of concern mentioned in the speech- energy efficiency and independence, healthcare, and climate change.

“Welcome to the party, Mr. President, the rest of the country and the world have been talking and doing something about these issues for years,” said Governor Richardson.  “In addition to being years behind, what the President is proposing doesn’t go far enough and isn’t realistic.”

On energy, Governor Richardson pointed out that the President’s proposal on renewable fuels is not broad enough.  “Ethanol is a critical part of the solution, but not the only part. Our approach must be comprehensive, exploring all opportunities with renewables, including solar, wind, biomass, fuel cells, and distributive generation, to name a few,” said the Governor. “In New Mexico we’re requiring 10% of all energy produced must come from renewable sources, and we’re moving toward 20%.  We’re providing tax credits for companies developing renewable energy and we’ve taken action to reduce and limit carbon dioxide emissions.  It’s time for serious action, not lip service.”

Governor Richardson agreed that the nation must dramatically improve vehicle fuel efficiency but noted the President’s plan does not provide enough specifics.  It also leaves too many loopholes to achieve the kind of improvements necessary to wean the country off foreign oil and reduce vehicle emissions.

“Ultimately we need a ‘man-on-the moon’ effort focused on energy independence,” added the Governor.  “Anything less will not create the change necessary to make a lasting difference.”

Governor Richardson applauded the President for addressing the healthcare crisis facing the country but believes the proposals don’t go far enough to help the tens of millions of Americans without health insurance.
 
“The burden of having so many patients unable to pay is crushing the healthcare system, and all of us are paying the price,” said the Governor.  “In New Mexico and in other states we are finding ways to provide our citizens access to affordable healthcare.  We need leadership and funding from the federal government to make sure our working families, and especially our children get the care they deserve.”

Another urgent area of concern where states are taking action in the absence of federal leadership or support is climate change.

“It is the gravest environmental threat the world faces.  The administration has done little to reverse the effects or causes of global warming and time is running out.  We must engage with the rest of the world in this effort, and we must implement a meaningful strategy that will make a difference.  States like New Mexico and California, not the federal government, are leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but the innovation in the states must take place on a national scale.”

And finally, Governor Richardson reiterated his opposition to the President’s Iraq strategy and believes the United States can and must get our troops out of Iraq by the end of 2007.

“Our presence in Iraq is not helping anymore and we must begin to turn the security of the country over to the Iraqi forces and get our forces out,” said Governor Richardson.  “Our preoccupation with Iraq has caused a resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan and more violence throughout the region.  We must redeploy our troops into areas that will do the most good, and make a real impact in the war on terror.”

“Americans expect the President and the government to get things done, to solve the problems that create positive change and improve their quality of life, but that hasn’t happened with this administration” said Governor Richardson.  “The President has lost his credibility. People here and across the world are looking to the United States for leadership and action, not more promises.”
 
 

January 23, 2007 10:57 PM
Presidential candidate John Cox Responds to State of the Union

GOP Presidential candidate John Cox issued the following statement on the president’s State of the Union address:

"It was sad that the president’s call for victory in Iraq was greeted with such little enthusiasm by Democrats, who could not bring themselves to applaud our troops’ eventual success.

President Bush spoke frequently of hope and opportunity in his speech.  But I am disappointed also in the president’s failure to address the struggle for economic hope and opportunity in Iraq.

This part of the strategy has been overlooked, and needs desperate attention.

The people of Iraq need to be put back to work.  We must re-deploy our troops within Iraq to protect their oil infrastructure and the Iraqi people must be given the tools to once again effectively and safely pump their vast ocean of oil so they can sell it on the open market.  Then, they can obtain oil revenues for each and every citizen, and gain a level of hope, opportunity and economic freedom to rebuild their own nation.

The president’s call for energy independence was a welcome one.  To cure our addiction to foreign oil, we must increase domestic oil production, and support alternative fuels like ethanol and wind and solar technologies, as well as safe nuclear technology.

But his support for government-mandated mileage standards for cars to help achieve it compromises the conservative principle of the free market.  This restricts our ability to drive the cars we choose to drive.

In our drive towards energy independence and in our zeal to create change, we must not replace the efficient power of the free market with the whims of the inefficient bureaucrat or the career politician.  Government must set the right conditions for change, but must never mandate the terms of change.  That is best left to the free market."