The
talking heads are
busy spinning Bush's
State of the Union Speech... Here's the response to the SOTU from Senator John Kerry:
"President Bush tonight described a very different state of our union than the one most Americans live with every day. In fact, he described a fantasyland. In Republican Washington, the rhetoric continues to mislead and the promises continue to be broken. It's going to take more than poll-tested lines in a speech to strengthen our union. It's going to take change in Washington to make America stronger.
"President Bush refuses to tell the truth about America's dependence on oil.
It's the Bush Administration and Washington Republicans who are addicted to oil, and this Administration refuses to break the dependence that undermines our economy and threatens our security. America's dependence on oil has gotten worse on this President's watch. He won't acknowledge that Vice President Cheney let lobbyists write an energy bill behind closed doors that's helped the big oil companies earn record profits while Americans are squeezed at the pump. We can't drill our way to energy independence, we must invent our way there, but we can't do it if this President won't tell the truth about our energy future.
"President Bush uses national security as a political weapon while day by day we become less secure. We're bogged down in Iraq where there were no weapons of mass destruction while Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, North Korea has quadrupled its nuclear weapons, Iran is closer to nuclear weapons, and Hamas has come to power. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve presidential leadership equal to their sacrifice. Americans deserve the truth. President Bush needs to stop retreating from reality. We can't afford leadership that still cuts and runs from the truth.
"Here at home, middle class families work harder to make ends meet as pensions disappear, credit card debt mounts, and health care costs soar while President Bush's tax policies continue to shift the burden from wealth to work. President Bush won't tell the truth about their America. Health care premiums are up, the ranks of the uninsured continue to grow, and seniors still struggle to afford prescription medication while lobbyists for the big drug companies write legislation that guarantees big profits. President Bush won't tell the truth about that America.
"The Washington corruption and cronyism that got top White House aides indicted and left a political hack in charge of FEMA when Hurricane Katrina struck still run rampant. But President Bush won't reform the party he leads, and the Gulf Coast is still waiting for the help the president promised months ago. For Americans whose trust in government has been broken or Louisianans waiting for relief, this Administration isn't doing a `heck of a job.' Hurricane force spin won't change that, only real leadership will.
"In our America, we can achieve anything we set our minds to. It's time for President Bush to be straight with the American people about the challenges we face and the consequences of his failed policies. Only then will we build a stronger union in 2006."
There's more on The Democratic Daily... it's long... there's a "STATE OF THE UNION REALITY CHECK" break down and THE BUSH ECONOMIC RECORD.