President Bush gave his seventh and final State of the Union address last night.
The first part of the speech was was dedicated to the the domestic issues that have defined his Presidency: Taxes, Trade, and the Right to Life.
He issued a challenge to Congress to make the tax relief passed during his first term permanent. Those tax cuts have been one of the factors that have driven the growth in our economy and kept unemployment at historic lows in the last seven years.
The President next turned to trade detailing the gains in free trade that have been made during his Presidency and the positive effects that had not only for us, but for the developing world. He put forth an innovate policy idea where the U.S. would transition from Food Aid to trade agreements where we would buy food directly from their farmers facilitating the development of local economies. Unfortunately, it was met with a lukewarm response from farm state Republicans and anti-trade Democrats.
On human life issues, he touched on the breakthroughs in adult stem cell research. Those breakthroughs are rendering destructive embryonic stem cell research unnecessary and thus vindicates his veto of the stem cell bill. He also proposed a ban on all human cloning, a significant first step in defining when life begins, and it was, surprisingly, met with an enthusiastic response by the Democrats.
He then addressed the second part of his legacy, the Bush Doctrine:
Our foreign policy is based on a clear premise: We trust that people, when given the chance, will choose a future of freedom and peace. In the last seven years, we have witnessed stirring moments in the history of liberty. We've seen citizens in Georgia and Ukraine stand up for their right to free and fair elections. We've seen people in Lebanon take to the streets to demand their independence. We've seen Afghans emerge from the tyranny of the Taliban and choose a new president and a new parliament. We've seen jubilant Iraqis holding up ink-stained fingers and celebrating their freedom. These images of liberty have inspired us.
The Iraqi people quickly realized that something dramatic had happened. Those who had worried that America was preparing to abandon them instead saw tens of thousands of American forces flowing into their country. They saw our forces moving into neighborhoods, clearing out the terrorists, and staying behind to ensure the enemy did not return. And they saw our troops, along with Provincial Reconstruction Teams that include Foreign Service officers and other skilled public servants, coming in to ensure that improved security was followed by improvements in daily life. Our military and civilians in Iraq are performing with courage and distinction, and they have the gratitude of our whole nation.
The Iraqis launched a surge of their own. In the fall of 2006, Sunni tribal leaders grew tired of al Qaeda's brutality and started a popular uprising called "The Anbar Awakening." Over the past year, similar movements have spread across the country. And today, the grassroots surge includes more than 80,000 Iraqi citizens who are fighting the terrorists. The government in Baghdad has stepped forward, as well -- adding more than 100,000 new Iraqi soldiers and police during the past year.
A free Iraq will show millions across the Middle East that a future of liberty is possible. A free Iraq will be a friend of America, a partner in fighting terror, and a source of stability in a dangerous part of the world.
The President also noted Social Security reform and Comprehensive Immigration Reform, two issues where he has laid important ground work for his successors. He raised the issue when no one else would. He just ran out of time.
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