The speech U.S. President George W. Bush delivered to a joint session of Congress last Tuesday was disappointing because it said little about the basic strategy the new U.S. administration intends to follow in the area of foreign policy and security. The speech focused on domestic and economic policies, particularly Mr. Bush's election promise of a $1.6-trillion, 10-year tax cut.
The address, his first to a joint congressional session since his inauguration Jan. 20, was not the State of the Union message. Still, the absence of a clear-cut diplomatic and security strategy is disquieting, particularly at a time when the Japan-U.S. alliance is under strain following a series of recent unfortunate incidents, most notably the accidental sinking of a Japanese fisheries training vessel by a U.S. nuclear submarine off Hawaii. There are also worrying signs in U.S. relations with China and North Korea.
Since taking office, Mr. Bush has been trying hard to make his peace with the Democratic Party following the bruising vote count and recount in Florida that finally won him the race. The president has mounted a charm offensive, inviting such Democratic luminaries as Sen. Edward Kennedy to the White House. In his speech Tuesday, Mr. Bush also struck a conciliatory note, saying, "Bipartisanship is more than minding our manners -- it is doing our duty."