U.S. President George W. Bush has promised both guns and butter in his State of the Union address. This year's speech was a rally for his domestic agenda and an opportunity to steel the nation for the possibility of war against Iraq. Mr. Bush also issued a warning that his patience is reaching its limit. In his most dramatic statement, he declared that the U.S. "does not depend on the decisions of others." Mr. Bush will find it easier to rally international opinion behind his position if he makes a case for international action. He cannot presume that the world will follow his lead. It will take more than rhetoric to garner international support for an attack on Iraq.
The State of the Union speech is usually an election manifesto. Mr. Bush's speech was no exception. He spent the first three-quarters of the speech on domestic concerns. He promised tax cuts, health-care reform and a variety of other domestic initiatives. He pledged to secure his country's future without passing on burdens to future generations.
That pledge will be difficult to honor given Mr. Bush's desire to cut taxes. The president called for the acceleration of previously designed tax cuts and the introduction of new ones. He has laid out a $674 billion economic plan to get the U.S. economy over its current difficulties. Resistance to the plan is strong, especially when it comes to the centerpiece of the proposal, the elimination of double taxation of dividends. In his speech Mr. Bush said that "we will not pass along our problems . . . to future generations." The deficit statistics cited by the Congressional Budget Office suggest that is not true.